Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is one of a dozen former governors currently serving in Congress. That makes him and his fellow colleagues uniquely qualified to score a deal on health care, he suggested on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" Tuesday morning.
“We didn’t look at each other as Democrats and Republicans,” he said about his time serving on the National Governors Association. “We looked at each other as executives.”
Together, they understood the challenges of the states and reaching a consensus, he added.
Now is the perfect time for that bipartisan spirit, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded Monday night that the GOP will not be able to follow through on their initial plan to immediately repeal and replace President Obama’s health care legislation. Instead, they will hold a vote to repeal Obamacare over the next two years.
“Let’s fix it” are the ‘magic words,’ Manchin said.
For obvious reasons, he can’t behind the Republican plan to repeal Obamacare. Yet, once the GOP has their way with repeal and wants to make some meaningful changes to improve American health care, Manchin said he can “absolutely” get Democrats to sit down.
“I’m willing to sit down,” he said. “I’m the most moderate, centrist there is.”
But, Manchin said the GOP needs to do a better job showing people how to use health care "more effectively and efficiently."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is also urging Republicans to work with them on health care. Yet, as Matt explained, that may be a "fool's errand," especially after the GOP spent seven years insisting they would take charge and get it done.