So who’s got a prediction? Do the Republicans dance on the ends of their little strings for The King Puppet and vote today, or do they defy him?
My prediction is the “bill” passes.
… Then I read this:
Trump starts healthcare judgment day by attacking the conservative Freedom Caucus in Twitter tirade
So who the hell knows?
Most recent reputable whip counts are hopeful it won’t pass.
I don’t understand the animus for the ACA. I can see those who are philosophically opposed to the individual mandate. I don’t know of anyone who is philosophically opposed to the ban on pre-existing conditions or letting young adults stay on their parents’ policy until 26. I suspect for a lot of people, it’s simply a matter of association with Obama.
Seven years is a long time to be opposed to something. One would think they would have spent that time crafting a superior alternative. Instead, it seems they did it in a single weekend and of course the first thing they did was build a massive tax cut for the wealthy at the core of it. What they assumed was because their base hates Obama with a passion, that everybody hates the ACA with a passion. They thought that as long as they got rid of the bill that everybody hates, they could pass literally anything and be adored by the masses. They didn’t count on town halls that showed that people are truly interested in getting health care. So instead of working on something palatable, they wrote some platitudes on cocktail napkins without bothering to work with anyone in the health care business. Now they might not get it passed because, in the minds of the truly batshit crazy, it doesn’t fuck over enough people hard enough or fast enough. So the ACA could be saved by those whose motivation is class warfare against the middle and lower classes. Crazy shit this is.
I think the vote is close. I hope it fails but you the Republicans always prove crazier and more heartless than we anticipate.
jsgoddess#332,
Got thru on the 3rd try. Steve Pearce’ office says he will vote NO. That’s a surprise.
The media says the bill is now short by 8 votes. Scary!
Crane
After all the talk about how great of a deal maker Trump is, it’s amusing to find out that his “deal” consists of throwing a bunch of money at the other side and then saying “I’m going home, you guys can keep my ball.” Where’s the shrewd negotiator?
He’s a Freedom Caucus member, so that’s excellent. 
The crazies plan to fund their tax ‘reform’ by raiding ACA. A yes vote doesn’t have anything to do with health care.
Crane
The Freedom Caucus is no better. They oppose it because it’s too generous to poor people.
AHCA raids Medicaid and damages the Medicare HI trust fund. My fear is that then they’d turn around and claim Medicare is so damaged it needs to be “modernized.” Bye bye Medicare.
Don’t forget, the Republicans have been opposing Roe v. Wade for 45 years, an issue which clings many people to the Republican party even when the rest of their positions do not match.
7 years? Trifling to the party of obstructionism.
But as long as the Freedom caucus can throw a wrench into the system, it is a win. The longer this stays in the spotlight, the worse replacing the ACA becomes for the Republican majority in congress. The are already having to flee in terror from their home constituents at town halls, the longer this is in people minds the more they have to give real thought to how this will affect them in 2018 and the less they can use Trump as a shield.
Well, as far as fleeing in terror, I’m happy Republicans seem to be taking that threat more seriously than Democrats did in the leadup to passing ACA. Angry townhalls foreshadow angry election days. If they want to keep ACA, let them keep it. There are other issues where Republicans can get things done with less risk. Who knows if Democrats had foregone health care they might have passed immgration reform, cap and trade, that jobs bill Obama wanted, and might have still had their majority in the Senate with which to put Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court.
Representatives are reporting 1000:1 no calls over yes on AHCA.
Trump has successfully unified the country!
As much as I’d love to see Donald saddled with this fiasco for the remainder of his (hopefully short) term, I don’t think Trumpcare had anything to do with Trump. He didn’t draft it, he didn’t work very hard for it (let’s face it, he doesn’t work very hard, period), if passed it would break several of his stupid campaign promises, and he’s walking away from it when it’s teetering on the brink. This is a Paul Ryan Production.
Hm… Constituents’ opinions, or gobs of cash…? Decisions, decisions…
Gobs of Koch cash are on the no side.