“Senate Republican leaders know that chances of passing their health bill are slim, that they depend on preserving some Obamacare tax hikes, and that they probably require flipping the vote of vulnerable Nevada Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV),” according to John Harwood.
“Those assessments, from a GOP strategist familiar with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s thinking, show how narrow a path awaits Senate Republicans when they return July 10 after a holiday week off. McConnell hasn’t given up, the strategist said, but is unlikely to allow debate to extend past July 21.”
Said the strategist: “The odds for them getting 51 votes might be at best one in five. There are limits to what he can do. He is not turning water into wine.”
He added that the week of July 17 is the last one McConnell will devote to the health care debate: “You might lose badly. You might only get 20 or 30 votes.”
