The attack ads are writing themselves. "Rep. X voted for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires while gutting health care for everyone else. Twenty-four million people thrown off Medicaid. Protections for people with pre-existing conditions destroyed. A bill so bad, Republicans wouldn't even let Americans see it before they voted."
As Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi observed: "One of the biggest transfers of wealth in our history. Robin Hood in reverse."
In fact, some Republicans knew it was so horrifying they advised their colleagues not to worry about what was actually in the bill—the Senate would change it anyway, they said.
“I tell people not to get too worked up. If we do get it out of here, it’s going to the United States Senate, so don’t think it’s coming back here looking like it did when we sent it over,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the vice chair of the powerful Rules Committee, told reporters. “I think people sweat these details way too much at this stage in the game.”
Yeah, that's not how it works, Tom. You're judged by the bill you vote on, not the bill as you wished it would be. When moderate Republicans said "yea" to this bill Thursday, they moved from simply stating an intention to actively endorsing legislation that rips the rug out from under tens of millions of Americans. (And frankly, the vote may have been in vain—who knows if Senate Republicans are even capable of getting anything through, let alone some version of this bill.)
Think about it—was Hillary Clinton ever given a do over on her Iraq War vote even though she took it under the guidance of faulty intelligence from a GOP administration? No. And it clouded her political ambitions in every subsequent election.
As Pelosi said, "The Republican caucus will be forever identified with the worst aspects of the bill they passed." And the bill they passed is an unbelievably bad deal for everyone other than the very richest people in our country. Today, Republicans smiled upon the most fortunate among us while turning a blind eye to people who are in greatest need of help.
Pelosi knows a little something about losing the majority over a healthcare vote. In that case, Democrats voted for a bill that ultimately provided health care for some 20 million more Americans, and Republicans ran a 2010 campaign based on fearmongering—scaring people about the unknown of the legislation. It worked.
In this case, Republicans voted to strip 24 million of America's most vulnerable of health care. They gutted care for anyone who’s been diagnosed with cancer, for instance, or had the misfortune of being born with a congenital disease. Unlike in 2010, these are tangible benefits they’re taking away, not hypotheticals. And if Republicans think voters won't figure out that they voted to strip them of care they now enjoy, they are sadly mistaken.
So as we watch Paul Ryan gloat over this "win," just wait. The upcoming recess next week will be the first glimpse of how well that vote plays, even in the reddest areas of the country. As for the 24 GOP members who hold seats in districts where Clinton either beat or tied Trump, they will be ducking for cover instead of holding town halls. During the two-week April recess, 19 of those 24 stonewalled their constituents. But that short-term solution to avoid being held to account will only worsen the blowback come 2018. They can run for now, but they cannot hide from the ballot boxes where constituents will make their voices heard.
Make them pay: Donate $1 right now to each of the Democratic nominee funds targeting vulnerable House Republicans who voted to destroy access to health care.