his speech here. laying out what he believes the benefits of this bill and moving the process forward. eventually, he'll wrap things up. that's when we get to the voting. as i said before, we'll have two different votes here. don't get too focused on the first vote. that will be a vote that the democrats will offer up to send the bill back to a committee. that will certainly be voted down. then, we'll have the actual vote on what we're calling the skinny repeal. that's when we finally find out whether or not the republicans have enough votes. and we know the vice president is in the building. that means the vote will be close, no matter what. >> thank you, ryan nobles. i want to tell everyone. you're watching "cnn tonight." i'm don lemon. i want to bring in dana bash, jonathan tasini, margaret hoover, and jason candor. here we are, the moment of reckening. how is this going to go down?

>> our ted barrett, our stealth senate producer says the expectation is, first there will be a vote, that the democrats will get, which is going to be to send all of this back to the committees. which is not going to pass because it's a democratic measure and it will probably be party line. that is obviously to make a point. the point being, this is not doing right -- >> there's john mccain on his cell phone. this is live outside of his office. he's been critical when it comes to this. >> right. let me move on to why john mccain is important on this particular -- want to see if he was going to say anything. on this particular measure. and the answer is because he knows -- been reporting for hours now, the question has been, whether or not republicans like john mccain, lindsey graham, others, who do not like this skinny bill at all. they say it's bad policy. it would be bad if it became the

law. they do not want it to become the law. what they have been looking for is an assurance from the house speaker that this would go to what's known as a conference. the house and senate would come together and find a compromise that is not this, and ultimately, if they can do that, send that to the president. the initial statement that the house speaker put out was not sufficient for a lot of these guys. because of that, lindsey graham, john mccain, and five senators got on a conference call on speakerphone with the house speaker earlier tonight. and they felt better about it. senator graham says he's in. he's going to vote for this, even though it's terrible policy because he has an assurance this not be the law of the land. that the house will bring it to conference, that the house speaker will bring it for conference. john mccain has not yet said. he's a holdout. at this point, every vote

counts. it is a real nail-biter to see how he will go. and not just him, other republicans who have been on the fence about this. >> you missed a call. you probably want to get back to that. >> i saw that. >> so did i. >> i looked at it -- my eyebrows went up. we won't say who. >> what do you make of what dana said and what you heard from ryan nobles? and you saw john mccain get on the elevator. didn't say anything. >> i think republicans have a strong chance to pass this tonight. procedurally, nothing happens in the morning. if this masses, tomorrow morning, obamacare is still the law. this has to go to a conference. this is moving the process along. what goes into the conference, will be the two bills that are different. and what comes out could be much on what we're seeing out of any chamber. there's a lot of focus on the

cbo. that's irrelevant. this isn't going to be the final law. for people that are focused on that, i would almost throw that out. the conference committee is going to come up with different details and provisions. >> still, it is one more step in the process of repealing major health care in this country or -- and replacing it or not. this vote could happen at any moment. we're live again. we saw john mccain go in. this won't be the law of the land now. but certainly, they lose control of it once it leaves the senate. >> no. >> they do. >> there's senators in the conference committee. they have their people in the room. >> the point is, they have to actually -- >> they have a representative. >> they have to go to conference. given the way the house of representatives works these days, even if the house speaker wanted to just send this through the house, getting the votes for that -- he gave the assurance to

the senators they would try. >> they would take the skinny repeal and get it to the white house, and there would be no conference committee. anybody who trusts paul ryan to do what he claims he's going to do, i have swamplands in the florida ever glades to sell them. >> there's a lot of people with short-term memory on how botched an manic the bill was. >> when nancy pelosi, she said people had less than 72 hours to read. we have to pass it for you to figure it out. >> this is a difference -- >> i understand there's a lot of differences. >> a major difference was, there were many, many hearings, it was a very fleshed out. here, there was a process that a bill that nobody had read, no hearings, zero hearings by the republican leadership.

we've watched all this congressional process. usually what happens is somebody offers a bill and says, let's dispense with the reading. they had to read the entire bill when it was introduced two hours now because there were no physical copies in the hands of everybody. >> at least they can read ate. and it is a slimmed down version. it's reforming specific elements. about the individual mandate. we're dtalking about medicare expansion. all our components. there's nothing we can tell right now is new. >> i want to get jason. we don't want to forget you. i hear you trying to get in there. >> they've had seven years to work on this. and this comes down to a couple of things. they have no idea what they want to do. they don't have a better idea than what exists right now. president obama when he left office said, there's some things you can do to make obamacare better. they don't want to do that. they're interested in political

ve vengean vengeance. these folks know -- they know what they're doing is wrong. you know that feeling you had maybe when you're in the middle school and you were about to make a decision that you knew your parents were going to be mad at you. and you're like, i'm going to make it fast before i change my mind? that's what's happening here. they know what they're doing is wrong. it doesn't affect them, it affects all of us. and it's really disappointing. >> is careen there? >> hi, don. >> hi. >> very -- i want to remind everyone, we're waiting for this vote to happen on the senate floor. going to happen at any moment on this skinny repeal of obamacare. >> someone who was in the white house in the obama administration and was around for the affordable care act, it is not the same. what the problrepublicans are d is unusual.

we had hearings, town halls. there were over 100 amendments that were presented by the republican republicans. this is not the same. i remember president obama reaching out to republicans, wanting to make this a bipartisan effort when he talked about health care. and they refused. they absolutely refused. what we're seeing is this bill is being introduced in the dead of night, without republicans themselves knowing what is going on and what's happening. and you have republicans running away from it. all day long, we've been hearing republicans saying, it has to go into conference. or they don't want this bill because they don't want this bill to go into law. this is what's happening now. and we're talking about people's lives. people will die if we repeal. >> scott is taking issue with that. >> here's the thing. there's two choices. you can move this process along, get it to a conference committee and try to make something better

out of it, which is what most republicans want to do. or we can stop the process and kill the seven-year deal for repealing obamacare. >> that is not the option for grass roots conservative. >> i think what people want to do, actually, is what they've said is the third option, which is return to regular order. and every single democrat that stood on the senate floor today said let's go back to the committees and have hearings and work in a way to fix the affordable care act. every democrat including myself has said, the affordable care act is not perfect. the way you improve it is not throwing 16 million people off. not by raising premiums another 20%. it's going back and trying to figure it out. >> that's the skinny part. >> the full one would be much more. >> everyone made this point. no one likes this bill.

not even the people who are passing it like the bill because they're saying they don't want it to become law. >> no one doubts there will be people thrown off in some republican version. millions of people will lose health care. that's -- that is incredibly -- it's sad this is the way you want to treat health care. >> i take so much issue with the notion that yes, republicans aren't agreeing on this. republicans should have consolidated around a central, unified vision after they got the ball. the idea they didn't know what to do is false. the problem is that, there's different factions. strong factions in the center-right or on the right side of the aisle that have different ideas on what to do. they can't agree on what that is. the premise of what a senate market-based health care reform would do are there. the idea is expanding coverage, lowering premiums.

improving health outcomes for poor americans. reforming the medicaid process. >> stand by. how does all of this happen? here we are. no matter how many people like it or don't like it, is it going to pass? is it not going to pass? we heard tammy duckworth say she believes they do have the vote. she's not happy about it. we're live, we're going to watch the vote happen. how is this going to happen again? >> if this happens tonight, the end of the game that republicans have to repeal obamacare. assuming that does pass, there's going to be more toing and froing, and a lot of address work going on inside this conferen conference, assuming the conference happens, between key members of republican party in the house, key members of the

republican party in the senate. and good luck finding a solution and finding compromise among those two factions. in a way they almost didn't do in the house and definitely didn't do in the senate. this is a shell. this is a shell to keep the process going, what they're doing in the senate. the answer to your question is, just because this is going now, doesn't mean that they're going to be able to figure it out. there are alternative ideas. there's people like lindsey graham and bill cassidy and others, with a different approach. not to use the platform of obamacare and fix around the edges. but give a much more republican philosophical approach, like going to the states. that's a big thing they're working on, trying to get the governors involved. who knows if that's going to

happen? but it might be something like that, a game-changer that will be the only way to get these two sides to figure out a way to compromise. >> even with this -- and i think scott said this, it's not a done deal? >> not even close. >> they're trying to keep the patient alive. >> i want to make two points. the second one will be based on what margaret said about it being market-based. i think this gets ignored or not talked about on tv. i think -- and i want to say to the tv, all the credit to this, and the reason we're here about defeating this bill that will put millions of people off health insurance is the credit to the millions of people, the hundreds of thousands of activists, out in the streets, who got arrested, who made phone calls, who wrote letters and went to town halls. you the heroes of this fight. not necessarily the senators of the democratic party. but the activists who hit the

streets. that's why we're at this point. what margaret said on the market-base issue is really important. that's the problem. we cannot solve health care in this country by thinking that this can be based on a market solution. we need to move -- this is something we've been passionate about, to a single-payer, medicare for all system. like every other normal country in the world. i don't want -- let's not talk about yueurope. look at australia. that's run by a central-right government. they have a single payer system. and the amount of money they spend on the health care, gdp is half of the united states. what we have to do in terms of solutions, it may not happen next year. but the support for single-payer, for universal health care, has never been more intense and big -- >> at this point, that's not happening at this point. >> but that's the -- >> we need to talk about what's

happening -- >> it's not about -- >> i need to talk about what's happening here. jason, i heard you groaning when you heard dana -- >> i didn't mean to. >> it wasn't the best metaphor. >> i don't know if it was just about the metaphor. >> it just felt real to me. i apologize. >> what do you take issue with? >> i just -- i don't take issue with anything. when dana said that, she was thinking -- at the time, that's a little too close to home. she's right to think. the problem is, there's a lot of republican senators who don't seem to understand that this is real. this is going to affect real people's lives. and what bothers me so much -- so many things bother me about this. but for years, when they knew there was adult supervision, president obama in the oval office, they would pass a repeal. knowing it would never happen.

and now, in many ways, there is no adult supervision at the end of that ride. now, they are having cold feet. instead of saying, i shouldn't be having cold feet, they should look in the mirror and realize they're having a human emotion. and they're having cold feet because this is a terrible idea and they know it. they should trust that instinct. >> i don't know if it's cold feet or they don't know how to actually move their feet to get to the point and to the place where -- >> it's humanity. >> i think in the policy of it. i think stephen moore is with us. >> we'll get stephen in. karine, what did you want to say quickly? >> the other thing, too, this bill is just unpopular. the republican house bill was unpopular. the senate health bill was unpopular. their constituents don't want

this bill. the reason why is it's not a health care bill. when you're taking people's health care away, whether it's 16 million people or 32 million people, it's not a health care bill. and let's not forget, there were ten governors who came out, bipartisan, and said, they did not want this skinny repeal. and it's one of those things where heller and portman, they need to listen. they need to listen to their governors. it's just completely insane what's happening right now. >> stephen moore, are you still there? >> can you see me, don? >> can you see me now? dana bash is here. and dana has questions for you. >> i have a question because you know this better than anybody on the policy of where the republicans can go to come together, is there an answer? i mean, let's say they get to conference, how are they going to get themselves out of that in a way they barely did in the

house and they didn't in the senate? what do you think? >> you did a great job of explaining where we are in the process. let's assume for a moment that this bill passes. the skinny bill. now, we go to this conference. you're right. there's no way that the skinny bill would pass the house. it's irrelevant if they brought i up for a vote. there's 50 conservatives in the house that would vote against it. you're going to see a conference. and the question is, can the republicans come up with something that gets 50 votes? >> can they? >> look, they have to. or 218 in the house. that might be a harder thing. >> politically, failure is not an option. they have to deliver or they will get decimated in the elections. >> policy-wise, what is the answer? >> they might lose if they pass something. if they don't pass something, they will lose. i want to go back to the point

the gentleman made. what we want is we want a single-payer government-run system. >> it's the only economic sane thing to do. >> exactly. it's worked so well. look how well it worked at the veteran administration. we have a government-run system. is that what we want for the health care system? they will get lousy care. >> can i respond? >> yeah. >> the reason i argue for that is it's the only economically sane thing to do. not just me saying it. warren buffett. the harvard business review saying it. >> quote all of the capitalists. >> why do people when they get sick in canada, come to the united states for care then. >> i think it's -- >> no, it's not. i know dozens of people and i don't know that many canadians. >> i talked to many canadians and they say, our system is not perfect. they say, would you like the u.s. system? would you like to pay the

premiums and the co-pays? not a single canadian does. i lived in australia -- >> they like the canadian system until they get sick. >> it's not going to make a difference of what's happening on the senate floor. this was argued -- >> it's an important point here. >> this was argued during the election. >> bernie sanders did not get the nomination. >> 15 seconds and i'll stop with that for now. it has advanced single-payer and the support for it among the people has advanced dramatically, faster than in 20 years. i'm telling you, it is going to come because we will have no choice. >> go ahead, jason. >> the point here, stephen was saying an honest liberal. we're saying here's what we would do. and you have the republicans in control of everything right now. and they're saying, let's go to conference so we can figure out what to do.

>> you said say that last year. and you're not in the senate voting on this. this was litigated in the election. if obamacare -- if people wanted it, they would have never given republicans control of the government. and yet, they did. >> and 17% of them think this is a good idea. >> if all of us voted on the polls in a moment, nothing would get moment. democrats absolutely swallowed the pill. and they had the courage of their convictions. >> stand by we are going to go back to capitol hill. let's go back to capitol hill now. want to give you a live shot there. they're about to vote on this skinny repeal of obamacare. as soon as that happens, we'll bring it to you live. we have a camped out there. we saw john mccain. he's on the senate floor. i think he had a chat with chuck schumer. not sure what that means. he could be the deciding vote. we'll be back after a quick break. res of sunrises, but with my back pain i couldn't sleep and get up in time.

then i found aleve pm. aleve pm is the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. i'm back. aleve pm for a better am. is america's number-one you kmotorcycle insurer. yeah, she does purr! best bike i ever owned! no, you're never alone, because our claims reps are available 24/7. we even cover accessories and custom parts. we diget an early start! took the kids to soccer practice.

you want me to jump that cactus? all right. aah! that lady's awesome. i don't see a possum!

when this bell rings... ...it starts a chain reaction... ...that's heard throughout the connected business world. at&t network security helps protect business, from the largest financial markets to the smallest transactions, by sensing cyber-attacks in near real time and automatically deploying countermeasures. keeping the world of business connected and protected. that's the power of and.

we're back, now. a live picture of the senate floor where they're about to vote on the repealing -- the skinny repeal of obamacare. dana bash is with me. she's going to help us get through the next couple of hours as they vote on this. this is the last-ditch attempt

to roll back obamacare. and you said -- we'll get to ryan noble in a moment. at this point, if this does pass, it's still just the beginning. they have a long way to go. >> absolutely. and the thing to keep in mind, is it's not as though there is going to be this miraculous consensus. anything's possible. remember, the republicans have been struggling with what to do, about how to replace obamacare without angering the republican governors who have money from this medicaid expansion. who have given it to people in their states. they don't want to give that up. and palancie i balancing that w conservatives who say, we campaign eed for years on repealing obama care and that includes getting rid of medicaid expansion. not that mention balancing that.

and like the idea you can't be banned from getting coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. they like the idea of lots of things in here. but at the same tile, they understand that premiums are going up and things have to be mix fixed. it is incredibly complicated. who knew health care was complicated. everybody did. and it's a long way to pass. if they're successful, it will be a very big deal. but it's not close to end of the road for them. >> where in the process are they? it's going to be two votes. one by the democrats to send it to committee. that's what's happening now. that one is not going to pass because this is a republican majority. >> this is a republican majority and the democrats with the big volt message sending vote, the minority does on both sides of the capitol, when they get a chance. not that they do it.

but they want to get people on record. and in this case, what the democrats want to get republicans on record on. the process has been really not good. and there haven't been proper committee hearings. hasn't gone through the process that it should have. this is a vote to send it back to committee. the bottom line is, it's not going to pass. and the big vote after that. >> sand by, dana. i want to get to ryan nobles, live for us on capitol hill. it's a dramatic evening. protesters there. mike pence arrive to protesters. the vice president has been breaking ties. he broke one earlier in the week to get them to continue on in this process. what are you hearing? where are we in the process right now? >> all of the eyes are on senator john mccain of arizona. and we do not know where -- how he intends to vote here in the next few minutes. we had a camera, we showed you just a few minutes ago, outside

of his office. he refused to tell reporters what his plans were, as he made his way from here in the russell senate office building, where i am, all the way to the capitol. did not tell reporters as he was in the chamber. the reporters have to read the tea leaves for his interactions on the senate floor. he had a conversation with chuck schumer. he talked to john cornyn, who is the majority whip, who spoke on the senate floor. there's some interactions you can read into, if you're looking to figure out where senator mccain intends to go with this. but it's probably just better to let his vote speak for itself. this is incredible, that we are this close to the vote and we don't know if the republicans have the 50 votes necessary to put this over the top. and it is also pretty compelling of all of the people we're waiting to hear from, it is john

mccain giving everything he has gone through, over the past several weeks. the diagnosis of an aggressive form of brain cancer he's dealing with. he came in dramatically earlier in the week, to cast a vote in this health care debate. one of the main reasons that senator mccain is here because he wants to weigh in on the national defense authorizization act. he needs to deal with that before he heads back to arizona for treatment. he is the key figure here right now. watching his every move. this vote starts to take place, the direction he goes in could really decide whether or not the republicans have the votes necessary to pass this bill tonight. >> ryan, i want to ask you about this. even inside the capitol, you can hear protesters outside of the capitol. they have been there all day. greeting the vice president as he arrived earlier. >> yeah. a large group.

for the past month, everywhere you turn, there's been protesters. they've been in the office building. today, they started around 6:00 tonight. there has been a relatively large group of them. they've been loud. they heard from democratic senators who have come out of the capitol to come down and talk to them. they want their voice to be heard. they have a specific point of view. they don't necessarily reflect the entire country. but what they do show us is the passion behind this particular piece of legislation. and rightly so. there's a lot of passion tied up in this. it is something that impacts one-sixth of the american economy. all of us know someone who has been impacted by some sort of health care scare where they had the necessary coverage to help pull them through or they lack the sufficient coverage to help them in that situation.

it's not a surprise that people are passionate about it. the most dramatic moment was when mike pence pulled up in his motorcade to be here. and the screams were as loud as we've heard them all night. they were yelling shame. they yelled shame on you. they yelled kill the bill. there's no doubt that the vice president heard those calls. whether or not it impacts the proceedings here tonight, we'll have to wait and see. >> ryan, i need you to stand by again. we're live here. a dramatic evening, one that will be long for us and the folks in washington, as well. >> i want to report a little bit of the atmospherics we're getting from our producer, who has been in and out of the chamber, ted barrett. he sent me an e-mail. he said the republicans are walking around quietly. many appear to be in the cloak room, the private area behind the senate floor that only senators and key staff can go

in. he said, the few who are on the floor don't look very happy. typically, they would have it more like a cocktail party atmosphere if it was going to pass. having said all that, i want to say -- it is not over. things change on a dime. people in the cloak room could be getting their arms twisted. >> i got you. could it be because they just think this isn't good either way? >> totally. absolutely. damned if i do, damned if i don't. >> it is 12:30 at night. all of the options are bad for these guys. do you take a leap of faith, particularly for the republicans

that there's a concern that what they vote on has a modicum chance of becoming law because it will throw off the insurance markets and it will make people who are in a tough spot even worse. >> they own it. >> yes. that very well could be. and they also just don't know how this is going to turn out. that's a very good point. >> let's interview senator maggie hasan, new hampshire democrat. thank you for joining us. the vote about to take place. do you think the republicans have the vote to pass this skinny repeal? >> we don't know for sure. but it seems as if they have the votes. i heard you talk about the general mood in the chamber. earlier, a number of republican colleagues said what a disaster it was. and senator graham called it a

fraudulent disaster. they know this bill is ba for the american people. it would rip coverage from around 16 million people, kick about 7 million people off of medicaid, and drive costs up and destabilize markets. they know it's a bad bill. they' they said they hope the house doesn't pass it. democrats have another idea, to return to the process that the senate has followed over 200 years and have hearings and come together and make the improvements we know we need to make at the affordable care act. i come at this as a former governor, a mother and a united states senator. i have two children. the oldest of whom has severe

disabilities and medical needs. i know what it is like to be at a bedside and find out that the surgery didn't go as planned and there's a complication. and wonder whether that insurance will cover your complication. i don't think americans want to negotiate with an insurance company at a child's bedside. i hear over and over from constituents from new hampshire and people at the country, trying to speak to senators on the other side of the aisle, about how critical health care coverage is to them, for the safety and health of their children and family members, for their ability to go to work. the ability to care for their parents in nursing homes, covered by medicaid. i wish my republican colleagues would reject this bill and we can get to work on improving the health system. >> this is -- even if this

passes, this is not a done deal. as our dana bash has been saying, it's a long process. theyoncuss. >> they hope they wouldn't pass the bill. but he said he wanted to get it to the house because why would the senators want to own such a bad bill? that's a political analysis. this is about real people's lives. what i think we're seeing is that both chambers want to make the other chamber take it on. and i am very, very concerned, you know, the speaker of the house would not say that the house would not pass the bill. and i am very, very concerned that once it gets over there, they're going to go ahead and pass it just because, right now,

it appears to politics are dominating the day. >> do you make this plea to your republican colleagues personally? >> we've been making this plea since i got here. i got sworn in on january 3rd. on january 4th, the republicans announced they were going to do this health care bill without democratic participation. and we have been asking them -- i'm on the health committee. that has jurisdiction over this policy. and we have been asking at every meeting to participate. we have put forward ideas. we offered bills. we asked republicans to join us on them. and we will keep asking until the very last opportunity because people's health, well-being, their lives are at stake.

and the idea to put an ideal in a democracy. >> if this doesn't pass and it just fall as -- apart -- just g for it with a second. if you're a governor from a purple state, it's in your blood to work across the aisle, and you've been there for six months, knowing the atmospherics where you are, do you think there's any real possibility, that democrats and republicans can start together and figure out a way to find a bipartisan solution here? >> there's lots of ways to strengthen our insurance markets and work for a bipartisan solution. i never give up hope for that. the people in new hampshire and

across the country solve difficult problems together every day. and i am confident in our capacity to do that if we listen to the people we represent and put them first. i'm looking for that. and i hope that as my republican colleagues continue to analyze this bill, whatever happens tonight, i am hoping that we can get back to a point where we are putting the health care and the productivity and our country's economy the irs. >> senator maggie hassan, thank you for your time. we appreciate it. we know it's a busy night for you. we want to get back to what's happening on the senate floor. they're voting to send this to committee. this is not going to pass. the two key players in all of this, john mccain and lindsey graham, some color behind the scenes of what's happening

there. >> we can only see what the senate cameras send out. but our team on capitol hill, they can be in the clahamber an see what the cameras don't capture. some of the color going on, is john mccain, who as you said, is going to probably be the linchpin here, whether or not he will vote yes or no. for a little while, he was sitting by himself in his chair and kind of sitting there, not talking to anybody, while the republican leadership was sudled, trying to figure out what is going on. he's been joined by others, like his colleague from arizona, jeff flake. lisa murkowski, another critical vote. we'll see how she ends up on this.

she was one of two republican senators that voted no. they're voting on a democratic pressure. but as what happened, as they're on the floor, that's when final arm twisting happens. >> is it fair to say the general mood there is -- you know, as you said earlier, it sounded like they weren't happy about it. mccain and graham were sitting alone. graham's phone rang and he left for a minute. i'm not sure what that means. no republican senator would approach mccain while he was there to talk to him. and he sat alone. in the meantime, the leadership is having a serious huddle. mcconnell, blunt and cornyn. >> drama. high drama. i would say high noon. >> high midnight. >> high almost 1:00 a.m. it is high drama to see how this is going to go down. if this fails, this is the

ultimate last ditch to keep this idea of repealing obamacare alive. if this fails, and we have to underscore john mccain, who on tuesday, came in with such drama, wanting to be a part of this debate, after he had brain surgery last week and got a horrible diagnosis, he could be -- he is likely to be the guy who decides whether or not this continues or not. just to bring it back on what will determine that, a big question has been whether or not the senators who do not like -- frankly hate, and are clotloath imagine the bill they have before them, the law of the

land, the employer mandate, and other things without productions they believe will destabilize the insurance markets. to do this only as a process move to get it to conference. he, john mccain, will take the house speaker, paul ryan at his word. that paul ryan promises that they will -- this will not be the end of the road. they will have a compromised discussion. lindsey graham, others, tell paul ryan they take him at his word. john mccain is tbd. >> to be determined. before they switched the shot, mitch mcconnell, marco rubio and to be noted, the vice president of the united states, also in the room. just a little more about what dana is saying, this is behind the scenes as we wait on this vote to happen, on the skinny repeal of obamacare, senator murkowski on one side of mccain

and flake, after talking to pence and cornyn, switched spots with graham. maybe they're trying to get an idea on what mccain is going to go. but lindsey graham said he is going to vote for it, even though he's not happy with it. and murkowski on one side of mccain and flake on the other. a -- caputo is on the dem said, talking with cantwell. >> it's just the color, the personal drama and the interpersonal relationships these senators have is fascinating to me. it's more interesting to watch moments like this, to see how they get along. it's not just about that. it's about how they are approaching the key undecided voters and whether there's anything that the leadership can

do. in this case, the vice president of the united states of america, who is the president of the senate, to change minds. >> dana bash. all right. stand by. that's a drama. this keeps continuing on, as we understand. john mccain is in deep conversation with lisa murkowski. she was on the fence, correct? so, again, everyone trying to convince those on the fence, who may have voted no, to come over to their side. >> you see mitch mcconnell on the bottom of the screen. this vote should happen at any moment. whether this is -- >> mcconnell is talking to dean heller, republican of nevada, another very, very important vote. he was barely a yes vote to start debate. another one who has a lot of pressure from his constituents not to do much to change obamacare.

he's in a state, nevada, where obamacare, for the most part, is working, in large part because his governor, brian sandoval, took medicaid in the medicaid expansion. and that's why this whole notion of repealing and replacing has been vexes for dean heller. >> there's lindsey graham in the middle of your screen, coming over to speak with mitch mcconnell. the next step in the repealing of obamacare. we'll carry the vote for you. quick break. we'll be right back. when you have something you love,

you want to protect it. at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. with an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. legalzoom. legal help is here. i enjoy the fresher things in life. fresh towels. fresh soaps. and of course, tripadvisor's freshest, lowest prices. so if you're anything like me... ...you'll want to check tripadvisor. we now instantly compare prices from over 200 booking sites... ...to find you the lowest price... ...on the hotel you want. go on, try something fresh. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices. i was playing golf a couple days ago... love golf. and my friend mentioned a tip a pro gave her.

did it help? it completely ruined my game. that advice was never meant for you. i like you. you want to show me your swing? it's too soon. get advice that's right for you with investment management services.

hey you've gotta see this. cno.n. alright, see you down there. mmm, fine. okay, what do we got? okay, watch this. do the thing we talked about. what do we say? it's going to be great. watch. remember what we were just saying? go irish! see that? yes! i'm gonna just go back to doing what i was doing. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. and here we go. back, now, live on cnn. and cnn's chief political correspondent, dana bash. we're awaiting the senate vote, any moment on this skinny repeal on the republicans' last ditch attempt to roll back obamacare after seven years of trying. you're looking live at the senate floor. we've been pointing out the

folks who are there. they've been walking in and out. who is that in the middle of our screen there. orrin hatch in the middle of the screen. again, this vote will happen any moment, is this the next step in revealing obamacare? dana bash, karine jean-pierre, and cnn senior economics analyst, stephen moore. alice, you have been talking to constituents all day. they're getting lots of calls, as they have been through this entire process. what are they saying. there were protesters, you know, on the capitol hill tonight. >> the protesters were outside the capitol, as vice president pence came, who will cast the deciding vote here. they were shouting shame, shame. they are liberal groups who support obamacare. and they're also a lot of these

groups that are plugging and manning the phone lines and jamming up the phone lines for republicans there here in washington. and please don't repeal and replace obamacare. they will be thrown off. what republican senators campaigned on, what they campaigned on, is telling their constituents, we will repeal obamacare. and president trump did the same thing. a lot of the calls are coming from liberal groups, telling them don't touch obamacare. they are relying on their constituents who elected them into office. and they hope they will re-elect them. a lot of the supporters, i'm hearing from some offices, that their supporters are saying, they campaigned on this for seven years. what is taking so long? let's get this done. it's a mixed bag. more than anything, the ones

that are standing firm and the ones in a have been noes that are now a yes, it's time to act. been given a mandate by the people and that's what they're doing. hopefully, john mccain will move this to conference. we need to continue the conversation. take the timeline, throw it out the window. let's have a conversation on what we can do moving forward. >> this is a motion to send the bill to committee. and this motion fails, right? this is the one to -- it's going to fail. >> i'm not sure if every senator is there, maybe they are holding open the vote, waiting for a final senator. but likely than not, in my experience, they're holding this vote up, which is the precursor to the important vote, as they try to twist arms. and as they try to convince -- at least one more republican senator to vote for this.

and i think at this point, that senator is probably john mccain. >> at this point, they're trying to twist arms. obviously, they don't have the votes. not a good sign. >> it's not. and senator mccain was pretty firm in his concerns about what he was hearing from mark meadows in the house. reached out to him and lindsey graham. and he said our plan in the house is to move this on ahead. and that's not what they want. they want to continue the conversation. and from what i'm hearing, paul line has been trying to reassure everyone they're going to slow down. they want to have more granting to the states. they want reassurance, this isn't just carte blanche to approve what they have on the table right now. they're not confident with what they're hearing. they're concerned that the house is going to move things along. and john mccain said it very eloquently when he spoke the other day. we need to have this

conversation. he would have to have democrat buy in and have a bipartisan health care bill. and he certainly is in a position, now, to make his feelings noenl. and given that he's the holdout vote, people are going to listen. >> apparently all senators have voted. what that means and what you're looking at is stall. this is the hold button as they try to figure out if they can get anybody to change their minds. the flip side of that, the other way to vote on this, they would be voting right now. that means they don't have the votes. >> don, can i make a point? when you look at when obamacare passed, john mccain was one of the severest critics of obamacare. an amazing moment, if he switched to essentially saving that law he was a severe critic

of. if this amendment fails, it's a devastating moment for the republican party. it will take months or years to recover from this, if they're not able to get a go on this thing. it basically said, this is not just a defining moment for now. it's a generational defining moment. this is a big moment we're facing. i'm on pins and needles right now. >> just to give you color and this is part of m.j. lee, an amazing team. john mccain has been in a long conversation with mike pence. also, by way of context, the

vice president, the role of the vice president, as we now know, since he broke a tie vote earlier this year, the president of the senate, you sit and preside. i don't remember a time when the vice president has been in the well of the senate, on the floor of the senate, wandering around and lobbying. that gives you a sense of how high the stakes are and how dire they are. >> do you remember back in the bush years when we passed -- >> that went on for four hours. >> that was back in the day of the hammer, tom delay. there's no hammer anymore. >> thank you for reminding us at

12:57. >> let me paint a little different picture. y'all are doing a great job of painting the picture of what's going on on the senate floor right now, the body language of folks. but at home right now, americans are sitting watching this. and they're not watching it because they think it's great television or great drama, or necessarily it affects somebody other than themselves. they're watching because it might make a huge difference in their lives. what's disappointing, is people like mitch mcconnell, who are thinking like this as a team sport. i can tell you that i know at least some folks, i know, my dad is sitting at home, with lou gehrig's disease. it's going to make a difference for him. my mom is wondering if her cancer will come back. my brother, in school and has his own business, and whose

wife, my sister-in-law is pregnant, is wondering if they lose health insurance. that's what's happening at home for people. that's the picture that americans have as they look around their living room right now. this is real. it shouldn't be treated like a team sport. >> it is real. we understand that. but karine, you know, earlier, alice said that the people who were protesting outside, they were paid liberal groups. there are conservatives who had been protesting, especially at the town halls. and the folks outside of the capital. it's not just liberals, and who are protesting. >> this bill is unpopular. the numbers tell you the story. republicans botched this. they have everything. they own everything right now in washington, d.c. and what we're learning is that they can't govern. they were supposed to give us something better than obamacare.

that's what they told their constituency. that's what they told everyone. they haven't been able to do that. and obamacare is popular. people want to keep health care. they want protections for their pre-existing condition. and that's what we're seeing right now. as to the protesters, look, i was out there, at the capital, when the mtp was voted on, the motion to proceed. there was a protest out there. and i got to talk to everyday people who came out with their kids, who are sick. how is this going to affect their lives? this is really real. people are concerned able how they're going to live. you hear the protesters out there when ryan is talking, those are the people who are out there.