Senate Republicans seem to be operating under the delusion that they might be able to win a few Democratic votes for their tax cuts for the rich/Obamacare repeal bill if they promise to take up a bipartisan bill proposed by Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Lamar Alexander with it. The senators have legislation ready to go that would restore Obamacare’s cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers on the Affordable Care Act exchanges that Trump has cut off. That's not going to fly with Democrats—particularly Murray:
"First—let's be clear about the policy: tacking Alexander-Murray onto the partisan Republican tax reform effort is like trying to put out a fire with penicillin. It will not do anything to help.
"The Alexander-Murray bill was intended to lower costs and stabilize the market—but millions of people will still be left paying more and losing coverage if Senate Republicans sabotage families' health care to help millionaires and billionaires get more tax breaks they probably don't need.
"Second—the way that this was done, by sneaking devastating health care changes into a partisan bill at the last minute—is completely counter to the bipartisan spirit in which we worked on our stabilization bill."
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer slammed the trick from the Senate floor.
"The Republicans cannot expect to pass their own separate ideological health-care provision and then turn around and ask Democrats to vote to pass Alexander-Murray," he said. If Republicans think they can get away with supporting the repeal of the mandate and make up for it by then passing Alexander-Murray, they are "wrong on the substance and wrong on the politics, because it won't pass."
And it won't. It would have to get 60 votes, and they aren't there. There's nothing Republicans can do to try to soften the political blow they'll feel from their constituents if they vote to raise Obamacare premiums and kick 4 million people off of insurance in the next few years, and 13 million in the next decade. It will be on their heads. It will make Virginia—where health care was the primary issue for voters—look like a day at the beach for Republican incumbents.
The Republican tax giveaway to the super wealthy is an attack on our healthcare, an attack as dangerous as Trumpcare was. Please, call your senators and member of the House of Representatives at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to vote "no" on the Republican tax bill.