During a radio interview Thursday, Sen. Sherrod Brown helped remind everyone that Obamacare remains unpopular and that he’s still a hothead.
Pushed to defend Obamacare after bashing the GOP replacement plan, by WTAM’s Bill Wills, Brown tried brushing that law’s failure under the rug. When that failed, he exploded on air and his anger reverberated through each of the station’s 50,000 watts.
Even after seven years, voters haven’t forgotten the promises that were made during Obamacare debate. Asked specifically about promises that Obamacare would lower cost and maintain accessibility, Brown was incredulous. “Wrong!” he shot back at the host. “I don’t know what you were personally told,” Brown shot back at the host, “I couldn’t believe you were told anything.”
But that’s exactly what President Barack Obama told the nation though. Again and again, Obama repeated two promises verbatim. First, he claimed that “if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan.” Second, he guaranteed his plan would reduce annual premiums an “average of $2,500 per family.”
And whether or not he’ll admit it, Brown’s more familiar with these broken promises than most. He endorsed Obama in the 2008 Democrat primary early on and then voted for the subsequent healthcare package next year.
But on air, Brown squirmed under those promises and appeared ready to disregard the Obamacare difficulties of his constituents. When the host asked about families struggling to keep their coverage under the law, Brown responded, “Um ok, you can come up with your anecdotes.” Instead he insisted that the law did more good than harm. “I know the mail I get,” he said, “I know the calls I get, I know the pleas I get from people.”
Later, Brown admitted that Obama’s overly broad promises were a mistake before quickly hedging that “9,000 Buckeyes have insurance.” And that was the last civil moment in the interview. After host asked the senator about Obamacare’s less than transparent passage, the interview turned into a shouting match.
More than an embarrassment, the interview should dissuade any Democrats from thinking it’ll be easy pivoting from Obamacare’s failures to Republicans’ well-documented struggles to repeal it. Democrats like Brown will need to come up with a new strategy in a hurry. Along with 22 of his Democrat colleagues, he’s up for re-election in 2018.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
