Memo: REPUBLICANS SHOULD GO ON OFFENSE TO REPEAL OBAMACARE

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To:                          Interested Parties

From:                    David McIntosh, President. Club for Growth

Date:                     June 19, 2017


 

OVERVIEW

Recent polling demonstrates that Republicans can turn the healthcare debate around and win by going on offense.

The numbers show two things:

    1. General election voters will vote against incumbent Senate Democrats who continue to support Obamacare; and

    2. If Republicans fail to repeal Obamacare, Republican and independent voters will not support Republicans.

No wonder why Chuck Schumer has gone all out to stop Obamacare repeal and make it look like a Republican failure.  Sadly, so far Senate Republicans have played into his hand by being on defense.  It’s clearly a losing strategy to call attention to how much of Obamacare Republicans plan to keep in place— like most of the taxes, increased spending, and costly regulations to name only a few.  Instead, Republicans should be reminding voters why they rejected the seriously flawed Obamacare legislation in the first place.

Republicans can turn the debate around and once again make repealing Obamacare a winning issue for them.  The key is focusing on how harmful Obamacare is for Americans and how Republican free-market principles will improve health insurance across the board.  Here is how to do it:

  • REMIND VOTERS JUST HOW BAD OBAMACARE IS:  Instead of debating pre-existing conditions – the House bill still requires that they be covered – talk about the mandates Obamacare imposes.  Remind Americans of the broken promises, starting with “If you like your plan, you can keep it.”

The debate must be about making health insurance affordable for millions of American families.  Under Obamacare, young people cannot afford health insurance.  They are required to either pay exorbitant amounts for coverage or if they forgo coverage, they are punished by having to pay higher taxes.  Obamacare mandates also are forcing many small businesses to cut back on the number of employees they can hire.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • POLLING SHOWS VOTERS STILL HATE OBAMACARE: In two recent Club for Growth surveys, nearly 60 percent of all general election voters in both West Virginia and Montana said they are “less likely” or “much less likely” to vote for incumbent Democratic Senators who support Obamacare.  Among solely independent voters in Montana and West Virginia, the percentage of independent voters who said they are “less likely” or “much less likely” to vote for incumbent Democratic Senators who support Obamacare remains close to 60 percent.

For example, the question asked Montana voters whether the following information would affect their vote:

Jon Tester supported Obama’s healthcare bill with its higher taxes, mandatory funding for abortions, and higher insurance premiums, costing Montana taxpayers millions of dollars on a failed government program that has increased insurance premiums in Montana by forty-four percent.

These results show that Republicans can win the Obamacare repeal debate when they remind voters of its many flaws.

  • DEMOCRATS LOSE GROUND WHEN THEY ARE FORCED TO DEFEND OBAMACARE:  The surveys also show that Democrats pay a price at the polls for blocking Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare with a system that will make health insurance more affordable.  Over 50 percent of all general election voters in both West Virginia and Montana – Democrats, Republicans, and independents – say they are “much less likely” or “less likely” to vote for the incumbent Democratic Senator if he or she opposes the effort to repeal Obamacare.  Among independent voters, roughly 45 percent in West Virginia and 50 percent in Montana say they are “much less likely” or “less likely” to vote for the incumbent Democratic Senator if he or she opposes the effort to repeal Obamacare.

For example, the question asked Montana voters whether the following information would affect their vote:

Jon Tester continues to defend Obamacare even though he admitted there were “plenty of mistakes with the Affordable Care Act,” and 4.7 million Americans have had their private insurance cancelled by Obamacare.

  • VOTERS REJECT REPUBLICANS FAILURE TO ACT:   Other surveys show that Republican Senators and Representatives who are up for reelection in 2018 will also pay a price – thus endangering their majority in both chambers – if they do not repeal Obamacare.  Ten percent of likely Republican voters say they will not reelect Republicans if they don’t fully repeal Obamacare.

THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES

What’s crystal clear is that with majorities in both houses of Congress as well as a Republican in the White House, Republicans will have no excuses if they fail to repeal Obamacare.  Even more sobering for Republicans should be the data that shows a whopping 50 percent of independent voters will not vote for Republicans if Obamacare remains the law of the land.

Now we know why Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are fighting so hard to block repeal.  They will continue to pound the table and seek to put Republicans on defense about issues that have already been taken care of (Read the House bill, it retains the Obamacare protection for pre-existing conditions).

The last thing that the liberals want is to be forced to defend the failure that is Obamacare.  Republicans will win if they can successfully shift the debate.  Republicans need to be on offense and demonstrate how repealing Obamacare and its mandates will make health insurance more affordable for all Americans.  Democrats are betting on Republicans in the Senate losing their resolve, and walking away from the repeal effort.  If Republicans don’t change course and go on offense, it’s increasingly likely that Democrats will win in 2018.

REPUBLICANS MUST GET ON OFFENSE TO REPEAL OBAMACARE 

But it’s not too late.  Congressional Republicans still can—and should—control their own destiny.

  • Make the bill all about helping the millions of Americans who lost their health insurance and are having to pay ever-skyrocketing deductibles and premiums if they want to keep their health insurance.
  • Talk about how the bill repeals the mandates and tax increases that have crushed small businesses and eliminates the exemption for Congress from Obamacare.
  • Stay away from wonk-ish debates about CBO numbers and imaginary losses of healthcare – we all know Americans will continue to receive excellent healthcare.
  • Show how the Republican bill will bring down health insurance premiums – if you can’t show this, have you really repealed Obamacare?
  • Most of all show that Republicans are working for the American people and will keep their promises after they have been elected.