FuzzyLumpkins
03-09-2017, 02:00 AM
Hard-line conservatives have threatened to upend the GOP’s drive to replace Obamacare, but the real peril may come from a quieter group of moderates.
The two dozen House Republicans who outran President Donald Trump at home — in some cases surviving even as Hillary Clinton won their districts — are now facing a vote on health care that could put their political careers on the line. Though Obamacare has never been widely popular, the law has gained support in recent weeks as Republicans inch closer to repealing it. And the GOP plan to replace it is drawing fire from important constituencies, from hospitals to AARP.
Republican members in swing districts are likeliest to feel the squeeze — and would be taking the greatest political risk to back the president and the party.
“This is a difficult vote … There’s always been concern from our members,” said Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who leads the Tuesday Group, the House GOP’s caucus of moderates. “I watched the Obamacare debate back in 2010, and I saw that their more centrist members were put in a difficult predicament. I suspect the flip happens this time.”
Centrists present a unique challenge for GOP leadership, whose whip team started courting the center-right weeks before the rollout of their health care plan. While most moderates enjoy good working relationships with leadership — many sit on the committees that are crafting the Obamacare overhaul — they may be the least susceptible to pressure from Trump, given his low ratings in many of their districts.
“A tweet from the president for these guys doesn’t have the same impact as it would on [House conservatives] Mark Meadows or Jim Jordan,” said one senior GOP source.
Democrats, meanwhile, are practically daring the swing-district Republicans to vote yes, vowing to make health care the driving issue in next year’s midterms. They’re keeping a list of targets and preparing to run ads against centrists who support the bill.
“When vulnerable Republicans inevitably toe the party line and vote to rip health care away from their constituents, you can be sure that they will be held accountable at the ballot box,” Tyler Law, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
Well aware of the potential blowback, many centrists are refusing to say how they’ll vote.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/obamacare-repeal-republican-moderates-235852
The two dozen House Republicans who outran President Donald Trump at home — in some cases surviving even as Hillary Clinton won their districts — are now facing a vote on health care that could put their political careers on the line. Though Obamacare has never been widely popular, the law has gained support in recent weeks as Republicans inch closer to repealing it. And the GOP plan to replace it is drawing fire from important constituencies, from hospitals to AARP.
Republican members in swing districts are likeliest to feel the squeeze — and would be taking the greatest political risk to back the president and the party.
“This is a difficult vote … There’s always been concern from our members,” said Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who leads the Tuesday Group, the House GOP’s caucus of moderates. “I watched the Obamacare debate back in 2010, and I saw that their more centrist members were put in a difficult predicament. I suspect the flip happens this time.”
Centrists present a unique challenge for GOP leadership, whose whip team started courting the center-right weeks before the rollout of their health care plan. While most moderates enjoy good working relationships with leadership — many sit on the committees that are crafting the Obamacare overhaul — they may be the least susceptible to pressure from Trump, given his low ratings in many of their districts.
“A tweet from the president for these guys doesn’t have the same impact as it would on [House conservatives] Mark Meadows or Jim Jordan,” said one senior GOP source.
Democrats, meanwhile, are practically daring the swing-district Republicans to vote yes, vowing to make health care the driving issue in next year’s midterms. They’re keeping a list of targets and preparing to run ads against centrists who support the bill.
“When vulnerable Republicans inevitably toe the party line and vote to rip health care away from their constituents, you can be sure that they will be held accountable at the ballot box,” Tyler Law, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
Well aware of the potential blowback, many centrists are refusing to say how they’ll vote.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/obamacare-repeal-republican-moderates-235852