Dems target GOP legislators in swing districts over vote
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 the Affordable Care Act 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 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.
The bus motored into Iowa on Friday, stopping in Cedar Rapids, the largest city in Blum’s eastern Iowa district.
The black-and-gray motor coach was parked in downtown Cedar Rapids as Diane Peterson urged Blum to listen to his district’s independent voters, who outnumber those affiliated with either major party.
“Of course there are things in the ACA that need fixing,” said Peterson. The 61-year-old Democrat and coffee shop owner from Hiawatha added, “But Republicans now need to reach out.”
While Blum has allied himself with the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, Young angered conservatives when he initially opposed a House GOP health care bill, then weeks later swung behind it. Independents were frustrated with the two-term congressman’s embrace of a partisan approach to repealing and replacing the ACA, also known as Obamacare.
Independents, who hold sway in Young’s politically diverse district, want a bipartisan approach to health care.