There was nothing to appreciate about McCain. He was not a "war hero", which means doing something exceptional to further the fighting of a war to win. He was a prisoner of war who has made sacrifice his life theme. He even boasted that he could have gotten out because of his father's position but chose to stay and sacrifice more. In one of his presidential campaign "debates" with Obama, they held a love fest talking back and forth each outdoing the other in extolling sacrifice.

His dishonest reversal of his Senatorial election campaign promise to repeal Obamacare is only the latest in his ultimately always going back to his basic principles of demanding sacrifice and expecting people to like it.

Government control of health care is much worse than the accompanying inevitable corruption. Altruistic egalitarian nihilism dragging us all down to a lowest common denominator and government control and restrictions on what we can do for our own health is wrong in principle.

Not even the god part of zilla will change Washington.

Being very old, I hear you loud and clear. The good thing about being this age is that death is usually quick and no one works too hard to save you, (He had a good life). I am fortunate, that while I have not escaped the ills of old age, all the costs and red tape have been taken care of so that children won't be bothered by it.

McCain's run for president was just a bad joke. If I heard him say "my friends" one more time, I was about to puke.

Triffids! I say, Triffids!!! That is the only Congress can be cleared out. We can't wait for 2018 elections. They will probably be contested by the Dims.
Pray for Triffds!!!!!! My wife just mentioned that Godzilla just meandered across the the yard. I will try to lasso him and ride him to DC to take care of business.

I still think our system of gov't be better poka-yoked (idiot-proofed). With any system, if someone's determined the break it, they will. But systems should be as robust against operator error as possible. My thought is there is some way to add checks and balances that work, some structures that require a larger majority to spend money or increase power than to cut spending.

McCain has the power to bore everyone to death. He's been a waste of energy for 40 years. That the GOP ran him for president should have made it obvious that the GOP is led by traitors.

Seems simple stupid to me...if I had been a much better person in my teenage years I would be happy to go to unwashed-ington a teach em "simple stupid" stuff!

For years I have tried to revere the man who endured more than I could ever dream of. I have finally had to conclude that he's a maggot who has lots of determination and endurance.

Tried that. In today's society, when you try to organize from a strictly moral basis you find that you reach a point where you become an annoyance, sort of like 7th Day Adventists. Unless there is a giveaway included success is not to be had, and like this most excellent gulch, with all due respect, we are just talking to one another.

You nailed them.The great disappointment is McCain. If he would have been able to rise above the insults of Trump, he would have gained superhero status.

Being 70 years of age an remembering The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy on prime time TV before it was even called that, I'm pretty sure I didn't.
There was virtually no TV before that I'm told.
Some movie I can't recall revealed that Hitler had the first TV broadcast and only space aliens saw it since almost all Germans ha no TV sets.

Volition is the key to mankind.

There are always intended and unintended consequences of any legislation. It is in the governments best interest to have healthy people alive and sick people dead. I too have had my premiums and deductibles rise to the level of absurd ($32,000 per year for mediocre coverage). If / when I ever get really sick it will be better for my family for me to die than face bankruptcy. Intended consequence?

Mankind's glory and downfall can be expressed in one word. That word is: Volition.To be or not to be, to do or not to do, to do evil or good. Only humans have those options to the extent that they do. That is why among all other living creatures there is no such thing as evil. They remain true to their natures , they have no choice.

Bingo.

McCain should still be in jail from his S&L crisis actions. He is an insult to maggots.

We get what we allow. Until Americans, the vast majority that actually are paying the Republics bills, decide as a group they have had enough of the obvious BS coming from all but a very few elected officials and show up - not call, not e-mail, show up at the offices of their reps & sens to DEMAND they do as the voters made clear their wishes, nothing will change. We will continue to hear the platitudes and outright lies from this entrenched congress, until we perform our responsibility as the employer and force compliance of our employees, we will continue to be ignored. It is not difficult, find the donors, the businesses they run, the fundraisers and the home address of your "voice in D.C."and show up over and over - know 5 people that agree with you - 10? Take them with you. Too hard to do? The only other option is acceptance, both of the situation and the blame for our unwillingness to act.

As has been said many times, in a democracy/republic, the people get the government they deserve, because they're guilty of voting for the weasels/snakes/maggots. Of those Republicans who voted against repeal/replace, Susan Collins is the most reputable, as her stand is consistent with her old fashioned Rockefeller-style liberal Republican beliefs. Murkowski is truly a weasel, since she either voted previously assured of an Obama veto, or she hadn't bothered to ask her constituents how they wanted her to vote before this latest round. McCain is truly a maggot, since he maligned the character of all House Republicans when he stated he didn't trust them to negotiate, and for all his noble rhetoric, voted as he did because he felt Trump had disrespected his hero status.

"the entire system is built upon willing volition, one must also accept that there may be volition to rebel against such and seek for coercive power over others."
As Ben Franklin said, it's a republic, if we can keep it.

how come you're so smart and they're so dumb. I think we need older and uglier legislators.

You sure you didn't write daytime TV scripts in a former life?

"What is the point of having a constitutional republic rather than a democracy"

The real question is better put thus: "What is the point of having a republic rather than a dictatorship?"

Pure democracies only work in small groups where the individuals are properly informed and use a logical/rational decision-making process. When any of those conditions is missing you get mob rule as a result of inflamed passions and/or incorrect information. But if one accepts the premise that coercion against another is immoral, one must also accept the premise that all cooperation in interactions between two or more people must be voluntary in nature, which includes one's capacity and use of intellect to learn and make decisions and to bridle one's passions/emotions. What is the difference between a republic and a dictatorship? The use of force - plain and simple.

"Structure" does not prevent people from making bad decisions. That is the key to understanding any attempt at government. People must choose to live according to moral precepts and accept that they can not force another person to follow. Our nation's Founders took the fundamental stand that individual rights and voluntary choice must be the paramount foundations for this nation, recognizing the foibles of man and their struggles with power. Thus they created a system which encouraged and supported individual rights and voluntary choice and took measures to protect from encroachment upon these principles, but because the entire system is built upon willing volition, one must also accept that there may be volition to rebel against such and seek for coercive power over others.

What you are looking for is the silver bullet that will force everyone to respect natural rights and live accordingly. It does not exist because force and volition are antithetical ideals.

Add nuclear bombs. Close is good enough. Carl, your comments are clear. Chad, right on. "Circutguy", I agree, people are stupid. Let them be stupid.

Half of my mind wants to just go to unwash-ington and just tell em this is what ya all gona vote for, and if ya don't like it...you can just go home.
1...no subsidies for anyone...ins. co's, drug addict co's, hospitals or doctors...ya all gona compete.
(for the liberals in the audience; Competition is two or more individuals or entities dependent upon each other to be the best they can be)
2 ya gona compete across state lines.
3 one's chosen health care plan Will follow them from job to job.
4 all ins co's hospitals and doctors Will use the exact same paper work.
5 all ins co's Will NOT deny coverage to anyone that gets really sick, is out of work or suffers any other economic circumstance until the ins co's put that person into a private donated subsidized plan to get them over that hurdler.
6 An initial moratorium on pre existing conditions will be in effect for 1 year, after that time, if anyone does not have HC coverage and gets or has a PEC will be subject to a 1 year waiting period before coverage for that condition will take place...This is the consumers responsibility.
7 Tort reform will establish a limit on compensation but any person or heathcare org that screws up. The person or persons involved will be liable for what they have done, proven by a court of law.