On Friday there was a front page story about a town hall meeting with Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH). A constituant at that meeting asked, what I think to be, a very important question.
Once you repeal it, what happens to all that? And what are you going to replace it? Why don’t you make a replacement plan before you repeal it so we can look at it?
Republicans came up with a good sound bite/talking point with "Repeal and Replace". It's simple and it makes people think they are just trying to get rid of all they parts of HCR bill they THINK they don't like.
It's also important to understand that Republicans KNOW they can't repeal the bill. This vote is all for show, to somehow make the President and the Democrats look bad, and to make people want to blame them for any increases in their insurance costs. To that end, I think they don't have any idea of how to REPLACE the bill, because since the REPEAL part will fail, they don't have to go there.
So, why say REPLACE if you know you are not going to get there? Because people have heard about parts of the bill that they like.
I think Democrats have a winning point with the simple question.
Replace it with what?
It puts the Republicans on the defensive. To answer, they have to have an acual plan (and one that is somehow different than the current law). They can't continue with just saying NO, which is what the repeal part is. They have to govern, which they don't want to do.
I know there is not much time before the bill is brought up for a vote, but I think we can make a difference with an equally simple question.
Replace it with what?