Democrats on Thursday borrowed President Trump’s criticism of the House GOP healthcare bill to bludgeon Senate Republicans’ new proposal to partially repeal Obamacare.
In what was undoubtedly a preview of their party’s 2018 advertising, House and Senate Democrats in a series of floor speeches tarred the Better Care Reconciliation Act as “even meaner” than the American Health Care Act.
“You can put a lace collar on a Pit Bull, and it’s still a mean dog. What we have with the Republicans in the Senate here is an attempt to dust off the edges of the House bill and say this is not as mean,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. “This is still a mean dog.”
The Democratic attack was ripped directly from Trump’s slam on the AHCA. During a recent White House meeting with Republican senators, the president called the House bill “mean, mean, mean,” saying the final product that he signs needs to be “more generous and kind.”
Trump’s comments could be a gift to Democrats, especially in the Senate. The party is defending several incumbents up for re-election in several red states and has only two realistic Republican incumbents to target: Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Dean Heller of Nevada.
The Democrats can hardly believe their good fortune.
“I wish more people were as honest in public as they were behind closed doors,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said. “The Senate bill is meaner than the House bill.”
The attacks could prove potent, even though the Republicans’ House and Senate bills would leave in place many of the popular components of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
In a new poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, only 16 percent of Americans thought the House bill was a good idea; 48 percent said it was a bad idea. The public was divided on whether Obamacare should be repealed: 38 percent said yes, 39 percent no, and 20 percent had no opinion.
Republicans in Congress were unhappy with Trump’s comments and concede that they could be used against them in the midterm if public opinion of their healthcare agenda doesn’t improve, although they were careful not to overtly criticize the president.
The critique was a reversal from the kind words he offered immediately after the House bill passed, when he said during a celebration with Republican members in the Rose Garden that the AHCA was “very incredibly well crafted.”
“I preferred the descriptions of it at the Rose Garden after its passage. Obviously, we knew there were improvements that could be made to it,” Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, said. “We share a commitment with the president to get the best bill we can going forward.”
The Better Care Reconciliation Act is being considered under reconciliation rules in order to avoid a Democratic filibuster.
With Democrats expected to oppose the BCRA unanimously, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., can afford to lose only two GOP votes and still pass the bill. Even then, Vice President Mike Pence would need to cast a tie-breaking vote. McConnell is pushing for final passage by the end of next week, before Congress recesses for July 4.
Before deciding how to vote, most Senate Republicans said they have to read the bill closely — officially it’s a “discussion draft” — and review the forthcoming analysis of its impact from the Congressional Budget Office. But McConnell is already down two votes at least, as GOP senators said they couldn’t support BCRA in its current form.
That’s where Trump, in command of the presidential bully pulpit, should come in handy. His connection with Republican voters and the reach of his voice on social media should help persuade wavering Republicans to get on board.
“I am very supportive of the Senate #HealthcareBill. Look forward to making it really special! Remember, ObamaCare is dead,” Trump said in a Twitter post Thursday evening.
But Trump might be of limited assistance. His heavy hand in the House when Republicans there were debating their bill backfired. Only after Trump receded to the background did House Republicans reach a deal among themselves that led to passage of the AHCA.
Accordingly, Senate Republicans suggested that Pence might be more valuable in cajoling votes than the commander in chief because of his relationships on Capitol Hill and familiarity with healthcare policy.
“He’s going to be more prominent in trying to help get this through than the president is, because he has the direct contacts with the individuals and has dealt with these issues for many years,” Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said.
