So true – the women are the true heroes! In it and standing up to tremendous pressure from the start!
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And Generalisimo Johno McCaino will still be dead, when his seat is due up in 2022.
I think it should be noted that, after McCain gave his thumbs down, some cheers and applause broke out on the Democratic side. Schumer, one class act, got up and gestured to the Dems to knock it off, and they promptly complied.
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“Eventually, Pence approached the huddle, shook McCain’s hand and hugged the female senators.”
Pence hugged the female senators?!? Uh-oh, better hope ‘Mother’ doesn’t find out.
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Little Donnie is already using his limited powers to make sure the ACA fails, including using the budget for promoting the program to try to convince people not to enroll in the program. No question, the ACA will fall apart soon if Congress doesn’t work on modifying it to improve it - starting by impeaching Donnie.
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That ought to endear him even more to the American people. If the MSM really does its job, it can make life even more miserable for Trump if he Continues on this path.
No quarter!!!
Also, yesterday was my birthday, and it was a really nice day. Since I’m in CA, this all happened before midnight here. I followed along as events unfolded, and when McCain voted no, it was like having a celebratory fireworks display to end the day!
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May be, but I do wonder why McCain chose this approach. He could have killed this earlier, but did not. Why? Be a savior, make some kind of point, strike at McConnell? Perhaps.
However, I have to assume there could have been conditions under which he would have voted yes, given that he voted to proceed. Was he offered assurances or deals, but they were not good enough, or adequately concrete? Was he offered assurances, but did not trust the people in his party to keep their word?
Given that the Republicans are the majority party, the inside game here might not be an insignificant question.
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Beautifully done, Sen John McCain!
This is top-class reporting. Josh–give these folks a raise and even higher visibility!
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Also,
Best. Headline. Ever.
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McCain knows better than most that the Republican party is not to be trusted and especially a snake like ryan. He knew that the skinny would be taken up and passed by the House then quickly signed by the orange hued cretin. Whatever drugs he is ingesting caused a change in consciousness enough for him to at least temporarily see through the ryan lies to go to conference with the bill. Ryan lied once to many times in a much too obvious manner that even McCain, a party animal if there ever was such a thing, could not ignore. Drugs are a wonderful mind expander at times.
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Free Air Force 1 ride…
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You beat me to it. 
Ah, what I would give to have a tape of McCain’s pre-vote cloakroom kiss off of grumpy trumpy…
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Great article. My thanks to @tierney for sticking with the health care beat and following this story to what I hope is its end. Your articles are consistently top-notch and I look for your byline when I browse the front page.
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Yes, I now hope that McCain stays alive, well said.
Grumpy Trump called McCain during the vote. McCain was in the cloakroom telling the POS to take a hike when his name was called for the vote. He came back in after and added his vote. It wasn’t really timed.
Despite what she says, Murkowski’s decision to hold up the Interior nominations in her committee is a pretty clear statement to the White House, “Don’t Fuck With Me”. She won’t get pushed around.
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Yeah, Tierney totally buried the lede on this story.
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We will never know for sure, but my gut tells me that GOP Senators owe McCain a HUGE vote of thanks.
If he hadn’t killed the bill there, I strongly believe Ryan would have passed it as is, despite any “flaky” assurances he
may have given about a conference.
It would be very easy for Ryan to come to the conference claiming that his members demanded a vote on the Senate bill and thus no real conferring because Ryan’s only aim is to get something passed that allows him to begin moving on his true wet dream…tax “reform”.
Loved watching McConnell standing in the well of the Senate glaring at McCain as he was casting his vote. So close Mitch…and yet much much too far. You ALMOST got away with it…I have to give you credit…almost got away with bluffing your way to victory using an empty shell of a secret bill, no hearings, no party participation, no substance and no replace.
Having likely terminal brain cancer seems to have focused Ssn. McCain on taking a principled stand. Thank God!
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