Cotton's "Warning" To House Re ACA Sounds More Like A Plea

Tom Cotton’s warning to his Republican counterparts in the House regarding repealing Obamacare sounds to me less like a warning and more like a plea not to make swing Senate Republicans responsible for the failure of the bill to pass.

In an interview on Sunday, Cotton said, “I’m afraid that if they vote for this bill, they’re going to put the House majority at risk next year. So, I would say to my friends in the House of Representatives with whom I serve, do not walk the plank and vote for a bill that cannot pass the Senate and then have to face the consequences of that vote.” Of course, Republicans have cast dozens of votes to repeal Obamacare ever since it went into effect and they have hardly had to “face the consequences”. The people who would face consequences from their base on the hard right are Senators like Cotton if they do not go along with repeal. Of course, some of those Senators are smart enough to know that they will also face serious consequences if they vote for the devastating cuts in health insurance that this bill will create.

Paul Ryan has instigated a game of chicken with his own compatriots in the GOP. He stated that pretty clearly when he essentially dared Republicans to abandon their years of promises to repeal the ACA by voting against this bill. Ryan is essentially betting his job on this game of chicken because his days as Speaker may be numbered if he can’t push this bill through the House. On the other hand, he could stave off a challenge to that position by ramming this bill through and letting it die in the Senate. He would have fulfilled his part of the bargain and the blame would fall squarely on the GOP Senate, especially those handful of Republican Senators who would vote against the bill. The real danger for all Americans, and to the Republican majority in the House is that every Republican will cave in to the game of chicken and this horrendous bill actually becomes law.