If You Want a Single Villain for Today’s Healthcare Vote, Try West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito

As you’ve probably seen by now, the vote to proceed with debate on the mysterious BCRA healthcare bill was a 50-50 tie today, and went forward with the approval of Mike Pence’s tiebreaker vote. The Republicans could afford two defections, and that’s exactly how many there were—Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) were as good as their word, and voted to table the bill without debate.

Now, when we look to cast blame for this, obviously every Republican who voted yes bears equal responsibility. But as of one week ago, it looked like three Republicans would defect. And if you want to pick out one villain, look no further than West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito. A week ago, she tweeted this:

MORE: I will only vote to proceed to repeal legislation if I am confident there is a replacement plan that addresses my concerns.

— Shelley Moore Capito (@SenCapito) July 18, 2017

These were her concerns:

Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito continues to have “serious concerns about the Medicaid provisions” in revised Senate health care bill. pic.twitter.com/brbMU9z5tE

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 13, 2017

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Now, did this new version ensure access to affordable health care in West Virginia, combat the opioid epidemic, protect Medicaid, or take care of rural health providers?

No—and I know that because there has been no update to the last bill! Nobody knows what they’re voting for!

But Sen. Capito changed her vote anyway. She lacked the courage to stand by her word, she folded like a cheap suit, and now this damaging health care bill is that much closer to passing.