The future of ObamaCare is tearing the Conservative majority apart. This situation is reminiscent of what happened in 2009 when the opposition was able to mobilize constituents against perceived overreach from former President Barack Obama.
Republicans in Congress have promised for years to repeal and replace the controversial health care legislation, and now that they are in power, they no longer seem to have the right answers.
Moreover, a backlash is brewing in the country against the idea of repealing a law that affects the lives of 20 million people without a proper replacement.
Constituents have been engaged on social media for weeks, and the energy is now translating into heated town hall meetings with lawmakers. Some elected officials are courageous to face their critics and people who put them in office in the first place.
Others are scared and prefer to skip the whole process and blame the protests and scrutiny on paid activism. President Donald Trump is a fan of this theory under which the people, who are asking congresspeople tough questions at those events, are paid by George Soros to create chaos in the country.
This is an interesting idea, except for the fact that there is no proof to back it up. Additionally, the first Obama administration adopted the same dismissive position and never saw the Tea Party wave of 2010 coming. It changed politics in this country for a very long time.
Trump and his team could be making the same mistake, and 2018 might be a tough wake-up call for conservatives. Conventional wisdom still maintains that they will be able to hold the majority in the two chambers, but a wave election can rarely be predicted so far ahead.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who ran for president last year, is blasting GOP lawmakers, who refuse to hold town hall events because of the negative headlines that might come with the territory.
On Thursday, Sanders told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Outfront: “If you don’t have the guts to face your constituents, then you shouldn’t be in the United States Congress.” He also added: “And if you need police at the meetings, that’s fine, have police at the meetings, have security at the meetings. But don’t use that as an excuse to run away from your constituents after you support repealing the Affordable Care Act, throwing 20 million people off of health insurance, doing away with preexisting conditions. If you are going to do all those things, answer the questions that your constituents have.”
It is a noble statement, but it is doubtful that the other side will listen.
Bernie Sanders: "If you don’t have the guts to face your constituents, then you shouldn’t be" in Congress https://t.co/TySrkSyNcT
— CNN (@CNN) February 24, 2017
