GOP Moves to Kill Obamacare

A symbolic but important gesture:

House Republican leaders introduced a bill Thursday to repeal and replace the sweeping healthcare law adopted in late March.

According to Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the measure would repeal the current law and replace it with the alternative the minority party offered to the original healthcare legislation last November.

“As unpopular as this healthcare bill is today, it’s at the height of its popularity,” Blunt said. “The more the American people know about it, the more concerns they are going to have, and the more they are going to look at alternatives.”

Chances are slim Republicans could get their measure to the floor, given the Democratic majorities in the chamber, but it could make a useful campaign tool for the party.

The vote on healthcare reform has become a political issue in a year rife with anti-incumbent sentiment.

Tea Party activists opposed the legislation and protested on Capitol Hill during the March vote, shouting, “Kill the bill.”

Several Democratic candidates in conservative-leaning districts have said they would not have voted for the bill, while unions are withholding support from some Democratic incumbents who voted against the legislation.

A Gallup poll taken earlier this month found that healthcare is still in the Top Five list of voters’ concerns. Another Gallup poll found that voters are “no less concerned about paying the costs of a serious illness or accident, or normal healthcare costs, than they were last year.”

In all, 20 GOP lawmakers co-sponsored the repeal-and-replace bill, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), GOP conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) and Blunt.

An aide for Assistant to the Speaker Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that the “repeal Repubs” would create a boon for the health insurance industry.

“Repeal Repubs are out of step with the majority of Americans who want to give the reform bill a chance to work. If the GOP gets their way, they would actually strip individuals and families of important rights and benefits and add to the deficit they created. This is a healthcare bill only insurance companies would love,” Van Hollen spokesman Doug Thornell said.

Right now the approval rating for Obamacare is just barely above that of British Petroleum, so now's a good time to introduce this measure. Democrats won't let it go anywhere, but at least the GOP is on record as pushing it.