Senator Chuck Grassley had a rough town hall this morning, where he was (finally!) confronted on the horrible policymaking that Republicans are indulging themselves in.
A middle-aged man stood up and informed Grassley that he was on Obamacare.
"If it wasn't for Obamacare we wouldn't be able to afford insurance," he explained.
"With all due respect sir, you're the man that talked about the death panels," the man reminded. "We're going to create one great big death panel in this country that people can't afford to get insurance!"
"Don't repeal Obamacare! Fix it!," he shouted.
The crowd was behind him 100 percent, too.
This is happening in town halls all over the country, which is why over 200 Republicans are not even holding town halls, or are keeping them very low profile. But unlike the Tea Party town halls of 2009, people are passionate, but civil. They're not getting many good answers from their elected representatives, however.
Grassley did have a response, but it was fairly generic and certainly not based in anything factual.
On Tuesday, Grassley tried to reassure the crowd that packed the community hall, saying that three of the four main GOP health care plans circulating on Capitol Hill would preserve Obamacare’s most popular provisions: pre-existing condition protections, the prohibition on lifetime limits and the ability of young adults to stay on their parents’ health care plans.
“I believe at this point, with any one of those three, [those] 20 million people won’t lose because we made clear that those on the exchange, the [coverage] will continue,” the Iowa Republican said as he tried to keep the crowd under control despite angry outcries that he should retire or return to his “moderate” roots.
Continuing coverage that no one can afford because Congress and the administration pull the foundation out from under the Affordable Care Act is no option at all. None whatsoever.
As for those Iowans who think Grassley should return to his "moderate roots," I can only shrug. He is a wholly owned subsidiary of Republican billionaires, and he will do and say what they demand, rather than what's best for his constituents.
Still, they hear. And it matters. These people showing up to town halls are going to make a very real difference going forward, simply by being present and reminding these guys that they need to be responsive or else they might find themselves out of a job.
