Ten governors—Democratic, Republican, and independent—have written to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asking him not to hold a vote on Graham-Cassidy, the latest Republican effort to gut health coverage, and instead "renew support for bipartisan efforts to make health care more available and affordable for all Americans.” Democrats John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Steve Bullock of Montana, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, and Terry McAuliffe of Virginia are joined by Ohio’s John Kasich, Massachusetts’ Charlie Baker, Vermont’s Phil Scott, and Nevada’s Brian Sandoval, all Republicans, as well as Alaska’s Bill Walker, an independent.
Like 16 patient and provider groups including the American Heart Association and the March of Dimes, the group of governors calls on McConnell to support Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray in their effort to find a bipartisan fix for Obamacare, writing that they “have negotiated in good faith to stabilize the individual market” and that “we are hopeful that the HELP Committee, through an open process, can develop bipartisan legislation and we believe their efforts deserve support.”
Sandoval, Kasich, and Walker are all particularly significant since their states have Republican senators who at least like to play at being willing to stand up to their leadership (though only Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has really shown the goods). Mitch McConnell isn’t going to listen to 10 governors and 16 patient and provider groups or to anything but the crusade against Obamacare. But might these appeals sway one Republican senator? That is what McConnell will listen to. He does not want to lose publicly again, and letters like this give fence-sitting Republicans bipartisan cover to do the right thing on this.
We haven’t won the battle to save health care yet. Republicans are STILL pushing to repeal Obamacare. Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to vote “NO” on any repeal bill. (After you call, please tell us how it went.)