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Will McConnell Be Willing to Destroy the Filibuster to Pass TrumpCare?

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Because that’s apparently his only option:

Efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act ran into big trouble on Friday afternoon, when the Senate parliamentarian ruled that nearly a dozen key provisions of GOP repeal legislation violate special procedural rules that Republicans are using to pass their bill.

The list of provisions includes a clause, which many conservatives consider essential, that would defund Planned Parenthood and block federal money from helping to pay for insurance policies that cover abortion. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough also ruled out a six-month “lockout” period for people trying to buy insurance after they have let it lapse ― a key policy feature of the Senate bill that insurers say is vital to keeping markets stable.

In the ruling, a summary of which the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) posted, the parliamentarian’s office indicated that it would still be reviewing other parts of the Senate proposal ― including provisions that would allow insurers more flexibility to vary premiums by age or to offer plans that leave out benefits such as mental health and maternity care that current law considers essential.

And the parliamentarian hasn’t even had a chance to consider a new amendment, proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), that would allow insurers to offer some plans not subject to rules guaranteeing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

Politically, the biggest blow for Republicans is the ruling that a provision prohibiting funds from being used to purchase insurance policies that cover abortion. That rider was key to House conservatives accepting their version of the legislation, and Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows suggested that, without that prohibition, the bill could not pass the House on the way back from the Senate.

Since limiting the reproductive freedom of women is, apart from tax cuts, the most powerful glue that holds the Republican conference together, the bill can’t pass without the anti-Planned Parenthood provisions. McConnell can get them kept in the bill, but only with the use of a nuclear option that would mark the de facto end of the filibuster. Is he willing to abandon a valuable tool for conservatives to pass a bill everyone hates for an unpopular president? Possibly! Remember, tax cuts and limiting the reproductive freedom of women are the glue that holds the Republican conference together, and brutally cutting programs for the poor is also a powerful motivator.

Still, this makes it harder to pass, and Sanders and his staff deserve a lot of credit here. Some of Bernie’s dimmer supporters should take note: there’s no contradiction between fighting to pass the ACA, fighting to keep the ACA, and fighting for single-payer as an end goal.

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