Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) must be excited. The GOP Obamacare replacement bill failed, but he added that he knows the original Obamacare bill can be reformed. At the same time, he can only work with Republicans if they take repeal off the table.
“Can it be improved some? Of course, we’ve always said that. And once the Republicans take repeal off the table, we’re willing to work with them to improve it,” said Schumer to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
Sen. Chuck Schumer: We're willing to work with Republicans on health care if they "take repeal off the table" https://t.co/NiDupD9FWZ
— CNN (@CNN) March 24, 2017
Schumer knows this is never going to happen. Republicans have been campaigning for several years that they’d repeal and replace Obamacare. They already look bad for going back on that promise, explicitly pointing out why so many people hate Washington: they only did this to get elected and nothing else. The GOP is going to face a firestorm from the Right for botching health care. Does Schumer think the GOP is going to pour more salt in the wound by conceding that Obamacare is here to stay, and that they will work with Democrats, who rammed this bill down our throats, to fix it? Sadly, some in the GOP are of that mindset. And yes, the GOP also blew the chance for a clean repeal without political consequences when they failed to boot Obama from office in 2012. This whole cycle has been unpredictable. House Speaker Paul Ryan conceded that Obamacare and its tax structure would remain in place for the foreseeable future after this legislative defeat. So, who the hell knows? For many in the conservative wing of the GOP, they invested almost a decade to fighting this law. I don’t blame them for being furious. Friday’s health care episode was a total disaster.