Senate Republicans got into the spirit of the season by voting 52-47 to take healthcare away from 17 million Americans.
The vote was party line with only moderate Republicans Collins (Maine) and Kirk (Illinois) voting against the bill.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) missed the final vote, but Sanders made his feelings clear days earlier on the Senate floor when he called the whole process a waste of time.
Wingnuts like FreedomWorks CEO Adam Brandon were ecstatic that
Senate Republicans moved to take healthcare away from nearly 20 million
Americans, “Under pressure from Lee, Cruz, Rubio, and wingnut agitators across the country, Senate
Republicans finally got the message and acted to repeal the ObamaCare
disaster. This bill would rid Americans of the most harmful aspects of
the law and empower consumers to make decisions that are best for them
and their families.”
The White House was quick to issue a veto threat
and make sure that this legislation is DOA, “The Administration
strongly opposes Senate passage of the Senate amendment to H.R. 3762. By
repealing numerous, key elements of current law, this legislation would
take away critical benefits and health care coverage from hard-working
middle‑class families. The bill also would remove policies that are
expected to help slow the growth in health care costs and that have
improved the quality of care patients receive. The Senate amendment to
H.R. 3762 detracts from the work the Congress could be doing to foster
job creation and economic growth.”
The Obamacare repeal vote was so important to Senate Republicans
because they are laying the groundwork for action if their nominee wins
the White House in 2016.
Of course, voting to take healthcare away from 17 million people just
made winning the White House more difficult, but logic stopped being a
strong suit of the Republican cabal more than a decade ago.
The fact that Senate Republicans chose to hold this vote during the
holiday season spoke volumes about their priorities. Tonight’s vote was
an advertisement for how Republicans intend to harm working people if
they take back the White House.
The victory that wingnuts are celebrating tonight is one of the main reasons that they will lose in 2016.