Dems target swing-district House GOP on health care
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Democrats used a bus emblazoned with the words “Drive for our Lives” to gin up opposition to vulnerable House Republicans who voted against Obamacare with the aim of upending the GOP’s majority in next year’s midterm elections.
The vote to repeal and replace the Obama health care law looms large for 21 GOP lawmakers, including Iowa Reps. David Young and Rod Blum. They represent competitive congressional districts where Democrat Hillary Clinton won or came close in last year’s presidential election.
The collapse of the yearslong Republican quest to dismantle Obamacare has been a bitter pill for House Republicans who voted for the legislation in May only to see the drive fall apart recently in the Senate when the GOP failed to muster enough votes.
Now all that some lawmakers have to show for the politically tough vote is the word “mean” — President Donald Trump’s description of legislation that would have made deep cuts in Medicaid, allowed states to opt out of coverage for essential benefits and knocked 23 million Americans off insurance.