Quote:
Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist
Edit: this was discussed earlier, but I think the emphasis at the end of this post requires the rehash to make the point.
The answer lies in the details of reconciliation.
McCain definitely knew the other two were no's and knew he'd be the deciding vote, or at an least insurance vote. He dropped hints for a week about it. He couldn't vote no on the motion to proceed, or it wouldn't have gone to an actual vote, which triggered the GOP actually using their one chance with reconciliation. You can only vote on one bill per year via reconciliation. By allowing it to go to vote, that meant that this "tool" of reconciliation is dead for the GOP until next year. They now need 60 votes and are forced to work with the Dems.
What McCain abhorred more than stripping healthcare from people (debatable whether he felt that was what was happening), was the extreme partisanship that was being used to craft the legislation. What he did, in the way he did it, meant that McConnell's method was voided and there would have to be bipartisan work to fix healthcare. That's why McConnell was so mad. His tricks are all used up and he now has literally no choice but to work through committees and hearings which McCain has been demanding all along
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Now the bolded is pretty funny considering how things went from January 2009-January 2017. He was pretty cool with extreme partisanship during that period, routinely voting to just repeal Obamacare (nevermind Merrick Garland not even getting a hearing). So the whole "let's be bipartisan" narrative now rings remarkably hollow. And dismissing McConnell as being done here ignores Trump's continued insistence at using the nuclear option. I know the turtle has said several times he won't do it, but they've capitulated to Trump so many times it's hard to take that seriously. He still has more moves to make here, McCain has not checkmated him yet.
Plus the media wants the McCain was the difference/had a scheme narrative because they've spent years and years building up the "maverick" image, despite of course not really being a maverick at all. Right now the two women who deserve the vast majority of the credit are predictably being shortchanged for their role in this, which is disappointing. Murkowski got mob level threats against her and stood tall. We should be talking much more about that than some possible scheme McCain concocted