Behold the power of an informed electorate. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) held a town hall on Thursday, and didn't see any of those
"grassroots" shutdown supporters some of his colleagues are encountering. No, he had a completely
different experience.
Attendees asked Webster if he had any plans to replace consumer protections included in Obamacare, such as guaranteed insurance coverage for Americans with pre-existing medical conditions and free preventative health screenings for seniors:
QUESTIONER: What happens to us when Obamacare is repealed? What happens to people with pre-existing conditions that can’t get health care? What happens to those of us who finally have access to health insurance for the first time in nine or ten years? What happens to us? And you want to make this local, I’ll make this local. I’m a constituent, right now I can’t get health care. I’m waiting for this [insurance marketplace] to open and I’d like to know why we keep repealing [Obamacare]?
The congressman defended his repeal votes by saying the law would drive up Americans’ health care costs by requiring insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions. He then claimed that President Barack Obama himself thinks his signature law is unworkable. As evidence, Webster implied that the law’s protections—such as its cap on consumers’ annual out-of-pocket medical costs—were being dismantled by the Obama administration. That prompted an outcry from the audience, as people booed and countered Webster’s claims.
This audience knew what he was lying about, and told him so, which must have been a shock for Mr. 40-repeal-votes Congressman. For example, his constituents set him straight about the delay on the cap on consumers' out-of-pocket costs, telling him it was a one-year delay, and not a dismantling of the law.
Health Care for American Now, which provided the video of the event, as well as local partners like Organize Now are making sure that FreedomWorks and Heritage Action and all the astroturfers who made August 2009 about the lies of Obamacare are countered this August.