The 80-year-old senator was recovering from a craniotomy in Arizona and reeling from the diagnosis of brain cancer, but duty called: He got on a plane and flew to the nations capital to appear on the Senate floor. A frail Senator John McCain entered the room yesterday afternoon to bipartisan applause, captivating the crowd with a rousing speech : Make no mistake: My service here is the most important job I have had in my life. And then he gave the Republican party an enormous win: He voted to open the debate on health care.

Meanwhile, protesters were arrested , journalists fought the Capitol Police for the right to record, President Donald Trump cheered on camera in the Rose Gardenall due to a 5150 motion to proceed debating the Affordable Care Act, as if the Republican party hasnt already been debating Obamacare all day every day since it passed in 2010. Hours later, the GOPs plan to repeal the act, which was rushed to a vote by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (likely looking to capitalize on the partys momentum) itself failed enormously , nabbing only 43 of the necessary 60 votes to overcome a parliamentary objection.

For all the attention he received, and all the drama he created by voting yes for beginning debate, McCains speech was in fact about why the latest Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was actually dead on arrival. I will not vote for the bill as it is today. Its a shell of a bill right now. We all know that, he said. But do we ?

Its increasingly difficult to hold nihilism at bay under the sway of the Trump administration. Hes reigned over this nation for just six months , but every hour seems to bring fresh dramawhether its some Twitter gaffe or a terrifying executive order; whether hes going back on his campaign promises, or making vague assertions that he is, in fact, effectively above the law . Just this week, the president attended a Boy Scout Jamboree in which critics likened his rousing, bizarre speech to a Hitler Youth rally. When an administration cares more about television ratings than its constituents, openly denies the patently obvious as partisan vitriol, and attempts to weaponize the Boy Scouts, its hard to understand what really matters anymore.

Health care matters , because every American citizen has a human body that breaks down sometimes and requires upkeep. Its an easy thing to care about. Except right now, because the constant threats are becoming meaningless, a furious storm of pointless noise, and a solid analogue to any number of fairy tales we share with children to teach them how not to behave. The sky is falling! Here are the political parties that cried wolf!

Should you call your senator now ? Should you take to the streets this afternoon? Should you leave work to stand in the Senate gallery and scream, Dont kill us, kill the bill! as protesters risked arrest to do yesterday? Well, sure. If you want to. But yesterday afternoons vote wasnt the most important one, nor was last nights. Each is yet another failed clone of the same Extremely Important Legislative Attempts (some even get names, like the Better Care Reconciliation Act) to repeal and replace Obamacare, efforts that have been taking place since 2010. The fact is, Obamacares opponents dont seem any closer to providing a new plan, even though they control all three branches of government . As ever, its easier to tear something down than build something new. They seem closer to passing the Free Unicorns for Every Taxpayer Act, not that it makes their efforts any less nefarious.

For the past 17 years, Obamacare has wreaked havoc on the lives of innocent, hardworking Americans, Trump complained in a speech on Monday. Of course, it hasnt been 17 years since Obamacare passed. Seventeen years ago, Barack Obama was a 30-something guy who lost a congressional primary race in a landslide. It just feels so much longer, because the Republicans wont stop fighting against progress. Arent they tired of swimming against the tide?

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Surprise! Yesterday's Dramatic Health Care Vote Meant Nothing - Vogue.com