'I'm having flashbacks': GOP operative laments Mike Johnson's gift to Democrats
A Republican operative told CNN he was "having flashbacks" to previous campaign after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dropped a "gift" into the laps of Democrats just ahead of Election Day.
The Louisiana Republican promised "no Obamacare" during a campaign rally Monday for House candidate Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania, and GOP operative Matt Gorman was reminded of past campaigns he had worked on where opposition to the Affordable Care Act had cost votes.
"When it comes to the ACA stuff, I think I feel like I'm having flashbacks to all the campaigns I've worked on," Gorman said. "Mitt Romney before, but in '18 I think the Trump campaign and Trump himself recognize what happened when he started as president in office early 2017, going after Obamacare, I don't think they would do that the same way again. I think if you talk to people close to Trump, they wish they'd gone infrastructure or tax reform rather than going Obamacare because, again, as someone who dealt with House campaigns in '18 that was a crystallizing issue through-line through the election, and so look, we'll see what happens, of course, but I think that's very acute still for the Trump team."
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Democratic operative Brad Woodhouse said voters should take Johnson's comments seriously and presume that Republicans intended to take an blowtorch to Obamacare.
"Let's be clear: If they had a trifecta, they would try to repeal the Affordable Care Act," Woodhouse said. "Donald Trump said in the Republican primary this cycle that he wanted to terminate the Affordable Care Act. It's known as Obamacare – what does Donald Trump hate? He hates Barack Obama. He has a thing about Obamacare, he has a thing about the Affordable Care Act. He couldn't on the debate stage say that he would preserve it. He said he had 'concepts of a plan,' and the transcript is clear – Mike Johnson said 'no more Obamacare.'"
"This is a gift," Woodhouse added. "Health care has been a top issue in election after election after election, and this is going to be exploited in the final days."
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