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If Republicans were capable of being shamed or embarrassed by their behavior, the country would be in a better place. They are not and it is not. Consider Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) one of Mitch McConnell's "death panel" of white guys which was supposedly convened to craft a Trumpcare bill. Lee left Tuesday's conference luncheon to head straight to Facebook to record a video saying he hasn't seen a bill and denouncing the process of secrecy.
Even though I've been a member of this working group assigned to help narrow some of the focus of this, I haven't seen the bill. It has become increasing apparent over the past few days that even though we thought we were going to be in charge of writing this bill within this working group, it's not being written by us. It's apparently being written by a small handful of staffers for members of the Republican leadership in the Senate. So, if you're frustrated by the lack of transparency in this process, I share your frustration wholeheartedly.
Then there's Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in full "get off my lawn" mode, telling one reporter when asked if he's seen the bill, "No, nor have I met any American that has. I'm sure the Russians have been able to hack in and gotten most of it." He continued in that vein when asked if it was a problem. "Oh no, never a problem. No. Of course not. I always like to move forward with legislation that I haven't seen."
There are at least four more who've complained about not seeing the bill. Some of those are included in the handful who are supposedly leaning "no" on the bill: Sens. Shelly Moore Capito (WV), Susan Collins (ME), Ted Cruz (TX), Mike Lee (UT), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rand Paul (KY) and Ben Sasse (NE). Supposedly Sen. Dean Heller (NV), Bill Cassidy (LA), and Rob Portman (OH) are undecided.
Nobody knows what's in this proposed legislation for certain, except McConnell. All these senators could do something about that. It would only take three of them to force a hearing on it. It would only take three of them to torpedo it. And yet they submit. They are ceding their power to the two most unpopular politicians in the land: Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. They're doing for a proposal that less than a fifth of the population supports.
The Republican Party is irrevocably broken, and they're taking the nation down with them. The only thing that can stop them is the overwhelming opposition of all of us.