After the Senate’s bare-bones bill to repeal Obamacare suddenly crashed and burned in the wee hours of Friday morning, conservative pundits went into full freak-out mode, blasting the Senate for its failure.
Some specifically aimed their ire at Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). McCain cast the final, decisive vote on Friday morning against the bill, bringing the Senate’s third stab at repealing Obamacare to a grinding halt. His vote against the measure shocked Republican senators standing in the chamber, especially since he returned to the Capitol earlier this week to cast a vote that allowed the Senate to proceed to debate on the legislation in the first place.
This last twist left conservative pundits reeling. Former Republican presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was so angry with the three senators who voted down the bill that he suggested changing the way senators are elected.
Time to repeal 17th Amendment. Founders had it right-Senators chosen by state legislatures. Will work for their states and respect 10th amid
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 28, 2017
Fox News’ Eric Bolling also called for the ouster of the three Republicans who killed the bill.
"My 3 RINO's" … or.. "The Three Senate Stooge's". 3 GOP RINO's fail America again. Time to elect real conservatives. #maga will prevail https://t.co/NKDZPhm3kt
— Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) July 28, 2017
Conservative radio host Dana Loesch took the failed vote as a sign that the “pathetic” GOP will never repeal Obamacare.
There will be no repeal. Too many GOP actually want it. Pathetic.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) July 28, 2017
Other pundits specifically lashed out at McCain. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) also voted against the bill.
It would have been refreshing if McConnell, after O'Care loss, simply said, "John McCain is a complete and total JERK." https://t.co/QoO00B38H6
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) July 28, 2017
It "fell short" due to 1 vote: Yours. Foreclosing any vote on a finalized bill that may have come much closer to fulfilling your promise. ? https://t.co/vTPbPKMRzc
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 28, 2017
Sorry, Arizonans disproportionately suffering under Obamacare's failures, your Senator has other priorities — despite what he told you. https://t.co/obPgV0TjaU
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 28, 2017
Later Friday, the conservative group FreedomWorks issued a statement blasting the three Republicans who voted down “skinny repeal,” calling them “frauds” who won’t keep their promise to repeal Obamacare now that there is a Republican president in the White House.
“Last night’s vote was a slap in the face to every conservative who has been promised that Republicans would repeal ObamaCare. Sens. John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins voted against the ‘skinny repeal’ of ObamaCare, theoretically the least repeal that can be achieved because so many Republicans went back on their votes for a 2015-style repeal,” FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon said in a statement. “The Republican Party has been all about ObamaCare repeal for the better part of a decade, and now we see that they have been writing checks to voters that they knew the Bank of Obama wouldn’t cash. Now that President Trump would sign it, they have exposed themselves as frauds.”
This post has been updated.
