Republicans—who are still squabbling over how to do Obamacare repeal and haven't even begun fighting over replacement—still think Democrats will somehow save their bacon. Democrats continue to tell them to get fucked.
Republicans plan to put the squeeze on Democrats by warning that they will take the blame if ObamaCare disappears and the 20 million people who have gained coverage from the law have nowhere to go.
"When that day came and you did nothing, if you want to play politics, I think the blame would go to people who didn't want to do anything," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters last week.
Just let that sink in for a moment. A unified Republican government—White House, Senate, House of Representatives—destroys a critical program helping millions of people, unilaterally. They break it. And they believe it's up to the minority to do the actual governing to clean up the mess? This is what they think their job is. Blowing up shit then making Democrats clean up their shit. Which isn't going to happen this time.
"We're not going to do a replacement," [incoming Democratic leader Chuck] Schumer said. "If they repeal without a replacement, they will own it. Democrats will not then step up to the plate and come up with a half-baked solution that we will partially own. It's all theirs." […]
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called it an "absolute fantasy" that Republicans would come up with a replacement that covers 20 million people with the same level of protections for people with preexisting conditions.
"There is absolutely no replacement coming," Murphy said. "If they want to repeal this, it's not coming back."
If Republicans are looking to scare vulnerable Democrats who are up for reelection in two years into helping it's not working. Here's Sen. Claire McCaskill (MO): "It's so incredibly irresponsible to forward the notion that they have been preaching repeal and replace, repeal and replace, and they're going to repeal without telling the American people what the replace is? […] First things first, put on the table what the replace is going to be and once they've done that, then I'll be happy to comment on it."
Not. Going. To. Happen.