Opposition from conservative groups to the House Republican Obamacare replacement bill is loud and fierce, while in the Senate a top Republican is warning that the replacement bill does not have enough votes to pass. The bill is looking nearly dead less than 24 hours after being unveiled.
The conservative group FreedomWorks is attacking four Republican Senators (Portman, Capito, Gardner, and Murkowski) who have already voiced opposition to the House bill.
FreedomWorks national director of campaigns, Noah Wall, said, “Sens. Portman, Capito, Gardner, and Murkowski would be in jail with Bernie Madoff if they had orchestrated such a fraud in the private sector. They have scammed the American people. They supported a strong repeal bill when they knew President Obama would never sign it, and now they won’t support the same language because President Trump might sign it. Show voting on one of the most important national issues to scam constituents of their support is a key mark of being part of the DC swamp. Sens. Gardner and Murkowski even voted for the reconciliation bill which repealed the Medicaid expansion during their campaigns, and now they’re outing themselves as the frauds they are.”
Heritage Action is also opposing the House ACA replacement plan, “In many ways, the House Republican proposal released last night not only accepts the flawed progressive premises of Obamacare but expands upon them. Ronald Reagan once said, ‘Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.’ The AHCA does all three. Many Americans seeking health insurance on the individual market will notice no significant difference between the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) and the American Health Care Act. That is bad politics and, more importantly, bad policy.”
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The Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity is also opposing the bill:
AFP will oppose the House bill replace ACA because it "breaks promises" — not a full repeal
— Tarini Parti (@tparti) March 7, 2017
Meanwhile, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) is warning that Republicans in Senate lack the votes to pass the House bill, “What I don’t like is it may not be a plan that gets a majority votes and let’s us move on. Because, we can’t stay where we are with the plan we’ve got now.”
If the current ACA replacement bill comes up for a vote, it is questionable that it will survive the House, and the legislation looks definitely dead in the Senate as it is currently written.
Republicans have managed to set a new record by turning on each other so fast that they managed to virtually a piece of major legislation in less than 24 hours.
The Republican Party is collapsing under the weight of a dysfunctional president who provides zero leadership and a deeply fractured congressional majority.
Paul Ryan may have delivered an Obamacare replacement, but it looks to be dead on arrival.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
