Three Republican Senators, Legacy, and Brett Ratner
I’ve been thinking a lot about this tweet from Matt Oswalt. It seemed so tragic. John McCain, a war hero who devoted his life to public service and to the United States, lost a narrow presidential election in 2008 during which he acted professionally, faced an opportunity to seize greatness right when he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Right at the end, he had the chance to join the ranks of American greats. To be the one who stood up to the current craven state of the GOP and refused to back down. Instead, he voted for what he knew was wrong and pretended to care about normalcy. Ratner had truly taken over.
But then something interesting happened and I’m still not entirely sure what it was. Last night’s events in the Senate seemed definitely unprecedented as the Republicans, led by Paul “Fucker” Ryan and Mitch “Motherfucker” McConnell attempted to pass a “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act that was drafted earlier that day in the dead of night. And they just couldn’t do it. Why?
Senator fucking John fucking McCain of fucking Arizona. Out of nowhere. I was shocked when I opened Twitter at the exact moment McCain voted no. Capra was back! And sure, we wouldn’t have been in that position if it wasn’t for McCain in the first place, but that’s just sour grapes. I think what matters is what McCain ultimately decided to do. Doesn’t matter how we got there, doesn’t matter what he did. At the end, he did the right thing. At 2:00 A.M. EST, McCain cemented his legacy. (So long as Trump doesn’t take a shit on the Mooch and McCain responds, “I deeply disagree with what the president did today.”)
But you know who didn’t come out of nowhere? Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Both opposed the proceedings of repealing and replacing the ACA and never wavered. They were then excluded from the drafting of the bill by depraved, misogynistic “conservatives.” As Tony Stark would say, “Not a great plan.”
Because of the heroics of all three of these Senators, millions of lives were saved. Not to mention the forty-eight Democratic Senators who held strong all the way. We owe them a lot. Sure, politics can easily make people disillusioned, but last night was a time when we can just take a breath and be thankful for fifty-one people.
And I saw some people upset about McCain being heralded over Murkowski and Collins. Yes, all three deserve credit and an argument can easily be made that some have earned it more than others. But I think the reason for the initial reaction was simply that McCain is a household name and no one really expected him to do what he did. Since then, I’ve read a lot of revisionist articles that give Murkowski and Collins their due.
But no matter what you’re interested in, last night was a win, as long as you aren’t a rich, white asshole with jowls or a cowlick. If you’re a McCain superfan with a conscience, last night was really important for your role model. If you’re a person who needs this healthcare to live, last night should never have had to happen, but at least it had a good outcome.
But what’s dead may rise again. We’ve seen this happen before. Never put your guards down when it comes to Mitch McConnell, a manifestation of pure evil who would allow the apocalypse to happen if it meant he could cut taxes for a guy who built his mansion in front of a three hundred year old house that used to have a great view of the ocean.
That’s just a warning, though. Obviously, we can celebrate. But pretty soon, it’ll be time to get back to work. Hopefully, we just have a couple new people on our side now. And hopefully Ratner gets to work on a sequel to Tower Heist.
