Whoops...
G.O.P. House Candidate in Montana Is Caught on Tape Praising Health Bill
WASHINGTON — When Greg Gianforte, the Republican running for an open House seat in Montana, was asked on Thursday whether he would have supported the bill repealing the Affordable Care Act that passed the House that day, he declined to answer.
“Greg needs to know all the facts, because it’s important to know exactly what’s in the bill before he votes on it,” said a spokesman for Mr. Gianforte, who is running in a special election for the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
But on the same day, during a private conference call with Republican-leaning lobbyists in Washington, Mr. Gianforte offered a more supportive view of the health bill. Making the case for the “national significance” of the Montana election on May 25, Mr. Gianforte said: “The votes in the House are going to determine whether we get tax reform done, sounds like we just passed a health care thing, which I’m thankful for, sounds like we’re starting to repeal and replace.”
Mr. Gianforte’s attempt to appeal to two different audiences — Montana voters skeptical about the House’s repeal bill and Washington Republicans eager to undo President Barack Obama’s signature domestic accomplishment — illustrates the complicated politics surrounding the health law. While Republicans expect their elected officials to fulfill their longstanding vows to tear up the Affordable Care Act, the broader electorate is uneasy about abandoning the law’s protections and benefits it has come to depend on.
Even in Montana — a Republican-leaning state on the presidential level, but which still elects Democrats statewide — it appears no longer politically safe in the heat of a campaign to offer full-throated support for repealing Obamacare.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/us/p ... -bill.html
The other immediate beneficiary of the politically idiotic Health Care bill vote in the House should be Jon Ossoff in the Georgia special election; this may be what he needs to juice Democratic turnout enough to pull it off...
And looking down the road:
Cook Political Report shifts ratings for 20 GOP members after healthcare vote
The Cook Political report, one of the highest-profile political prognosticators, shifted ratings for 20 Republican House members in the wake of the American Health Care Act's passage on Thursday, giving Democrats a boost in their push to take back the House in 2018.
Three GOP members shifted from "lean Republican" to "toss up" categories — Reps. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., Steve Knight, R-Calf., and Jason Lewis, R-Minn., — while 11 moved from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican." An additional six lawmakers moved from "solidRepublicann" to "likely Republican."
Six Republican-held seats sit in the "toss up" category while the "lean Republican" category swelled from seven to 18 members. There are nine "toss up" seats listen in total — six of which are held by Republicans.
Among those who sit in the "toss up" or "lean Among those who sit in the "toss up" or "lean Republican" districts, five voted against the AHCA on Thursday — Reps. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., Will Hurd, R-Texas, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Leonard Lance, R-N.J., and Coffman. Among those listed, Lance and Coffman saw ratings changes.
During and after Friday's vote, Democrats on the House floor chanted "na na na na, hey hey, goodbye," in reference to their hope that Republicans who voted for the bill are voted out of office in 2018 and give Democrats an opportunity to retake the House.
Senators revealed that they do not plan to take up the American Health Care Act and will, instead, write their own bill.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/cook- ... r-20-gop-m
