Despite a deluge of phone calls, emails and in-person meetings from concerned Iowans, Iowa Republican Congressmen Rod Blum, David Young and Steve King all voted in favor of the AHCA healthcare bill. The legislation that repealed many provisions of the ACA passed by just two votes. Had any two of those Iowa members flipped their vote, it would have gone back to the drawing board. Democrat Dave Loebsack was the lone no from the state’s delegation.
Reaction to the vote in Iowa was swift and overwhelmingly negative online and among people who need their healthcare coverage to live. The bill will take away healthcare plans from about 24 million Americans, will bring back many forms of preexisting conditions coverage denial, revive lifetime caps for services, and the bill’s Medicaid cuts will even slash special education programs for children with disabilities.
Blum and Young had been holdouts on the previous incarnation of the Republican healthcare plan, but pushed it over the top this time. Their potential Democratic opponents vowed to make the issue central to their bids to defeat the incumbents.
“Rod Blum has shown Iowans exactly where his priorities are – with drug companies and insurance executives,” Abby Finkenauer, a Democratic candidate in the 1st District said in a statement. “This unconscionable plan hurts regular Iowans. It puts an Age Tax on our seniors and will pull the rug out from under thousands of Iowa families – many with pre-existing conditions – who are one healthcare emergency away from financial ruin.”
“This bill strips protections for pre-existing conditions, makes being a woman a pre-existing condition, strips coverage for mental health care, and strips care for veterans,” said Courtney Rowe, another Democrat running to take on Blum. “Iowans in district 1 deserve better than a bold face liar.”
Young has faced many raucous town hall meetings over the past few months with constituents angered over the bill imploring him to vote against it.
“This afternoon David Young made clear what many Iowans in the Third District already know: He is willing to place the needs of corporations and the wealthiest amongst us ahead of what’s best for his constituents that depend on quality and affordable health care coverage,” said Pete D’Alessandro. “Instead of standing up for the hardworking Iowans who have real healthcare needs, David Young has once again shown an utter disregard for them. The only thing this bill accomplishes is higher premiums for working Iowans and an increase in those without healthcare coverage.”
Kim Weaver, looking to take on King again in 2018, hit the congressman for his glee over the vote, as well as the amount of 4th District residents who will lose their coverage.
That awkward moment when @SteveKingIA expresses joy over millions of Americans losing access to quality, affordable health insurance. #AHCA https://t.co/AugX8mW6Th
— Kim Weaver (@KimWeaverIA) May 4, 2017
Let this sink in.. 307,900 people in Iowa’s 4th District alone. https://t.co/y7WGhGi3xC
— Kim Weaver (@KimWeaverIA) May 4, 2017
National efforts to raise funds to go after Republican incumbents who voted in favor were wildly successful on Thursday. DailyKos pushed an ActBlue fund that brought in over $750,000 – that money will be sent to the eventual Democratic nominees in 24 swing, Republican-held districts. Both Blum and Young are on their list. Another $700,000 flooded into the Swing Left project, which is targeting 35 Republican seats. Blum and Young also make their priority districts.
Iowans will get their chance to tell Blum their feelings on the matter up close and personal next week.
However, Blum will require attendees to his public forums to show their IDs in order to get in, with the intent of excluding anyone who doesn’t live in the district. That led to a multitude of negative press articles covering the restriction, which seemed like an odd choice that brought very little to no benefit to Blum. The town hall schedule:
May 8th – 7PM
Dubuque Senior High School Nora Gym
1800 Clarke Drive, Dubuque
RSVP for this Town Hall
May 9th – 7PM
Kirkwood Community College Johnson Hall Gym
6301 Kirkwood Boulevard SW, Cedar Rapids
RSVP for this Town Hall
May 10th – 7PM
Cedar Falls High School Gym
1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls
RSVP for this Town Hall
May 11th – 12PM
Marshalltown Community College Babe Harder Gym
3700 South Center Street, Marshalltown
RSVP for this Town Hall
by Pat Rynard
Posted 5/5/17
I said this in another story, but I’ll say it again here. I think Iowa Democrats should start running ads now to label republicans like Blum and Young. There’s no challenger yet that they can respond to. The airwaves are free of other political ads, so it won’t be as likely to get drowned out. It’s early enough in the process that if Democrats can sway public opinion of these candidates now, those ill feelings may stick for the folks who don’t otherwise pay much attention until right before an election. Negative impressions of people tend to stick.
Imagine an ad with a mother w/ a pre-existing condition talking about her reliance on the ACA. Video of her going about her day (making breakfast, playing with her kids, getting ready for work), all while she narrates about the impact of her illness and her fear of losing health insurance. Or parents of a child cancer survivor talking about their fear that the cancer could return and bankrupt them. Imagine an ad that ends with the patient saying that, for David Young or Rod Blum or even Steve King, the only value their life had was to provide a tax break for an already obscenely wealthy person. It may sound harsh, but that’s the reality for millions of people in this country. They’re scared to death, and the ads this upcoming cycle need to reflect that because for people who have good insurance, that’s a hard concept to understand. Sorry for the long fake commercial, but messaging and videos are kind of what I do 🙂
I contacted rep. Young’s office the day before the vote and was assured that he was voting no!
After hearing that he had sold out his constituents I called to register my anger!!
I have to wonder what he “got” for selling us out!
I hope he can sleep at night!
He’s got until Nov. 2018 to sleep like a baby. Then, if Iowans are smart they will vote these betraying fools out of office. I hope people realize we need to vote in masses to make a real change! Voters please and bring an I.D. with your picture on it since we now have stricter voter I .D. laws thanks to the republicans. Hopefully their reign of terror ends.
Why it doesn’t,t do any good these jackasses will do what ever it takes to pad their pockets and to hell with the people who elected them,,,,,like to see the most try the insurance they are forcing down the American people’s throat, what a shame they did to the American people and to our country,,,,,,,,I,d like for these guys to live like a mid class person is living and see how they would like to be sold out,,,,,