Today, the Senate passed a motion to proceed with their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Now the Republican health care plan will move into the floor debate phase, despite there still not being any details at all on the “replace” part. During today’s vote, there was a dramatic moment when Senator John McCain returned after a recent surgery to remove an aggressive brain tumor. He flew from Arizona to Washington D.C. just for this vote and received a standing ovation upon his arrival. He then proceeded to vote “yes” on the motion to strip millions of Americans of their health care. His was the tying vote, broken then by Mike Pence. The motion passed 51-50.
50 Senators just voted to proceed to gut health care without knowing what they will vote on. #SaveACA
— ACLU (@ACLU) July 25, 2017
So it happened. McCain returned to the Senate to a standing ovation, and promptly voted to take away millions of people's healthcare.
— Nope. (@JoyAnnReid) July 25, 2017
The circumstances of McCain’s return are pretty unbelievable.
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/889924830795096064
There's a certain cruel irony of John McCain coming back to vote against healthcare, at a time when his life depends on having good care.
— Amy Siskind ?️? (@Amy_Siskind) July 25, 2017
We pay for Senator John McCain's healthcare—He just voted to take ours away—Congress should be first to lose healthcare before any American.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) July 25, 2017
John McCain left hospital stay paid by taxes on flight paid by taxes to remove health insurance from taxpayers. And we paid him to do it.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 25, 2017
A man with guaranteed health insurance and cancer has voted to take away coverage for the millions who pay for his
— McCain's Conscience (@ConsciousMccain) July 25, 2017
Thank you, John McCain, for teaching us the valuable lesson that even in times of extreme difficulty, people can be fucking awful.
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) July 25, 2017
Even more extraordinary: Following the vote, McCain spoke to his fellow senators about the devastating state of their current office. He urged his colleagues to reach across the aisle, to compromise, and to work together. He asked, “Why don’t we try the old way of legislating in the Senate, the way our rules and customs encourage us to act? If this process ends in failure, which seems likely, then let’s return to regular order.”
He said of the health care debate, “The Obama administration and congressional Democrats shouldn’t have forced through Congress without any opposition support a social and economic change as massive as Obamacare. And we shouldn’t do the same with ours.”
“We’ve tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration … asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition. I don’t think that is going to work in the end. And it probably shouldn’t.”
He said that about the bill HE JUST VOTED TO ADVANCE.
https://twitter.com/DanaSchwartzzz/status/889930982664613889
[enters Senate]
this is wrong
[takes seat]
should have been hearings!
[votes aye]
a shame
[leaves for fundraiser]
just awful
— Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) July 25, 2017
I have never cared about something less than I care about John McCain feeling terrible about his terrible vote.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) July 25, 2017
From one cancer survivor to another, John McCain, don't come at me with your soaring rhetoric while I'm paying for your excellent treatment.
— Matt Farley (@Matt_Farley) July 25, 2017
Following the vote, there were a lot of people urging McCain’s critics to hold their tongues and not speak negatively of him, given his current health issues. To which everyone else replied:
https://twitter.com/rollinbishop/status/889928588954402816
https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/889924230082592768
https://twitter.com/gabydunn/status/889924620358479872
Basically:
https://twitter.com/fart/status/889926257764429824
McCain’s health issues do not give him a free pass to avoid condemnation. Not when he flew across the country to cast the deciding vote to advance a bill which would deprive tens of millions of people of their health care.
McCain will never face another election. Never gain or lose a committee chairmanship. What he does now tells you who he really is.
— Mark Sumner (@Devilstower) July 25, 2017
And his current fight with cancer certainly doesn’t erase his decades-long legacy.
Don't care what you say, McCain's legacy for me will be Sarah Palin and ensuring health care was taken from millions of people. #SaveACA
— Travon (@Travon) July 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/ClintSmithIII/status/889675580484050944
McCain has been voting against even the most basic LGBT rights for DECADES. U didn't know he was an asshole? Well my friends & I sure did.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) July 25, 2017
There were plenty of people who hoped for more from McCain.
https://twitter.com/jonlovett/status/889931964144246784
And he let us all down.
https://twitter.com/alex_abads/status/889936782451593216
(image: screengrab)
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