#53 - A Moment In Time

It was a single moment in time, but I am hopeful that historians will someday look back through the past and acknowledge that in the history of the US Senate, it was a momentous one.

Senator John McCain, returned to the floor of the Senate this week, just off his surgery for brain cancer, to help Republicans take up votes to repeal and replace the ACA, a position he has personally held for the last seven years.  He returned and cast the deciding vote to permit the process to move forward.  He voted for process. He voted for action. For the Republicans in the Senate, he saved both.

But when the votes were held, first for straight repeal, and then for repeal and replace, they failed, despite the Republican majority.  And so Mitch McConnell, who must have honed his political skills to obstruct and scheme back in grade school, came up with a plan to perpetuate the process.  The so-called Skinny Repeal, which Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called a “disaster” and a “fraud”, was intended to be passed only so that something, anything, could make its way into conference for reconciliation with the House bill.  It was intended to be passed with the promise from the House, that it would never be approved.  Yes, you read that correctly. 

At that point in time, Senator McCain who earlier in the week had called for  a return to Regular Order, a return to conference committee hearings and a return to bipartisan cooperation, decided that, despite the impact to his party and to a position he had personally held, it was time to draw a line in the sand.  Despite the last minute lobbying from McConnell, Vice President Pence and a last minute call from President Trump, McCain had had all he could stand.  Standing ten feet away from Mitch McConnell, with a “thumbs down” sign using his good, right arm, he let his Republican colleagues know that it was time to stop the madness and turn the page.  More importantly, he delivered the deeper message, that it was time to change.

There was a collective gasp in the room on the part of both Democrats and Republicans alike, as the realization sunk in that the fight was over.  And as some Democrats began to clap, they were immediately waved off by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer who understood the importance of the moment but knew, that this was only the beginning.  And this was no time to cheer.  As he would describe it later, the emotion he felt was not about “celebration”, it was “relief”.  And so with this perspective, Schumer rightly focused his praise for his Republican colleague Senator John McCain, thanking him for his leadership, for his call to return to Regular Order, holding out hope that maybe the Senate could return to better times when both sides would work together, and importantly acknowledging that both parties shared equally in the deterioration of their relationship.  

Some might accuse me of being naive, and I would admit it’s a very real possibility, but on this single point, I do hope I am right.  I want to believe that historians will be able to call out this moment as a turning point for our country, that it was so much more than just an important vote on an important topic, that it was the point in time where the leaders of our country did a collective gut check and said, maybe we can do better, maybe we can work together, maybe we can move the country forward.

I like to think that I have always been and always will be, a glass-half-full kind of guy

But still, there is the realization that we still have to deal with, this…

President Trump’s 2:25 AM tweet today:

“Let Obamacare Fail and then we will deal”

There you have it.  Our President, showcasing himself to be the selfish bully he has been all of his life, angry that he didn't get his way, stymied that he can't declare himself “a winner” and satisfy his never-ending ego, is now telling those Americans who depend on affordable health care, “I don't care about you”, solely because, it’s all about him.  It's always been, all about him.

This is the man who claimed he would Make America Great Again.

A few more Americans woke up this morning and for the first time really smelled the coffee and drank their first cup, hot and black with no cream or sugar.  And it began to sink in.  The man who they supported, the man they voted for, the man who promised that he would make America Great Again had to first, be great in his own right.  That man had to possess a moral compass that required him to make decisions on behalf of the many, on behalf of others even if it required extraordinary levels of self-sacrifice. That man has always been John McCain. That man has never been Donald Trump.

So, on behalf of many grateful Americans, thank you Senator McCain. Thank you for showing leadership all throughout your life. It's been one of the better ones in the history of our great country. And it is my fervent hope, that it will be many years before are we forced to celebrate such a truly accomplished life.

And so Mr. President, if you are not going to participate and truly help the rest of us Make America Great Again, the please get out of the way and go home.  However, if you can ever find the strength to really look yourself in the mirror and make the patriotic decision to jump off the Trump Train and climb on board the American one, we will extend a helping hand and help you get there.  It's not too late sir, not even for you.

You may not understand, this is why America has always been and will always be so much more than just great.  This is why our country remains exceptional.