McCain demonstrated the power of a single senator from a small state taking on his party establishment and president. His vote, which saved Obamacare for the time-being, was ironic. McCain was beaten by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, and now he was saving Obama’s legacy legislation.
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| Sen. John McCain cats "no" vote on health care bill, July 28, 2017 | New York Times |
The closeness of the vote was not surprising from a historical sense. Obama barely received the 60 votes he needed in the Senate back in 2010, and it only passed with one vote to spare on the House floor in final passage in 2011. Indeed, this bill struggled since its filing this year, first in the House and then in the Senate. A vote had to be postponed over the Fourth of July recess for a lack of a majority.
Although McCain was hailed in many quarters as a hero for stopping an unpopular bill, many of his Republican colleagues criticized him for contributing to the problem of “getting nothing done,” which he complained about in his epic Tuesday afternoon speech after dramatically returning to the Senate from his cancer treatment.
Regardless of the reasons, the bill’s loss was historic and could have fateful consequences for Republicans. Seldom has party leadership brought a bill to the floor without knowing the vote. The loss damages the party’s reputation as being effective and it derails its momentum.
One aspect of McCain’s action was a help for the party. The bill’s repeal aspect was extremely unpopular with some people, but the replacement parts were nearly universally disliked. Also, three-quarters of the public said they would like to try McCain’s bipartisan effort to pass health care.
Read more:
New York Times: Senate rejects slimmed-down Obamacare repeal as McCain votes no
The Buzz: Cory Gardner’s problems with health care
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