As a way to highlight the human consequences of today’s GOP vote to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, Rachel Maddow interviewed two people who had previously confronted their Republican member of Congress to ask them to oppose the legislation that passed the House today.
In both cases, the constituent making the plea had personal and life-and-death reasons they needed their representative to protect Obamacare.
In one instance, though, a woman with a brain tumor begged her GOP Congressman – John Faso of New York – to protect her health care and vote against this legislation, and he promised he would.
Here’s that video from earlier in the year:
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When the woman asked him to promise “as a human being” that he will not take her health care away from her, he responded, “I promise,” before embracing her in a hug.
Fast-forward to today’s vote, and you’ll find Faso’s name among those who voted in favor of the GOP health care legislation, which would kick millions off their insurance and make it harder, if not impossible, for Americans like this woman to get the care they need to survive.
She appeared on Maddow’s show, saying that she “really thought and hoped that he would not vote to repeal the ACA based on that promise,” but was saddened by his decision.
Video:
No surprise: GOP congressman votes in favor of Trumpcare after promising his constituent – a woman with a brain tumor – that he wouldn’t pic.twitter.com/Wzr13bSTg4
— Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) May 5, 2017
It’s one thing to tell the folks you represent that you disagree and plan to vote in favor of a piece of legislation that they oppose. It’s a whole other level of disgusting to look your constituent in the eye – especially a woman with a brain tumor – and tell her that you would protect her when it mattered, just to break that promise when you’re not in the same room as her.
At the end of the day, these are the stories that matter. These are the people that 217 Republican members of Congress turned their backs on today.
Those in the U.S. Senate still deciding whether to support this legislation should think of her before they cast their vote. And the rest of America should remember this day when voting in next year’s midterm elections.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
