As our own Joan McCarter predicted earlier, several GOP senators would soon come out against the Senate bill and they would be “lying.” Right on cue:
Sen. Rand Paul told reporters on Capitol Hill that the Senate bill just didn’t go far enough to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in America who’s more against Obamacare than myself,” he said. “I just didn’t run on Obamacare-lite.”
But Paul stressed that the version released Thursday morning was just a “draft” and that GOP senators at their morning meeting all said they were “open to changes.” So sure, it’s quite possible that every Republican who says they’re a “no” gets to add some amendment that they can tout as a “win” (and maybe get a behind-closed-doors commitment from McConnell on something else). And then there’s Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, who just wants someone to hold his hand.