Campaign Action
Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner really has no fucks to give that his constituents are upset that they could very well lose their health insurance if his fellow Republicans move forward with Obamacare repeal. He also really isn't bothered at all by the fact that no one in his party has an adequate replacement bill. But he is worried that maybe somebody who isn't in his district might try to come talk to him at one of his town hall meetings. Here's how he answered Michelle Roelandts when she asked what's going to happen to her daughter when she turns 26 this year and is in law school—how is she going to afford insurance.
“If I could give you an answer today, I would, but I can’t,” Mr. Sensenbrenner said at a town-hall-style meeting on Saturday, where about 70 people packed a room at the Pewaukee Public Library. […]
Soon after, a man yelled to Mr. Sensenbrenner: “How many times did you vote to repeal without knowing what the replacement would be? How many times? Dozens!”
The congressman, who prides himself on his prolific schedule of town-hall-style meetings, banged his gavel and insisted that his rules for civility be obeyed. […]
Mr. Sensenbrenner, in an interview, attributed the turnout at his gatherings to “organized opposition by people who were on the losing side of the election.”
In order to control that "losing side,” he required that anyone who wanted to ask him a question submit it in writing and include their name and address.
"When he called on people, he read their names and where they live—a practice that makes people 'less likely to make fools of themselves,' he said in the interview." A process guaranteed to intimidate and chill people from asking the kinds of questions they want answered. Still, many persisted, demanding to know what Sensenbrenner and the GOP were going to do about replacing Obamacare—and got nothing, including any sense from the congressman that he gives a shit.
“It’s kind of like, you know, getting a 30,000-piece jigsaw puzzle for Christmas,” Mr. Sensenbrenner said, “and, you know, cleaning off the dining room table and seeing how long it takes to put all the 30,000 pieces together in the right place. It’s not going to be easy.”
He also told a constituent telling him to oppose a replacement that would increase costs for sick people that "there are winners and losers" in legislation so, basically, suck it up. Because "I won by 146,000 votes," he said in a follow up interview to the meeting. "I represent the majority. Now, they're a vocal minority." So much for "representative" government. He only needs to work for the people who voted for him. When those people start losing their health care, maybe he'll have to change his tune.