Can the Republicans still secure her vote on the Obamacare replacement they propose this week?
For what it's worth, a number of online political sources still see the possibility that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might be able to convince enough key Republican senators like Capito to pass a new Republican plan to replace Obamacare. For example, from Politico:
He’ll likely have to throw as much as $100 billion at centrist Republican senators like Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia to gain their support. It’s an idea that Trump personally endorsed in conversations with senators last week, according to a source familiar with the conversations.
Capito did meet with the President at the Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia. Here's what she said in her weekly address:
Many West Virginians have been hurt by Obamacare. This failed law has led to rising premiums, fewer choices and less access, and it’s clear that the status quo is unsustainable. At the same time, many West Virginians have benefited from our state’s decision to expand Medicaid. I want to be clear that I am committed to repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a health care system that provides access to affordable care to West Virginians. That has always been my goal, and I am not giving up on it. After meeting with President Trump this week, he assured me we are on the same page when it comes to repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Same page? Really? (See also TPM.)
Apparently some Republican men are not happy with Shelley and friends
A duel?
From Politico:
Rep. Blake Farenthold on Monday blamed “some female senators from the Northeast” for hampering Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, telling a local radio station that he might challenge them to a duel if the allegedly obstructive lawmakers were men.
The Texas Republican’s remark appeared to be a reference to Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), both of whom have expressed some degree of hesitancy toward Senate Republicans’ specific plans to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s signature health care legislation.
They're leftists running the Senate!
And in case you missed it last week, here's Rush Limbaugh commenting on Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Capito:
The Republican caucus in the Senate is infected with essentially leftist members. . . . These three female leftists in the Republican caucus are running the Senate, not Mitch McConnell.
July 25 update -- My money's on Senator Joe
McKay Coppins from CNN just tweeted:
Responding to Rep. Farenthold's duel musings, Joe Manchin says on CNN, "I'd be willing to step outside with him."
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) July 25, 2017