McCain — Heroic, Again

It was an amazing sight, indeed, early Friday morning — when Republican Sen. John McCain bucked his own party and voted “no” on the GOP’s last-ditch attempt to repeal at least part of Obamacare.

It actually may have been more than amazing — it may have been shocking when McCain walked to the dais and said “no” on the so-called “skinny repeal” bill. Two other Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — had already opposed it, so McCain became the third GOP no vote and the one that finally killed the measure.

All this came just days after McCain returned to the Capitol following surgery that led to his diagnosis of brain cancer. Upon his return, he delivered an unforgettable 15-minute speech, telling his Senate colleagues: “We’re getting nothing done, my friends. We’re getting nothing done.”

He lectured Senators on the folly of bypassing “regular order” and turning their backs on compromise. And, memorably, he urged his colleagues to “stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths” on radio and TV and the Internet. “To hell with them,” he said. “They don’t want anything done for the public good. Our incapacity is their livelihood.”

Then came early Friday morning, with the vote on the “skinny repeal” in the balance. For more than an hour, Republican leadership tried to change his mind on his vote. Vice President Mike Pence tried it. So did President Trump. But none of it worked.

McCain — a former prisoner of war in Vietnam — had defied his Republican Party before. But Friday’s vote likely was the one that will be remembered the longest. His vote meant the failure of his party’s seven-year campaign promise to dismantle former President Obama’s signature legislative achievement. It also destroyed Trump’s boasts that he would repeal Obamacare.

It also “saved” health coverage for millions of people who would have lost it even with the “skinny” repeal.

After McCain’s vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer put it bluntly: “John McCain is a hero and has courage and does the right thing.”

Yes, McCain is a hero. Yes, he does the right thing. He is now in the medical fight of his life, and men and women of goodwill must hope that he wins and can continue to serve as the Senate’s last-standing giant.