GOP Rep. Farenthold A No-Show At ‘Duel Of Health Care Facts’ Protest

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) was a no-show at a mock “duel of health care facts” at his Corpus Christi office Sunday, where nurses and teachers protested his support of repealing Obamacare.

The “duel” schtick was a reference to Farenthold’s comment on July 21, that he would have dueled the “female senators from the Northeast” holding up the Obamacare repeal effort — “Aaron Burr-style” — if they were men. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and John McCain (R-AZ) were ultimately responsible for stopping the most recent effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

But several progressive groups, KRISTV reported, took Farenthold at his word, inviting him to duel the facts of single-payer health care.

In a press release Friday, National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United – Texas declared: “ON BEHALF OF TEXAS PATIENTS, WE CHALLENGE REP. FARENTHOLD TO STEP OUTSIDE AND SETTLE THIS HEALTHCARE DEBATE MEDICARE-FOR-ALL STYLE,” SAY NURSES.

The group notably endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary and have vocally supported a move toward a single-payer nationwide healthcare system.

Their press release continued: “The ‘duel’ will feature NNU/NNOC member Cynthia Martinez, RN walking 10 paces and then turning around to hit Farenthold (present or not) with the facts.”

The group said the Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers, the Progressive Center of Corpus Christi, and others would be represented at the protest.

The former posted pictures of the event Sunday:

Farenthold said Friday he would not be available Sunday due to prior commitments, Roll Call reported.

H/t Roll Call.