Don't forget that McCain has really pushed for military interests and is still widely respected among the military.

Quite a contrast with Trump, who politicizes speeches on an aircraft carrier and to the boy scouts and announced a new disruptive personnel policy that the Joint Chiefs said won't be implemented until more specifics are provided.

Trump's not exactly winning with the military at the moment.

Someone with greater resolve and schadenfreude than I needs to multi-quote the McCain naysayers ITT.

So happy to see so many people lose money betting against decency.

McCain walking in, giving a thumbs down, glancing at McConnell and walking out.

Can confirm this is true. At current x rates mine is around 1350 USD a year, which is towards the cheaper end but there's cheaper available. The way it works is that for any year past age 30 that you don't have private health insurance, it adds a small percentage onto a means-tested extra tax you pay. This nudges young people who can afford it into buying their own insurance instead of relying on the public system. The benefits of buying your own include shorter wait times for elective procedures, private rooms where in the public system you might get shared wards, greater choice in where you go and who you see, subsidized stuff like physiotherapy and dentistry and so on.

That thumbs down **** is kinda boss.

I was one. But I was happily rooting against my yes shares. Luckily I guessed correctly as soon as the vote stalled and flipped my position and was still able to make a few happy meals.

Redolent of Adanthar and Domer reportedly ending up in the black back in November.

god damn I love the Internet sometimes

Aside: I apologize for my mistake on the skinny CBO numbers. Going to blame the pain meds. (Broke my shoulder two days ago)

Never would have thought it'd go down 51-49 with McCain among the nays. I'm quite intrigued as to where it goes from here (so many possibilities), but as weird as it is to say, I'm grateful to Sen. McCain. Here's hoping this is the beginning of a trend. Can't say I'm optimistic about that but I'll take what I can get.

“Blurble Snurble Bleep Bloop”

Lol McCain doesn’t get credit for crap. He could have stopped this before now.

McConnell's done with it for the time being. That was the bill, there was never going to be any sort of meaningful conference. Since they don't have anything more to offer the 3 holdouts, I'd say the next we hear about it is when ACA rates come out for '18. Maybe Ryan has something up his sleeve, but there's plenty of crap for them to pillage in the upcoming budget bills.

god this is amazing

lol gop. this presidency is a flop

Watching crybaby B;tch McConnell's concession speech and being in the good mood that I was, I had to applaud his monumental dishonesty. It takes a true kind of poise and grace to, in a moment of crisis, keep up the facade of nonstop lies. Well done.

I actually think the Republicans came out of this with the best outcome possible.....

This was a huge dog and pony show. The cynical side of me wouldn't even be surprised if McCain voting against it was staged by the Republicans.

Once the Republicans gained control it was obvious they had a huge problem holding on to their promise of eliminating Obamacare. Obamacare is a freaking Republican plan from the start. It was born in the early 90s and even used by Romney in his state.

They were never seriously wanted to take health care away from all these people. It would have been political suicide. A bunch of dumbass Trump supporters were counting on them not doing. How often did you hear people say I voted for Trump but didn't think he'd really kill Obamacare! Once it looked possible people started freaking out.

The Republicans were going to lose either way. They either fail on their promise and their base gets mad or they eliminate health care and everyone gets mad.

How many Republicans voted for it but only if they were assured it wouldn't pass(lol!)

McCain ran on repeal and replacing Obamacare, he voted for killing it many times.

They got lucky McCain is terminal and could kill this whole thing. Hey we tried but McCain stopped us!

Sure the Republicans look stupid and like losers but had they killed health care it would have been a monumental disaster.

The cherry on top is McCain gets to look like some kind of hero as a going away present.

perhaps, but i think for mccain (especially after his diagnosis) this became less about healthcare and more about using his final major vote to force bipartisanship going forward in the senate. plus i don't think he wanted lowering the taxes of an unappreciative 5x draft dodger to be part of his legacy.

lol @ this being an intentional failure. Nah, bro. They masssively overestimate the popularity and efficacy of their policies. The donors are gonna be furious they failed, and that's whose immediate wrath they're gonna have to face. For the rank and file, they're confident they can pass whatever as long as they campaign on banning Muslims from public schools, making gender reassignment surgery a felony, fining illegal immigrants a 100k deportation fee, etc.

PS: GOP, I'm available for consulting.

Feel kinda bad for Susan Collins who has consistently been on the right side of this debate and who will now get zero credit because McCain stole the show.

Even if they didn't have the votes, McConnell knew he had to have a vote and let it fail to restart the whole process.

Once it's clear that repeal can't even get 50 votes in the Senate, that changes the entire political calculus of the bill. As Paul Ryan said, "We have to accept that Obamacare is the law of the land". And every calculation has to go from there.

McCain voting no Commodus style is so elite.

Correct and this is what it's about. This isn't about playing to the base or their own screwed-up ideology (if it were they would have given this up ages ago). This purely pressure coming from PACs and certain donors that want the ACA gone and don't want a replacement.

And so these GOP types have to figure out how to do that with a some holdouts that really aren't sweating reelection (or in Murkowski's case, not for a good while). Apparently dressing up sham bills as replacements isn't quite enough to get there right this second so they're in a bind. And time may not be on their side either as Trump's disaster of a WH isn't helping, and there are some signs that some of the voting public is having second thoughts about how much they really hate the ACA.