On Morning Joe, Daily Beast politics editor Sam Stein gives an overview of the forces at work against passage of the Trumpcare bill -- because it looks like it can't happen without Democratic votes.
"There are a number of reports that some Democratic senators are having these sort of preliminary, informal talks with Republicans about things like reinsurance, cost sharing programs -- stuff that would stabilize the individual marketplace where there's a problem, which is primarily rural areas," he said.
"Keep in mind some of these marketplaces are actually doing okay -- but the rural areas are not doing okay. The precondition for all of this is that they take 'repeal and replace' off the table. So everything is predicated on the vote that will happen after they introduce this bill today."
He said that Trump has "complicated" the potential passage.
"When he went out and called the House bill 'mean,' that really threw a wrench in the lobby here. You're going to vote for a bill that your own party's president calls mean? How do you run on that in the election?
"Also, Trump during the campaign made promises to never cut Medicaid. This bill clearly cuts Medicaid. So there are conflicting promises that people on the Hill have to grapple with, and make it almost impossible for Mitch McConnell to get something done."
As the panel noted earlier, anything that's liberal enough to get Democratic votes makes it unlikely for Paul Ryan to pass it in the House. Here's hoping!
