DO-NOTHING CONGRESS: Republicans Fail In Second Attempt To Repeal Obamacare.

Late on Thursday night, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy confirmed that, as expected, the GOP leadership would not bring up a revised ObamaCare repeal bill to the floor this week, after it became clear Thursday night that the 216 GOP votes needed to pass the healthcare bill had not materialized. At least 21 Republicans had come out against the bill, with many more undecided. Leaders can only afford 22 GOP defections.

After a two-hour meeting in Speaker Paul Ryan office in the Capitol, McCarthy told reporters that the GOP had again failed to whip enough support for the bill: “we are not voting on healthcare tomorrow or Sunday.”

He promptly then downplayed the adverse healthcare development, saying leaders had been discussing the short-term stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown.

“We’ve been making great progress, and when we have the votes we’ll vote on it.” Just not yet.

So yes, another embarrassing failure for the president and House speaker.

In 2009, the Democrats set out to “fundamentally transform” health coverage, and were willing to sacrifice the House to get it done. They assumed, and apparently rightly so, that the ratchet effect would remain in full force and that the Republicans would never dare undo what they had done.

Until the GOP is as bold, they will continue to fail. Embarrassingly.