"Yeah, we know this bill is terrible, but if you support it, then you can ignore it."
This is completely consistent with what they've been doing for a while though. I remember back to when they had the dramatic floor vote. They had Pence come in and try to work people over. I remember reading that Pence agreed with some senators that the bill sucked, but that it was important to pass anyway. There's no economic reason to pass this bill, and with this latest bill
even the insurers have come out against it, joining patient advocate groups and hospital lobbyists in opposing the new effort, which is notable because insurers have been quite for this entire process so far. But the Republican insistence on passing this bill can't be explained by the simple goto answer of "lobbying", or "ideology." No, something far more fundamental is moving this. I mean hell, I don't quite understand the drive here myself, but clearly whatever is driving them is a force to be respected, since it's making them ignore every other part of political life. The single-mindedness of it is unnerving.
They only really agree on one thing, and that is the necessity to passing something called Obamacare repeal. Trump knows this too. Back when that bipartisan healthcare group was still influential, they presented their work to Trump and he asked: "Can I call it Repeal and Replace?" For this specific situation, he's a lot more honest than the rest of them. That's why they are hiding the details and preventing the CBO from rating it in time: why would you
ever do that unless you valued passing
any bill over passing a good bill? That's why they're so comfortable giving exceptions and such. It doesn't
really matter, what matters is someone unfurling a "
Healthcare Mission Accomplished" banner.
Again, if they could possibly get away with a bill that they could call Repeal&Replace just makes Obamacare slightly more conservative and changes nothing, I bet they would. Sadly I think most of them are... I don't know if it's a lack of self-awareness or too much self-awareness. I'm really surprised by that part though, but maybe it's just because no one has made a legitimate healthcare reform bill that they can pass off as Repeal&Replace yet. But that Trump quote shows that I believe they really would support it, too.
If you don't believe me, behold this article, helpfully titled
'The substance really doesn’t matter’.
Like earlier, failed plans, the Graham-Cassidy measure would allow states to dismantle rules that prevent older, sicker people from being charged higher insurance premiums. It would cap the federal outlay for traditional Medicaid, which could jeopardize coverage for the most vulnerable. And it would almost certainly lead to millions more Americans lacking insurance, health care policy experts say. “It has all of the worst elements of the House bill that was passed in May and the Senate bill that was defeated in August,” said John Baackes, CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan.
But none of that may matter to Republican senators facing extreme pressure to finally pass something — anything — that scraps the health law and fulfills seven years of campaign promises.
...
Yet with little more than a week until the witching hour, the effort is still uphill. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) are widely expected to vote against the bill, meaning Republicans can’t afford to lose a single additional vote. Even if the measure clears the Senate, the House would then need to pass the package without making any changes to it — a highly uncertain prospect. But the fact that the bill remains alive — with Senate leaders and the White House scrambling to secure 50 votes for a vote next week — speaks to how desperate Republicans are to scrap Obamacare and notch a legislative victory.
...
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, crystallized the conflict in unusually candid comments on Wednesday. "You know, I could maybe give you 10 reasons why this bill shouldn't be considered," Grassley told reporters. "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."
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