[elklindo69]

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain announced on Friday that he'll vote against the Graham-Cassidy Republican health care bill, putting the future of the legislation in peril.

McCain complained about the process, criticizing the lack of debate and committee time for legislation that would remake the country's health care system.

"As I have repeatedly stressed, health care reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate," he said in a statement.

"Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment," McCain added. "That is the only way we might achieve bipartisan consensus on lasting reform, without which a policy that affects one-fifth of our economy and every single American family will be subject to reversal with every change of administration and congressional majority."

He added, "I would consider supporting legislation similar to that offered by my friends Senators Graham and Cassidy were it the product of extensive hearings, debate and amendment. But that has not been the case. Instead, the specter of September 30th budget reconciliation deadline has hung over this entire process."

McCain was one of three votes that helped to sink the Republican effort in late July. He criticized the closed-door process then, too.

Republicans can only afford to lose on more Republican vote. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins are undecided.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has set a vote on the bill for next week.

[johnforbes]

McCain is being totally dishonest about that.

He knows very well that Obamacare was rammed through as budgetary reconciliation.

McCain's "ethical" approach means that Obamacare cannot be repealed at all, and that the mess will continue to burden America's taxpayers and hurt the economy.

[Intrepid]

It's time for McCain to retire, go home to Phoenix, sit on his front porch and yell at the neighborhood kids to get off his gravel.

[sillydaddy]

"... . McCain's father and grandfather were admirals in the United States Navy. McCain was born on August 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone, and attended many schools growing up as his family moved among naval facilities..."

That means McCain has never had to reach into his pocket to pay a medical bill in his entire life ! :o

[namngulfvet]

I put McCain, Clownlicker, Elkshit and Doggyshit all in the same category. So walk with pride you POS traitors

[elklindo69]

Trumpcare....again!

:lol: :mrgreen: :lol: :mrgreen: :lol:

[RealJustme]

Best case for Trump. Now as the healthcare system continues to fail and prices rise, Trump can say "I TOLD YOU" but Congress said what we currently have will work, "I WASH MY HANDS OF IT"

We all know if Obamacare was over turned no matter how well the next planned worked, every time someone died it would be headline news. This was a win, win for Trump, he's playing his chess very well, no one can't say he didn't try to fix the mess but this is the outcome he was hoping for all along. This will destroy members of Congress that won't work with him.

Teflon Don comes through again. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Dogzilla]

I am quite proud to be put into the same group as Senator McCain.

[RealJustme]

I am quite proud to be put into the same group as Senator McCain

Sorry to hear that, having a sick brain must suck.

[johnforbes]

What group is McCain even in?

He could easily have fought to amend either bill, to improve it, to recognize the enormous 2018 increases for health insurance in Arizona.

McCain so far has done nothing but lazily virtue signal how wonderful he is to Dems.

[Clownkicker]

"He could easily have fought to amend either bill, to improve it,..."Dishonestjohn

How can you simply lie like that, johnny? And you do it with a straight face.

There WERE NO opportunities to amend those bills. That's McCain's point.
There was no standard procedure. That's what McCain has been complaining about. Nobody outside the bills' closed-door committees get to say anything about them. Unlike with the ACA, there is no debate or amendments on them. They have been "rammed through", and being the worst kind of hypocrite, you suddenly don't care.

The bills were/are bad. Republicans admit it in so many words on the nightly news.
“I could maybe give you 10 reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered, but Republicans campaigned on this so often that you have a responsibility to carry out what you said in the campaign. That’s pretty much as much of a reason as the substance of the bill.”-Senator Chuck Grassley-Sept. 20, 2017

They admit that despite being bad, they must vote for them because just because they promised their constituents to repeal the ACA when they got elected, and that's the ONLY reason they offer to vote for them. John McCain, a Republican who still cares about America, disagrees with this idiotic point of view.

The latest bill is so bad that no decent American with a conscience could possibly vote for it.

[johnforbes]

You must not know how these matters work.

Of course, you can change the thing; that's what they have been talking about.

Would it be better, in an ideal world, to have an honest, open discussion -- to do Obamacare in the open on C-Span as Obama repeatedly promised?

Sure, but he did it totally in secret, with the bill written by lobbyists and staffers in total secrecy.

The Repub bill would return much power to the states, and would have been good for that reason, but of course it was also drafted in secrecy.

Would Dems work with Trump on any health bill? No, they are too filled with hate.

So the Dem victory today is that Obamacare remains, and next month Americans will be victimized with much higher Obamacare costs.

Pyrrhic victory.