How quickly things change. When the final health care reform bill was passed two months ago, the Omaha World-Herald noted that Nebraska's Republican Congressmen "showed little interest...in repealing it now that it is the law of the land." Specifically, the World-Herald reported of endangered 2nd District incumbent Lee Terry:
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., said that rather than seeking repeal, Republicans should focus on eliminating "158 new boards, commissions and agencies, empowering the IRS, mandates, those types of things"....
If Republicans win back control of Congress, he said, they can exercise the power of the purse to reduce government involvement in health care. "That's the only way, practically, that we're going to be able to make any changes," Terry said.
Terry's responses contrasted sharply with right-wing favorite Steve King from Iowa's 5th District, who immediately introduced H.R. 4972, a bill promising the full and complete repeal of health care reform. This bill reads in its entirety:
H.R. 4972 - A BILL to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REPEAL OF PPACA.
Effective as of the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, such Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted.
Two months ago, Lee Terry understood how foolish and impractical this sort of blanket repeal was. Not anymore. On his Twitter and Facebook pages, Terry just announced, "I have signed on to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 4972, a bill that would repeal the healthcare law." This flip-flop follows a whole series of misleading attacks on the health care reform bill in recent weeks.
Right now, Terry is the lone co-sponsor of H.R. 4972 from Nebraska - an interesting display of right-wing extremism from the Congressman who represents the most moderate and most closely-contested district in the state. Keep in mind that this is a district that voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 where the DCCC has a top-tier Democratic recruit in State Senator Tom White.
So, what does it say that Terry would put himself firmly in league with the farthest right-wing fringe of the Republican Party - endorsing discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, rescission of insurance policies when they are needed the most, and hundreds of millions of dollars of restored waste in the Medicare program. Oh yeah, nevermind those 50 million Americans without health insurance who now have some glimmer of hope that Terry wants to see snatched away the first chance he gets.
What is Terry thinking? After a disastrous primary performance in which he gave up 37% to an inexperience candidate who hardly ran a real campaign, has Terry decided that he can only win in November by firing up his party's right-wing base? Or, was this sort of extremism necessary to win the endorsement from his Tea Party-challenger, Matt Sakalosky?
I suppose it doesn't really matter. Terry has drawn a clear line in the sand between he and White. In November, voters are going to have a choice between Tom White's bold and sensible leadership, protecting their interests while building upon reform. Or, they can take this giant step backwards with Lee Terry, returning to a health care system that everyone knew was broken - which Terry has done absolutely nothing to fix during his six terms in Congress.
Frankly, I think Terry has made a terrible mistake if he thinks this blatant, Steve King-style extremism is what Nebraska voters want from their Congressman - especially in the 2nd District. This is one line that's been drawn too clearly, and Terry is going to pay a heavy price for it when Tom White wins this election.