No decent person, and I include myself as one, wishes brain cancer on anyone, least of all someone who spent time in a brutal POW camp while serving his/her country. John McCain’s procedure on his eye that uncovered a malignant tumor brings no joy to his political opponents.
However, there’s a bitter irony that McCain, a generally honorable guy, would rush from his procedure to get back to DC to vote to initiate discussion to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This is a man of some means. In 2008 when running for President of the United States, he didn’t know how many homes his family owned. It was 8. He’s a man who could afford the best medical care that money can buy and got it at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix AZ, yet he voted to initiate action that would make it difficult for many Americans to get a small fraction of the healthcare that he can afford on his own and is entitled to as a member of the US Senate.
Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, while not perfectly accurate, suggest that between 20-30 million Americans would lose healthcare benefits under the proposed replacements to Obamacare. None of the members of Congress are amongst these millions of people.
John, you got a lot of damn gall.
OK, I take that back and I apologize.
It appears that Sen, McCain actually voted against the latest attempt by the GOP to repeal the ACA. Below you’ll see what he said on his website about why he did it. One reason is purely procedural. Process is important, but actually providing healthcare is more important. Sen. McCain comments on how the Democrats “rammed” the bill through Congress, but fails to mention what his Republican colleagues did. They didn’t hold hearings. They discussed their bill in secret. John, why didn’t you say something about that? But, all things considered, we appreciate your support and your vote. Thanks.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today on voting “no” on the so-called “skinny repeal” of Obamacare:
“From the beginning, I have believed that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced with a solution that increases competition, lowers costs, and improves care for the American people. The so-called ‘skinny repeal’ amendment the Senate voted on today would not accomplish those goals. While the amendment would have repealed some of Obamacare’s most burdensome regulations, it offered no replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens. The Speaker’s statement that the House would be ‘willing’ to go to conference does not ease my concern that this shell of a bill could be taken up and passed at any time.
“I’ve stated time and time again that one of the major failures of Obamacare was that it was rammed through Congress by Democrats on a strict-party line basis without a single Republican vote. We should not make the mistakes of the past that has led to Obamacare’s collapse, including in my home state of Arizona where premiums are skyrocketing and health care providers are fleeing the marketplace. We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of aisle, heed the recommendations of nation’s governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people. We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve.”