From Jonathan Bernstein:
The repeal and replace bill is, finally, out.
The reviews (see this morning’s Early Returns for links) from both liberals and conservatives were … well, are you familiar with the critical reaction to “The Phantom Menace”? “Howard the Duck”? Let’s just say that the enthusiasm was severely constrained.
After all, the bill will almost certainly mean fewer people are covered, with poor and lower-middle income folks losing out. So liberals aren’t going to like it. Much of the structure of the Affordable Care Act remains, so small-government conservatives aren’t going to like it.
In other words, it’s not exactly designed to pass and become a law that actually works. Speaker Paul Ryan might get the necessary 218 Republicans to close their eyes, hold hands, and jump over a cliff in order to get the bill to the Senate. It’s still unlikely that the bill will pass in the Senate, where Republicans have a much slimmer majority.