What They’re Saying: Senate Republicans’ Plans to Overturn ACA & Raise Taxes “Provide a Steady Stream of Gifts to Democrats”

MSNBC: “It was easy to imagine other GOP senators being pressed to respond to Johnson’s rhetoric, putting all Republicans in an awkward position”

Washington Post: “Self-inflicted wounds from candidates’ own mouths provide a steady stream of gifts to Democrats”

POLITICO: GOP’s “governing agenda rankles… party and offers ammunition to Democrats”

A wave of news coverage is highlighting Senate Republicans’ pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act and raise taxes on seniors and hard-working Americans – as “self-inflicted wounds from candidates’ own mouths” offer “ammunition to Democrats” and are “putting all Republicans in an awkward position” defending their unpopular agenda.

See for yourself:

Washington Post: Sen. Ron Johnson says Obamacare should be repealed if GOP wins power back

• Sen. Ron Johnson said he wants to see the GOP repeal the Affordable Care Act if his party wins the White House and the House and Senate majorities.

• “For example, if we’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare… we need to have the plan ahead of time so that once we get in office, we can implement it immediately, not knock around like we did last time and fail,” Johnson said,

• Sen. Rick Scott… in February released an 11-point “Rescue America” plan that would require all Americans to pay some form of income tax.

• In the Breitbart radio interview that aired Monday, Johnson said he supported “most” of Scott’s proposal.

• The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party’s Senate campaign arm, seized on Johnson’s comments Monday, accusing him of “pushing the agenda of the ultra-rich and big corporations.”

• “Voters are learning exactly what Republicans will do with a Senate majority, in their own words: raise taxes on seniors and working families, end Medicare and Social Security — and once again try to spike the cost of health care while ripping away coverage protections from Americans with pre-existing conditions,” DSCC spokeswoman Amanda Sherman-Baity said in a statement.

POLITICO: Ron Johnson, one of the most vulnerable GOP senators, is chiming in on the Republican agenda disagreement triggered by Rick Scott.

• Even as Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) governing agenda rankles his party and offers ammunition to Democrats, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said it was “totally appropriate” to roll it out in a Monday Breitbart radio hit.

• Johnson is facing one of the tightest reelection contests in the country.

• One thing Johnson wants to do? Circle back to repealing Obamacare. Johnson blamed Republican leaders for failing to repeal and replace Obamacare during Donald Trump’s presidency, but suggested he wanted to try again.

Washington Post (Opinion): Senate Republicans might help Democrats keep the majority

• Republicans sure act as though they don’t really want the Senate majority. They haven’t revealed a coherent plan to recruit candidates who can win or to persuade Americans to trust them with power.

• As the Associated Press points out, “a series of Republican missteps including recruiting stumbles, weak fundraising and intense infighting is threatening the GOP’s path to the Senate majority.”

• But arguably more damaging than the weak candidate selection and tepid fundraising, the self-inflicted wounds from candidates’ own mouths provide a steady stream of gifts to Democrats.

• Late last month came what might have been the worst policy gaffe in recent political history: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) rolled out a plan to raise taxes on 100 million Americans and to let Social Security and Medicare expire in five years.

• Now Sen. Ron Johnson…has confessed that Republicans still want to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

• To millions of Americans who have benefited from subsidized health insurance premiums, Johnson’s message amounts to: Tough luck.

• Scott [and] Johnson… might find themselves in a whole lot of Democratic ads.

CNN: Republicans are their own worst enemy in the push for the majority

• Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson has caused a stir by suggesting… that Republicans would work to repeal the Affordable Care Act if they retake power in Washington.

• ​​That would be a very big deal!

• Taking the ACA away — or even talking about taking it away — then is politically unwise.

• The problem for Johnson — and for McConnell and other members of Republican leadership — is that Johnson initially said what he said, which sounded a whole lot like Republicans would work to repeal and replace Obamacare if they were in the Senate majority.
  
• It’s the latest problem for McConnell caused by members of his own conference, a series of self-inflicted wounds that give Democrats some hope.

MSNBC: Why Ron Johnson’s new rhetoric on ‘Obamacare’ repeal matters

• Just four years ago, Democrats won back the House majority in large part by focusing on Republican efforts to take health security away from tens of millions of families. Johnson, unprompted, opened the door to having that same election-year debate once more.
  
• It was easy to imagine other GOP senators being pressed to respond to Johnson’s rhetoric, putting all Republicans in an awkward position.

• Republicans do not want an election-year fight over health care — because it is a fight the GOP would lose.

Axios: Johnson: GOP should be ready to repeal Obamacare if they take control in 2024

• Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in an interview Monday that the GOP should repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

• Johnson told the Breitbart News Daily podcast on Monday that Republicans need to “get our act together” for the 2024 election so they can “make good on what we’ve established as our priorities.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson signals Republicans should repeal and replace Obamacare if the party retakes control in 2024

• U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson signaled Monday that if Republicans regain control of Congress this year — and the presidency in 2024 — they should again try to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The Hill: GOP braces for nail-biter with Ron Johnson reelection bid

• Republicans are voicing early concerns over Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) reelection bid ahead of a potentially unprecedented Democratic onslaught to unseat him.
  
• Just Monday, Johnson said that Republicans should repeal Obamacare if they take back both chambers of Congress this year.

• Those comments are anticipated to be the focal point of Democrats’ ads.

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