Published in the Roanoke Times

0n October 27, 2018

October 19, 2018

Letter to the Editor

Republicans have a problem this November: Healthcare is the hot issue in the midterm elections, but their stance on it is wildly unpopular. So, they’re trying a bold political tactic: Covering up and making up new facts.

Large portions of American voters want to keep the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions. President Trump and Mitch McConnell have both recently claimed that all Republicans feel the same way – even as they fight in court to vaporize those protections and vow to take yet another stab at killing the ACA entirely.

There are 36 anti-ACA Republicans running in unfriendly congressional districts in November – more than enough to flip the House to the Democrats. The GOP could overcome this with an ACA alternative that did everything they claim they want to do: lowering regulations and costs while protecting patients. But this is a fantasy, thanks to another, even more difficult math problem.  This stuff involves trade-offs the Republicans are unwilling to make.

Congressional Republicans don’t say what they would do about much of anything, save “Cut taxes more” or “Try to kill Obamacare again.” This reflects a Trump-era party that has no idea what it stands for anymore, aside from nurturing cultural grievances. In Southwest Virginia, voters cling to these cultural things even when it means their families get less health care, jobs are not available and educational opportunities are second-rate or non-existent. My friends and neighbors, in this election vote for things that will make a DIRECT difference for you and your children. Health care, jobs, and education for our part of Virginia—vote for Jennifer Lewis.

T. Michael Smith