Obamacare Supporters Scare Colorado Republican Away, Hold Gross 'Cough-In' At Trump Restaurant

Bravely taking to his feet / He beat a very brave retreat

You probably heard about -- or if you didn't have the bubons like some of us did, actually attended -- the protests held all over the country this weekend to show support for the Affordable Care Act. There was a really big one in Michigan, with Chuck Schumer, Debbie Stabenow, Gary Peters, and that Bernie Sanders guy, as well as smaller rallies and meet-your-congresscritter events here and there. A special shout-out goes to the good people of Aurora, Colorado, where about 100 people showed up at the public library to ask questions of Republican congresschicken Mike Coffman, who left early rather than actually talk to his constituents.

One of the attendees, Berthie Ruoff, had some pretty pointed questions for Rep. Coffman, like how was she supposed to afford health insurance once the ACA is repealed?

"I am potentially going to lose my health insurance. I've had a preexisting condition. I've had breast cancer. What's going to happen to me?" Ruoff said. "My spouse who had health insurance passed away. What do I do? You know, what am I supposed to do?"

Silly lady, you are supposed to have lived your life different so you didn't have cancer and didn't outlive your husband. That seems pretty obvious. It's not Rep. Coffman's fault you made such poor choices.

While there were enough seats in the auditorium for the people who showed up, there was not enough Congressman to go around, Rep. Coffman's chief of staff, Ben Stein (but not THAT one), explained in a statement that this was not a town hall, no way:

Rep. Mike Coffman routinely hosts constituent one on one meetings across the district. Constituents are invited to meet individually with the congressman to express their opinions, seek help with a range of issues, and discuss legislation. Given the volume of people who came, the Congressman met with four people at a time for five minutes each for a total of more than 70 constituents.

Then, before the event's scheduled ending time, Coffman ducked out a back door, probably to get right on the important work of repealing Obamacare, since it's a disaster nobody likes:

While more than 100 people were waiting to meet with him, Mike Coffman sneaks out early from his own community event. #9News   pic.twitter.com/NAZlXTKgQm 

— Nelson Garcia (@9NewsEducation) January 14, 2017 

But don't worry, Aurorans, said the statement, Rep. Coffman promises to come back eventually, and to block out more time to meet with constituents, maybe! Just don't scare the congressman with all the "We Shall Overcome" stuff, OK?

In another creative display of support for Obamacare, an unruly mob of about 15 ACA advocates took seats at Donald Trump's lousy restaurant inside New York's Trump International Hotel and Tower, where they held a "cough-in" to be disruptive, unruly, and low-class losers, at least until they were ejected by police.

Protesters carried signs saying "We Need Obamacare," "TrumpCare Makes Us Sick," and "Healthcare Is a Right," which just goes to show how little respect they had for patrons of the pricey overrated Trump eatery. We have to say it was pretty creative, though it could have benefited from a bit more realism -- why stop with just coughing, when you could also have simulated hawking up loogies, or, with a little bit of planning, a nice sucking chest wound?

Here's hoping the protests continue, that YOU call your senators and representatives when their offices are open tomorrow, and that supporters of the ACA can team up with Walking Dead cosplayers to fill Republicans' future town halls with seriously impatient "patients."

[ HuffPo / KUSA / NYDN ]