“Republican Senate candidates are failing miserably in their transparent attempts to have it both ways on Obamacare,” said American Bridge spokesperson Amelia Penniman. “In spite of their persistent pathetic pandering, this year’s crop of GOP Senate candidates is no exception to the decade-long Republican crusade against affordable healthcare. American voters will voice their disdain for such political antics at the polls this November.”
Politico: GOP’s midterm peril: What if they win on killing Obamacare?
By Burgess Everett | August 17, 2018
- “Republican candidates are trying to have it both ways on Obamacare.”
- “On one hand, Republicans are still campaigning against the law, arguing a strong election result will allow them one more shot at repealing the Affordable Care Act with GOP majorities in both chambers. And many high-profile Senate GOP candidates support a lawsuit that would scuttle Obamacare if successful in the nation’s courts, a case that will be heard by a federal judge in September.”
- “Yet at the same time Republicans are still touting the law’s most popular provisions, arguing that after it is struck down they will be able to preserve protections for pre-existing conditions by passing a new bill. GOP challengers in four of the most competitive Senate races support the lawsuit.”
- “‘Sure, anything that’s going to actually get rid of it, yes,’ said Indiana GOP Senate nominee Mike Braun of the GOP lawsuit to gut the law in an interview in Mishawaka. ‘And then be ready to come back and talk about what you’re ready to do about pre-existing conditions and no limits on coverage. That’s where you don’t hear much conservative talk.’”
- “‘I do not have confidence that Congress could put together a bipartisan bill and get it done,’ said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is criticizing the Justice Department for not defending the health care law.”
- “Both Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley and Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) say they support protecting pre-existing conditions, though Hawley is a party to the lawsuit and Cramer supports it, saying: ‘Who doesn’t want the constitutionality of something reviewed?’”
- “The dissonant messaging comes at a time of political paralysis for Republicans who have been fighting the law for a decade. President Donald Trump keeps bringing Obamacare up and zinging Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for voting no on its repeal, but there’s been no real movement to gut the law since the GOP Congress dispatched the individual mandate late last year.”
- “But in Senate races in deeply conservative states, it’s impossible for Republicans to avoid the topic of Obamacare given the Senate’s high-profile failure to repeal the law last year. And some Republicans contend that there may be another repeal opportunity if Republicans beef up the party’s 51-seat majority this fall. Plus two high-profile GOP candidates, Hawley and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia have signed onto the lawsuit.”
- “Hawley says he supports protecting pre-existing conditions as well as allowing children to stay on their parents’ plans until the age of 25. And he says if the lawsuit is successful and Obamacare is scuttled, the Senate must act to keep those provisions and rewrite healthcare laws.”
- “Similarly, Morrisey said he supports pre-existing protection coverage despite being party to the lawsuit that would eliminate the law providing those protections. ‘You can believe that some of the pieces, helping those who need it most, are good but still have a lawsuit to get rid of the awful policy of Obamacare.’”
- “Several GOP candidates have not addressed the issue directly, wary that supporting the lawsuit will undermine Republicans’ stance that they stand to protect pre-existing conditions. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said she still supports getting ‘the whole [Obamacare] thing off the books’ but declined to weigh in on the lawsuit.”
- “And vulnerable incumbent Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) refused to talk about the lawsuit on Thursday, though his office said he support pre-existing condition protections.”
Read the full story here.
Published: Aug 17, 2018 | Last Modified: Feb 1, 2024