Post by Jessiealan on Apr 21, 2018 3:06:42 GMT -5
By Peter Sullivan - 04/20/18 06:06 AM EDT
GOP in retreat on ObamaCare
TheHill.com
Republicans are retreating from calls to repeal ObamaCare ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
Less than a year after the GOP gave up on its legislative effort to repeal the law, Democrats are going on offense on this issue, attacking Republicans for their votes as they hope to retake the House majority.
Antonio Delgado, a Democrat running for Rep. John Faso’s (R-N.Y.) seat, is running an ad saying Faso broke a promise to protect people with pre-existing conditions.
Faso voted for the House’s repeal bill in 2017. He says his message on ObamaCare is “keep what works, fix what doesn't.”
The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.
Rep. Tom MacArthur, a New Jersey Republican who spearheaded a compromise that helped push an ObamaCare repeal bill through the House last spring, is also playing defense. He is in a competitive race in a district rated as lean Republican by Cook.
Asked if the GOP should push forward with ObamaCare repeal, MacArthur replied: “I am focused on improving healthcare in any way we can; I'm not looking to tilt at windmills.”
ObamaCare’s favorability in polls has improved since the repeal push last year, with more now favoring the law than not. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in March found that 50 percent of the public favors the law, while 43 percent holds an unfavorable view.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell said the political winds have shifted on the issue, turning ObamaCare into a subject Democrats want to tout and many Republicans want to duck.
“I don’t think it’s seen as a winning issue,” he said. “It’s also an issue that tends to fire up the Democratic base more so than the Republican base.”
Republican supporters of repeal argue the House is paying for the Senate GOP’s sins.
While Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), with the help of lawmakers such as MacArthur and Faso, was able to muscle through ObamaCare repeal legislation, it died in the Senate.
That’s a bigger factor than shifts in the law’s popularity, said Michael Steel, a former aide to former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
While “there’ve been some incremental improvements in the popularity,” he said, “I think the legislative record is the bigger factor.”
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) likewise argued that “the Senate has sabotaged the issue.”
Democrats argue they have the wind at their backs on health care, pointing to polls like a CNN survey in February that found 83 percent of voters rate health care as important to their vote, above the economy or taxes.
more
thehill.com/policy/healthcare/384032-gop-in-retreat-on-obamacare
GOP in retreat on ObamaCare
TheHill.com
Republicans are retreating from calls to repeal ObamaCare ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
Less than a year after the GOP gave up on its legislative effort to repeal the law, Democrats are going on offense on this issue, attacking Republicans for their votes as they hope to retake the House majority.
Antonio Delgado, a Democrat running for Rep. John Faso’s (R-N.Y.) seat, is running an ad saying Faso broke a promise to protect people with pre-existing conditions.
Faso voted for the House’s repeal bill in 2017. He says his message on ObamaCare is “keep what works, fix what doesn't.”
The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.
Rep. Tom MacArthur, a New Jersey Republican who spearheaded a compromise that helped push an ObamaCare repeal bill through the House last spring, is also playing defense. He is in a competitive race in a district rated as lean Republican by Cook.
Asked if the GOP should push forward with ObamaCare repeal, MacArthur replied: “I am focused on improving healthcare in any way we can; I'm not looking to tilt at windmills.”
ObamaCare’s favorability in polls has improved since the repeal push last year, with more now favoring the law than not. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in March found that 50 percent of the public favors the law, while 43 percent holds an unfavorable view.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell said the political winds have shifted on the issue, turning ObamaCare into a subject Democrats want to tout and many Republicans want to duck.
“I don’t think it’s seen as a winning issue,” he said. “It’s also an issue that tends to fire up the Democratic base more so than the Republican base.”
Republican supporters of repeal argue the House is paying for the Senate GOP’s sins.
While Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), with the help of lawmakers such as MacArthur and Faso, was able to muscle through ObamaCare repeal legislation, it died in the Senate.
That’s a bigger factor than shifts in the law’s popularity, said Michael Steel, a former aide to former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
While “there’ve been some incremental improvements in the popularity,” he said, “I think the legislative record is the bigger factor.”
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) likewise argued that “the Senate has sabotaged the issue.”
Democrats argue they have the wind at their backs on health care, pointing to polls like a CNN survey in February that found 83 percent of voters rate health care as important to their vote, above the economy or taxes.
more
thehill.com/policy/healthcare/384032-gop-in-retreat-on-obamacare
