Industry lobby groups line up against GOP bill, and some Dems think that’s a point against the bill

Here are some of the harsh critics of the bill:

• The American Medical Association (the largest doctor lobby).
• America’s Health Insurance Plans (the largest insurer lobby) wrote a letter of concern about the bill.
• The American Hospital Association (the largest hospital lobby)
• The Federation of American Hospitals

So Paul Ryan and the White House are in the interesting position of fighting off both industry (which largely supported Obamacare) and the conservative grass roots (which uniformly opposed Obamacare).

Entertainingly, Democrats and some liberals are pointing to industry opposition as if that reflects poorly on the legislation.

Here’s the Huffington Post:

And here are the Democrats:

Anyone who has followed politics at all for the past 20 years will recognize the pattern here: Democrats and the Left attack Republicans for being industry shills (a not unfounded charge) and then they do a touchdown dance when industry comes down against the Republicans. This routine played out with Supreme Court cases on Obamacare, on light bulbs, and countless other examples.

For conservatives who dislike this bill, resistance from AHIP, the hospitals, and the doctor lobby might tempt them to like the bill (they should resist). Industry opposition will at least provide grist for Donald Trump’s populist mill.

Timothy P. Carney, The Washington Examiner’s commentary editor, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears Tuesday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.