Democrats’ Partisan ‘All-Out War’ To Keep The Health Care Status Quo

MYTH

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “We Democrats are genuinely interested in finding a place where our two parties can come together on health care.” (Sen. Schumer, Floor Remarks, 6/28/2017)

FACT: Democrats Have Prepared ‘An All-Out War To Save’ Obamacare For Months, ‘Refused To Talk Repeal’

“Senate Democrats are preparing an all-out war to try to save the Affordable Care Act….” (“Senate Democrats Plan Offensive To Try To Save Obamacare,” Politico, 6/13/2017)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): “[L]et me point out, there's a Politico article today … It was how Chuck Schumer months ago told all Democratic Senators they could not collaborate, cooperate. Now Susan Collins and I put out a bill called the Patient Freedom Act. That was an earnest effort to reach across the aisle to let Democrats and Republicans find a common solution. And Democrat Schumer shut them down.… That article indicates there was no hope for it. I hate to say it but Mitch [McConnell] was right. We're not going to get assistance and that is regrettable. It should not be about party, it should be about patients. It was made about party. That's too bad.” (CNN’s “CNN Newsroom,” 6/28/2017)

SEN. SCHUMER: ‘We’re NOT Going To Sit Down In A Room With Them’

“As of Jan. 20, Chuck Schumer will be the most important Democrat in the land. But spend a few minutes with the incoming Senate minority leader and it’s clear where the real power lies. ... Schumer… is wholeheartedly embracing the party’s Sanders-Elizabeth Warren populism.” (Dana Milbank, “How Schumer And The Democrats Are Preparing To Fight,” Washington Post, 12/11/2016)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “[W]e’re NOT going to sit down in a room with them once they repeal and say let’s figure out a joint plan.” (“Schumer: GOP Wants To ‘Make America Sick Again,’” The Hill, 1/4/2017)

• “Chuck Schumer fired off a warning at a caucus-wide retreat in January: Senate Republicans will try to pick off Democrats, one by one, to join the GOP effort to dismantle Obamacare. If that happens, Schumer said … Democrats are finished. And so the 48-member caucus must stick together to try to save it.” (“How Schumer Kept Dems United On Obamacare,” Politico, 6/28/2017)

“Democrats refused to talk about repeal. Early in the process, Schumer and the Democrats decided they were not going to help Republicans dismantle Obamacare. ‘Until they back off repeal, there’s nothing we can talk about,’ Schumer said in an interview with CNN, laying down the party line…. Schumer got all 46 Democrats and two independents to back him. They continued to stick together throughout the debate.”” (“The Three Key Choices Sen. Schumer Made to Save Obamacare,” WNYC, 6/28/2017)

• “[E]arlier this year, Schumer quickly worked to ensure all 48 members of the Democratic Caucus … would take a firm stance against repealing Obamacare, a position that solidified in January as efforts to dismantle the law ramped up…. That included any attempts from Republicans … to quietly reach out to Democrats on potential bipartisan health care talks.” (“How Schumer Kept Dems United On Obamacare,” Politico, 6/28/2017)

• “When Senate Republicans reached out to Heidi Heitkamp this spring to negotiate on health care, the North Dakota Democrat told Politico she had these demands: No per capita Medicaid block grants to the states and no rollback in ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion. And that was merely ‘the price of admission for me sitting down.’” (Editorial, “The GOP’s Schumer Option,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/27/2017)

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-HI): “…there is general agreement among Democrats that it would be premature to meet with Republicans. We have to know that this repeal bill is dead.” (“As Affordable Care Act Repeal Teeters, Prospects for Bipartisanship Build,” The New York Times, 6/28/2017)

Former President Obama’s Marching Orders To Democrats: ‘“Don't Rescue” Republicans On Obamacare’

“President Barack Obama delivered a mandate to Democrats on Wednesday: ‘Don't rescue’ Republicans on Obamacare…. Less than three weeks out from leaving the White House, Obama visited Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill with a mission to save his signature healthcare reform law …In the closed-door meeting, the President urged fellow Democrats to not ‘rescue’ Republicans by helping them pass replacement measures, according to sources in the room.” (“Obama Tells Democrats: ‘Don’t Rescue’ Republicans On ‘Trumpcare,’” CNN, 1/05/2017)

Spurred On By Left-Wing Activists, Democrats ‘Settled On A Scorched-Earth, Not-Now-Not-Ever Model Of Opposition,’ 'Have Looked To Activists For Guidance On … The GOP Health Care Bill’

“Total war… liberals seeking scalps... an incensed army of liberals demanding no less than total war against President Trump.” (“Weakened Democrats, Opting For Total War On Trump, Bow To Their Voters,” The New York Times, 2/23/2017)

“Democrats Launch Scorched-Earth Strategy Against Trump… The bulk of the party has settled on a scorched-earth, not-now-not-ever model of opposition. In legislative proposals, campaign promises, donor pitches and even in some Senate hearings, Democrats have opted for a hard-line, give-no-quarter posture, a reflection of a seething party base that will have it no other way. …teeth-baring, no-holds-barred opposition.”  (“Democrats Launch Scorched-Earth Strategy Against Trump,” Politico, 1/26/2017)

• “The activist class’s increasingly direct management of the Democratic Party didn’t start with Gorsuch and it won’t end there, either. Democrats’ congressional leaders have looked to activists for guidance on everything from Cabinet confirmation fights to the GOP health care bill. Even political decisions…” (“How Liberal Activists Took Over The Democratic Party,” McClatchy, 4/05/2017)

• “…a posture of unremitting hostility to the president…” (“Weakened Democrats, Opting for Total War on Trump, Bow to Their Voters,” The New York Times, 2/23/2017)

• “‘The base is more than restless – it’s furious,’ said Ben Wikler, Washington director for MoveOn.org, a longtime and well-known liberal advocacy group.” (“Liberal Activists Warn Party’s Lawmakers: Primaries Are Coming,” McClatchy, 2/22/2017)