Top Republican campaign officials on Friday marked the fourth anniversary of Obamacare’s passage by warning Democrats they will suffer from a lack of credibility among midterm voters this fall because of the health care law’s stumbles and flawed promises.
“I think it’s safe to say that Democrats are going to want to ignore this anniversary,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said. “It’s a poisonous issue for them and we see it all over the country.”
Joined by Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon — chairman of Senate and House campaign committees — Mr. Priebus said there is no way Democrats can retake the House and that the Senate is “slipping away from them” as the Affordable Care Act of 2010 takes root in America.
They said Republican David Jolly’s victory over Democrat Alex Sink in a special congressional election in Florida this month presages more victories this November, saying Democrats cannot run away from the law or try to fix it.
On the Senate side, Mr. Moran said he initially thought the GOP could pick up five to seven seats. Now he thinks they could gain 10 to 12 seats, after millions of Americans saw their bare-bones insurance plans cancelled because of Obamacare.
The GOP view diverges sharply from that of top House Democrats. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who this week said Thursday that Obamacare will be a “winner” in congressional swing districts, even after dozens of her own troops voted in recent months to delay parts of the law.
She noted that more than 10 million Americans have selected private insurance or enrolled in Medicaid through the law or have been able to stay on their parents’ health plans.
“I was proud to work toward its passage in the House and to defend it from fifty-one attempts by Republicans to repeal or undermine the law,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, said Friday. “Democrats will not stand idly by as House Republicans remain focused on turning the clock back on important reforms and patient protections.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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