New Memo From NRCC Chairman Greg Walden: I Agree With Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
I don’t say this often, but as we enter 2014, I’m in complete agreement with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
She says House Democrats will be running on ObamaCare. Excellent. See you on the campaign trail.
This is the campaign Republicans want – and one the country deserves. House Republicans are eager for this debate, and we’re ready for this campaign.
We knew after the 2012 election that our Republican House majority was built on a solid foundation. But none of us could have predicted what a devastating year 2013 would prove to be for House Democrats – from the IRS scandal to the botched rollout of ObamaCare.
As we enter the election year, it’s clearer than ever that the Republican House provides the only remaining check-and-balance on an increasingly unpopular president and an increasingly unpopular government healthcare system.
And just look what’s happening on the ground.
The climate has become so toxic for Democrats that Jim Matheson – the only remaining Democrat in Utah – announced his retirement last month, taking a seat completely off the board for House Democrats. Remember, Matheson held the most Republican district (R+16) of any House Democrat in the country.
And the Matheson announcement followed another tragic blow for House Democrats. One of their prized recruits, Pete Festersen in Nebraska, dropped out of his race just weeks after announcing. Seems the toll of ObamaCare and President Obama’s anemic approval ratings are proving insurmountable for these candidates.
In contrast, we have had a string of recruitment successes. In our “Red Zone” – our top offensive targets – we now have top tier candidates announced in every one of those races (now six seats, instead of seven, with Matheson’s announcement). Democrats will be on the defense in these vulnerable seats.
Our pick-up opportunities aren’t limited to these seats. Other races have come online, with Democrats coast to coast running scared – from California to New Hampshire.
Despite wishful thinking on the part of some Democrats, ObamaCare is not going away as a political issue – and it’s not getting better for the millions of Americans who have been negatively impacted. The failures we’ve seen so far are just the beginning – and the consequences aren’t just political.
There’s much more to worry about than the Web site. There’s also been reports of a second-round of rate shock when the new plans on the marketplace kick in (see here). And this year there will be more broken promises, this time for seniors. Millions of seniors across the country with Medicare Advantage could lose access to their doctors or see benefits dropped – another violation of the promise that if you like your plan, you’ll get to keep it.
Democrats seem more interested in defending this failed top-down approach than offering new solutions. The reason is because nearly every Democrat incumbent in the country made the same broken promises as President Obama. Look for those comments to be resurrected again, and again, and again on the campaign trail.
I never thought I’d say this, but Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is right. This election is about ObamaCare.
I’m just not sure the congresswoman’s Democrat colleagues are as eager as we are for this campaign to start.
Greg