You squeeze the balloon on one side too tight, and the other threatens to blow up. That seems to be what's happening right now for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in negotiating Trumpcare. When we last checked in (early afternoon in Washington, D.C.) they were talking about jettisoning some of the big tax cuts for rich people in order to find some stuff to buy off the moderates.
Or not.
The other side of the balloon is stretching to the breaking point.
McConnell's team might be able to satisfy more centrist GOP senators with additional funding, conservatives remain a huge headache, according to senators and aides.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and his allies are still pushing to gut Obamacare's regulatory structure, but Republican sources doubt that the Senate parliamentarian will allow it. That raises a key question: Can the party's right flank support what's going to amount to only a partial repeal of the law?
One Republican senator was "less optimistic" about meeting the Friday deadline, adding: "I'd be surprised if we get something done by Friday."
Even if leadership decided to keep the Affordable Care Act's taxes on the wealthy, Sen. John Thune, third-ranking Senate Republican says that some of the conference are objecting to that money being spent on not having millions of people lose their health insurance, but on deficit reduction. Because they really care about the deficit. However, some unnamed Republicans told Politico, "the party is leaning strongly toward reshaping the bill to be less of a tax cut for the wealthy and more to supplying health insurance options to the working poor."
All we need is three Republican senators to block Trumpcare. If you have a GOP senator, we need you to call their office at (202) 224-3121. Demand that they put their constituents above their party. After the call, tell us how the call went.
Like being able to use their health savings accounts to pay their new, outrageous premiums. Never mind that most working poor can't afford to have HSAs, or that if they use that money to pay their premiums, they won't have anything to pay the huge deductibles those plans will come with. Nevertheless, that will probably be enough to get some moderates back in the fold because they'll be able to say they got something in the negotiations. That it's a useless something they'll overlook.
Unless we don't let them. If McConnell can't have his revision Friday, he'll have a harder time pushing the bill out when they return from recess week after next. A delay means the CBO could have its analysis of the long-term Medicaid cuts well before they vote. And it gives us more time to fight this.