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New From Olbermann: A Timeline of Treason

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makeitstop7/19/2017 9:28:59 am PDT

House Rs are pissed, and taking shots at Senate Rs. Good.

House Republicans who took a tough vote to repeal Obamacare late last spring are steaming mad that the Senate has failed to follow suit— and worried it has left them in the lurch heading into tough midterm elections.

A number of GOP members from swing districts stuck their necks out on a bill they knew was politically toxic to move forward with their party’s long-promised efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act, in the hopes that the Senate could return a more palatable alternative. Following the chaotic collapse of parallel efforts in the Senate they face the worst of both worlds: backing unpopular legislation that will be weaponized against them in next year’s campaigns without the benefit of seeing it become law.

Even House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) admonitions to his members during a closed-door Tuesday meeting not to rip into their Senate colleagues weren’t enough to keep them quiet.

“We agreed that there was not much use in criticizing the Senate while they were going through their process and I agree with that. I just find it interesting to note the number of geniuses serving in the United States Senate,” Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) told TPM, after a long pause and a deep breath, when asked how he was feeling Tuesday evening. “Politically it all still needs fixing whether the Senate does nothing, whether we walked the plank or whatever.”

After an extended diatribe about the process and all the “bovine scat flying around” on the policy debate, Amodei walked away — only to return to admit he was “pissed” at how the Senate dropped the ball.