Gutless. They started their victory lap Thursday with cigars following their big health care repeal vote. They rushed over to the White House to flank Donald Trump in the Rose Garden, as he cooed over what a "great plan" they had delivered. They deployed Paul Ryan and Health Sec. Tom Price to flat-out lie on the Sunday talk shows about the millions of Americans who would lose their health coverage (among many other lies).
But now that those 217 House Republicans who rushed to pass a bill most had never even read have a chance to explain all the legislation's benefits to their constituents, they've gone dark. Politico writes:
A POLITICO review of TownHallProject.com, a crowd-sourced database, found that only 14 of the 217 House Republicans who voted for the bill last week — less than 7 percent — are listed as holding town halls with their constituents. Health care advocates we contacted said the Town Hall Project's database aligned with their own lists.
… Top Republicans encouraged House members to engage with their constituents. "I think it should be something that Republicans should run to, not away from," White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Sorry, Mick. Instead, they’re making a Forrest Gump dash for the ages to avoid this monstrosity. Why? Because no one can explain the upsides of this bill. Pre-existing condition coverage is being gutted. Millions are guaranteed to lose their Medicaid coverage. Premiums and deductibles will not be going down, as Trump promised. And the bill does nothing to slow the growth of overall health care costs over time.
It's really astounding that the very people who voted for this bill because it was so "good" for the American people are now boycotting their constituents en masse. What a stunning show of cowardice, not to mention hubris. Apparently, they're not accountable to the people who elected them.