‘It’s not over’: House Freedom Caucus chairman vows to continue Obamacare fight

[WestVirginiaRebel]

The Blaze

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, insisted Friday that the fight to repeal and replace Obamacare is “not over.”

Meadows made the statement during an interview with the Washington Examiner just hours after three Republican senators voted with Democrats against the so-called “skinny repeal” of Obamacare, which some billed as a last-ditch effort to get rid of the 2010 law.

GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) joined with 48 Senate Democrats to kill the measure 51-49, which would have repealed some of the most unpopular parts of Obamacare. McCain said he voted against the legislation because “while the amendment would have repealed some of Obamacare’s most burdensome regulations, it offered no replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens.”

Democrats celebrated the defeat early Friday morning, but Meadows said he’s not giving up — at least not yet.

Meadows told the Examiner he is currently working with a number of senators on legislation that could pass both the House and Senate. Meadows said the plan, whose details lawmakers are still debating, will be able to meet the minimum vote thresholds in both houses of Congress.

Had just one of the three GOP holdouts voted for the bill, Vice President Mike Pence would have cast the deciding vote and the legislation would have passed.

In fact, Pence even went to Capitol Hill late Thursday night in anticipation of breaking the tie. Pence’s vote was not needed, however, as any chance of Republicans actually doing what they promised for seven years, seemed to fade entirely. No doubt a severe setback, Meadows remained optimistic about Republicans’ chances.

“I believe we deliver, still, on health care,” Meadows told the Examiner. “To suggest that everything is over is not understanding the dynamics going on right now in the Senate. It’s not over.”

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It's not over till the fat lady sings: