Energized Democrats Hope Republicans Sealed Their Own 2018 Fate With Health Votes
Just as the Democrats faced the political ramifications of voting for the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Republicans could encounter their own backlash in the upcoming midterms. Meanwhile, members are facing angry constituents as they go home to hold town halls.
The New York Times:
They Voted To Repeal Obamacare. Now They Are A Target.
For months, protesters have been rallying outside Senator Cory Gardner’s offices in Colorado, urging him not to join fellow Republicans in their push to repeal the Affordable Care Act. When he refused to hold town hall meetings, protesters staged them in his absence, asking questions to a cardboard cutout of him.Now they are escalating their tactics. (Zernike, 5/8)
Politico:
Left Adopts Shock Tactics In Obamacare Repeal Fight
One newly formed progressive super PAC is planning to cart caskets to Republican lawmakers' districts and hold mock funerals for their constituents. Another activist is encouraging protesters to ship their own ashes — should they die without health care —to GOP lawmakers. And other progressive groups are planning graphic "die-in" protests as they work to derail GOP plans to repeal Obamacare. Democrats, already frothing with anger over losing the White House to Donald Trump, are seething anew over the advancing Republican plan to gut Obamacare. (Vogel and Cheney, 5/9)
The Washington Post:
A Lot Of Republican Rhetoric On Health Care This Weekend May Haunt The Party In 2018
It’s important to remember, when considering the Republican plan to overhaul Obamacare, that the only constituency that fervently supports throwing out the Affordable Care Act is Republicans. In the most recent Post-ABC News poll, three-quarters of Republicans supported repealing Obamacare, sure — but 9 in 10 Democrats and two-thirds of independents favored strengthening the existing law. The net effect, then, is that Republicans on Capitol Hill are trying to deliver a long-held promise to their base — while not alienating other voters who might come to the polls next fall. (Bump, 5/8)
Politico:
Maloney Plans Town Hall In Faso's District, As Health Care Fallout Continues
Fallout over last week’s House vote on the American Health Care Act is continuing across upstate New York, with planned protests, new television ads and a Democratic congressman holding a town hall meeting in the district of his Republican neighbor. They’re the latest steps in what is expected to be months of politicking over the bill, which was opposed by Democrats but supported by seven of New York’s nine Republican House members. (Vielkind, 5/8)
The Hill:
House Democrat Plans To Attend Town Hall For GOP Lawmaker
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) is making good on his offer to attend a town hall meeting in the place of a Republican colleague who won't be there. Maloney plans to attend a town hall hosted by a local chapter of anti-President Trump group Indivisible in a neighboring New York district on Monday night in the place of Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), who represents that area. (Marcos, 5/9)
NPR:
At Town Hall Meeting, Republican Lawmaker Gets An Earful
On Monday night, a few days after voting in favor of the House bill to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Elise Stefanik, 32, from Northern New York, held a town hall at a public television station. Stefanik is a moderate Republican in her second term. She's also the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. After refusing for weeks to say how she planned to vote, she was one of a handful of last-minute "yes" votes for the GOP health care bill. Stefanik got an earful about that from her constituents. (Hirsch, 5/9)
The Washington Post:
Iowa Congressman Walks Out Of A TV Interview And Into An Angry Town Hall Meeting
An Iowa congressman walked out of a television interview on Monday, declining to explain why his staff is prescreening constituents who plan to attend his town hall meetings this week. A few hours later, Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa) showed up at his town hall meeting where most of the prescreened audience screamed at him. It was a rough start to a recess week for Blum, a second-term lawmaker representing a swing district that voted narrowly for President Trump last year after supporting Barack Obama in 2012. Blum is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who initially declined to support the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act but ultimately voted last week for the American Health Care Act. (O'Keefe, 5/8)
The Associated Press:
Rep. Raul Labrador Says Health Care Answer Wasn't Elegant
U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador says his answer to a question on health care at a recent town hall in northern Idaho wasn't very elegant. Labrador has received criticism for his comment Friday that no one has died because they didn't have access to health care — a claim disputed by medical experts because they counter that patients without health coverage often risk waiting until their conditions have advanced too far for effective treatment. (Kruesi, 5/8)
The Washington Post:
Obamacare Cost Him A Seat In Congress. Can It Make Him Governor Of Virginia?
An hour after House Republicans voted to gut the Affordable Care Act last week, Tom Perriello released a viral ad that showed him in front of an ambulance being compacted in a scrapyard, shouting above the din that he’d stop Republicans from crushing health care in Virginia if he is elected governor. Never mind that Perriello is competing for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against a pediatric neurologist, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who supports Obamacare as much as he does. Or that the GOP House bill may never become law after the Senate gets to work on its version. (Nirappil, 5/8)
Roll Call:
Blum Defends GOP Health Care Bill But Not Process
Rep. Rod Blum faced his constituents Monday night to defend the Republican health care bill, but agreed with critics who chided the “rushed” process. The Iowa Republican attempted to explain what he viewed as the merits of the bill, known as the American Health Care Act. Though he agreed with one constituent who raised concerns that House Republicans did not hold any hearings on the legislation before passing it last week. (Bowman, 5/9)
The Hill:
Ads Launched To Back House GOP On ObamaCare Vote
A nonprofit allied with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) launched a national ad buy on Monday providing cover for House Republicans who voted for the American Health Care Act. The $500,000 buy from the American Action Network will air nationally and on cable television, including on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” and Fox News's “Fox & Friends.” It will also air in Ryan's Wisconsin district. (Marcos, 5/8)
Morning Consult:
Ad Buy Seeks to Defend Ryan, House GOP After Health Care Vote
After voting to overhaul the Affordable Care Act last week, House Republicans could face upset constituents during this week’s recess. A powerful, conservative group plans to give them some cover and defend House Speaker Paul Ryan. The American Action Network, a group with ties to House GOP leadership and the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC, on Monday announced a $500,000 national ad buy highlighting key aspects of the American Health Care Act. The ad will also run in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, which Ryan represents. (McIntire, 5/8)
Roll Call:
Senate Democrats Find Message On Trump’s Tax, Health Care Promises
Democrats are at a disadvantage with the Republican majorities in the House and Senate. But by pointing out the gap between what Trump said during the campaign and what’s appeared in the GOP health care and tax plans, they are attempting to influence the legislative debate from the outside. Both initiatives have a long way to go before reaching Trump’s desk. But in the shadow of next year’s critically important midterm elections, Democrats in the chamber are on the offensive and looking to portray the GOP proposals as major wins for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. (Williams, 5/9)
The Hill:
Healthcare Vote Puts Heller In A Bind
Thursday’s House vote to repeal and replace ObamaCare puts Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) in the hot seat. The House GOP’s American Health Care Act (AHCA) would largely eliminate ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, which has enrolled hundreds of thousands of Nevadans since 2013. Heller, seen as the most vulnerable GOP senator up for reelection after his state backed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and freshman Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) in 2016, quickly distanced himself from the current version of the bill. (Hagen and Kamisar, 5/9)
