The House’s fourth highest-ranking Republican was heckled during a speech at Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally by attendees protesting the GOP’s plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“We may not always agree with one another, but we can come together and find common ground to create change and progress right here in Eastern Washington,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said before being interrupted by chants of “save our health care.”
Twitter user @bdbrownie captured video of the interruption:
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers has her speech drowned out by “save our healthcare” chants at the MLK Day rally and march. #Spokane pic.twitter.com/creqqXIK2I
— Brad Brown (@bdbrownie) January 16, 2017
Local TV station KXLY also reported that attendees chanted “liar” at the event.
In a statement to the station, a spokesperson for McMorris Rodgers said in part: “The Congresswoman looks forward to keeping the lines of communication open when discussing how to ensure a smooth and stable transition out of Obamacare to put in place a 21st Century health care system.”
McMorris Rodgers, who is the House GOP conference chair, has been a vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act for years. She made the ambiguous promise on Friday that “No one who has coverage because of Obamacare today, will lose that coverage the day it’s repealed — we’re committed to a smooth and stable transition for those currently receiving care.”
Watch another angle of the interruption below, via YouTube user Save Our Healthcare Spokane:
This post has been updated.
Yes, a “smooth and stable transition” from full coverage to no coverage at all. Gotcha.
They’re going to feel like Dem legislators felt in 2010. Good luck with that, guys.
Check out this nice data point from Pew. This is going to get ugly for them and quickly.
Embrace the blowback, motherfuckers.
Dear Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers:
If you can’t figure out PPACA was written in such a way it would be extremely difficult to ‘unwind’ it after Pres Obama’s second term you are not qualified to be in office.
These people are delusional. They stand on the barricades and shriek “Obamacare delenda est” and then try to tell everyone that nothing’s going to change when they repeal the Affordable Care Act. It’s like they think that Obamacare is something that exists in another country and has no effect on anyone in the US.