GOP Candidates Very Hush Hush About Destroying Healthcare These Days, Wonder Why!

It's like nothing Republicans actually believe in is popular, huh weird.

Know how loser Republican Arizona Senate nominee Blake Masters has been trying with all his might to hide what an anti-abortion extremist he really is? It's amazing, but Republicans around the country really didn't understand how popular abortion rights are, and so when the illegitimate fascist Supreme Court majority they installed destroyed them, they weren't prepared for how pissed off Americans really were going to be.

 Based on the results of special elections ever since the Dobbs decision came down, looks like Americans are prettttttty pissed! So much so, in fact, that the media has basically stopped talking about how there obviously will be a red wave in November. Is it possible Democrats could keep BOTH houses of Congress? Haha, maybe! Cook Political Report just moved some seats toward Democrats. Will they end up moving more?

 Axios has a fun report today on how it's not just abortion Republicans are being quieter about. It's healthcare in general. Gone are the days when Republicans lit up the campaign trail screaming about repealing and replacing Obamacare. It's almost like the stuff Republicans really believe just isn't popular with human beings.

Republicans in tight congressional races are going silent on health care, scrubbing campaign websites of anti-abortion language and in some cases distancing themselves from past criticisms of the Affordable Care Act.

Because the ACA is fucking popular. Because having healthcare is fucking popular. Just like being able to decide not to be pregnant is fucking popular.

Why it matters: It's a marked contrast to vulnerable Democrats, who've been campaigning nonstop on enshrining abortion rights and the Inflation Reduction Act’s health care provisions.

Because the things Democrats believe in are fucking popular. "Hey, we won't screw you and ruin your life" is a better campaign slogan than "Hey, we are going to definitely screw you and ruin your life."

Axios says this "begs the question" — OK, not exactly, Axios, but we're not your English teacher — of what Republicans would actually do with healthcare if they won. The answer is easy: If Republicans take power, they will do whatever godawful terrible things they can get away with, because Republicans don't believe they're actually responsible to American voters. That's why they're so hellbent on stealing power, because on some level they understand they are incapable of winning the American way, where you convince people to vote for you.

So, if they snaked their way into power and didn't focus on destroying Obamacare, that's probably just because they have new fish to fry. Axios notes that the new Inflation Reduction Act extends Obamacare subsidies for three years and also has prescription drug price benefits. They could try to repeal that stuff instead, and replace it with investigations into Hunter Biden's Apple Watch.

Axios tried to get some Republicans in tough races to comment, but says it only heard from Adam Laxalt, the Republican trying to defeat Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada. Laxalt has run against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the past, but this time around Axios says his press secretary wouldn't be real specific about what he thinks about it. Instead they said Laxalt wants to "prioritize reducing costs, expanding choices, and allowing patients to keep the doctor they prefer while protecting those with pre-existing conditions." Sounds totally great and meaningless and unoffensive, guys!

For all the others they tried to contact but got no response, Axios says that in general most candidates' rhetoric has been "dialed back," and a survey of their websites just doesn't show a lot of rah-rah-ing for stealing people's healthcare.

Some examples from the Senate races (bullet points because Axios):

• Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance also hasn't laid out a health care agenda on his website , though he said at a February campaign event that "Obamacare was a disaster" and needed to be repealed and replaced by "something with substance."

• Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker hasn't spoken much about health care, but his website said he wants to increase "competitive market options to ensure that every Georgian has access to quality, affordable healthcare."

• North Carolina Senate candidate Ted Budd also isn't showcasing policy points or saying much on health care since April, when he lamented on a podcast that an Obamacare repeal and replace bill he backed as a congressman in 2017 died in the Senate.

• Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz, a retired cardiothoracic surgeon, has said he'd expand access to private short-term health plans former President Trump championed as an alternative to ACA coverage. CNN reported in March that Oz previously supported federal health insurance mandates and promoted the Affordable Care Act, though his campaign told CNN that stance had changed.

Interesting.

GOP strategist Brendan Buck told Axios that "Republicans have been talking about health care for the last decade almost exclusively around repeal and replace. We found out the hard way that it’s not a winning issue anymore and backed off of that entirely."

Now if they'd learn the hard way that all the other godawful fascist shit they believe isn't popular either, they might be a viable political party for a thriving democracy in the 21st century.

Haha, we are silly with our suggestions, what a bowl of lightly salted NUTS we are!

[ Axios ]

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