No rest for the so-far victorious: Republicans trying to revive the Zombie of Zombie Trumpcare

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We've had a weekend to celebrate, to rub popular vote loser Trump's nose in the defeat of Trumpcare, but the party's over. The fight continues because Republicans are assholes and won't stop until only the people who can afford to pay directly for medical care can get it. Obamacare repeal can, and very well might, still come back.

Despite a reddit post to the contrary that's been getting an awful lot of attention, the repeal bill is still on the Senate calendar with the threat of once again crawling out of its coffin. That doesn't mean Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is ready to bring it back—his last words on the issue were "It’s time to move on" directly following last week's dramatic failure. That failure was on the Better Care Reconciliation Act which was just an amendment to the actual bill on the floor—the House-passed American Health Care Act. Which hasn't been defeated and still exists, even though it also doesn't have the votes to pass. Which is why McConnell was trying to pass these substitutes—the BRCA and the repeal-only bill.

The possibility for the Senate to pass a repeal bill under reconciliation, which only takes 50 senators' (plus Vice President Mike Pence's ) yes votes, still exists as long as they come up with something that meets strict budget rules and can get 50 votes. The possibility to pass something exists until the House and Senate both pass the FY2018 budget resolution conference report. It's the getting to 50 that's the problem, but the efforts are still happening.

Trump, increasingly impatient with the long-stalled repeal effort, met with three Senate Republicans about a new plan to roll back the health care law on Friday, signaling some lawmakers—as well as the president—are not ready to ditch their seven-year campaign promise.

The group is trying to write legislation that could get 50 Republican votes, according to multiple administration and Capitol Hill sources. The proposal from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) would block grant federal health care funding to the states and keep much of Obamacare’s tax regime. White House officials also met with House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) to brainstorm how to make the idea palatable to conservatives, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.

from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2udnYLe