I imagine Mitch McConnell is somewhat torn between "Oops" and "Fantastic!"
The Senate’s chief referee has dealt a significant setback to conservatives who want to send an ObamaCare repeal bill to the president’s desk this year.
GOP sources say Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has raised red flags in response to queries about whether it’s possible to use [the reconciliation process] to repeal the controversial law "root and branch," as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said.
It isn't. So off will go the vesuvian Cruzes, as if McConnell didn't have enough headaches with his already ruptured caucus and lower-house firebrands. Yet McConnell has also seen this, no doubt, from Gallup:
Arkansas and Kentucky reported the sharpest reductions in their uninsured rates among adult residents since the healthcare law's requirement to have insurance took effect at the beginning of 2014.
Shredding that down-home success story would be an act too insane for the shrewd and thoroughly disingenuous majority leader. Gee, what can he do? His hands are tied.