The Problem With the Health Care Bill Is That the GOP Is Scared

WASHINGTON -- The problem with the Republicans' new health plan isn't the secrecy with which it was written. Nor even the ridiculous speed with which they now plan to rush it through the Senate.The problem is that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his lieutenants, including the majority whip John Cornyn of Texas, are just plum scared. How else to explain the jacked-up way the party is pretending the healthcare repeal is really just a budget reconciliation measure, rather than a real live piece of legislation that will strip health insurance from millions of Americans? A budget reconciliation measure requires only a simple majority to pass, and can't be filibustered.They know that they don't have the votes to pass such a dog pile of a bill under normal rules.   Continue reading...