Tuesday, Mar 28 2017
With 2018 Midterms In Not-Too-Distant Future, Each Move On Health Is Politically Fraught
Republicans may be stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to addressing health care. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump hits a new low in the polls after his failure to make a deal on the Republican plan, and ads are already running against a lawmaker who supported the American Health Care Act.
The New York Times: 2018 Dilemma For Republicans: Which Way Now On Obamacare?
As they come to terms with their humiliating failure to undo the Affordable Care Act, Republicans eyeing next year's congressional campaign are grappling with a new dilemma: Do they risk depressing their conservative base by abandoning the repeal effort or anger a broader set of voters by reviving a deeply unpopular bill even closer to the midterm elections? (Martin, 3/28)
The New York Times: The Republicans In Power: From 'We Got This' To 'What Now?'
The new Republican government is in deep trouble.President Trump and his majorities in the House and Senate had hoped to head out for their spring break celebrating the chest-thumping accomplishments of finally gutting President Barack Obama's health care law and installing a conservative Supreme Court justice. They were determined to show the American public: We got this. (Hulse, 3/27)
Politico: Gallup: Trump Hits New Low After Health Care Flop
President Donald Trump's approval rating slipped to a new low Monday in the Gallup daily tracking poll, the first measure of Trump's job performance following his administration's failure to move a new health care law through Congress. Only 36 percent of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president in interviews conducted last Friday through Sunday, a time period entirely after Republicans abandoned their bill to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act. (Shepard, 3/27)
Seattle Times: Reichert Is Target Of Attack Ads Over GOP Health Plan
Via ads on social media and YouTube, a leading Democratic election committee is attacking Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, for his defense earlier this month of House Republicans' failed health-care overhaul. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) launched the digital campaign Monday on sites including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The ads against Reichert are part of a broad effort targeting more than a dozen GOP House members who at one point supported the GOP plan for replacing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. (Lee, 3/27)