To that end, the still-developing Democratic strategy inside the Beltway is to compel Republicans to take politically toxic votes — for instance, by forcing them to go on record as opposing Obamacare’s popular provisions, such as the preexisting condition protections. They also hope to use Senate rules to poke holes on which pieces of the law can be repealed.
Short of blocking the repeal bill, which Democrats admit is all but impossible, Democrats’ aim is to ensure that voters hold the GOP responsible for what they predict will be chaos in the health insurance market as soon as the bill passes.
Advocacy groups that support the ACA, meanwhile, will focus on reminding voters of the human impact of repealing a law that has provided a lifeline to millions of Americans. They’re convinced that once the public sees the consequences of repeal, they will blame the GOP for chaos. The Urban Institute estimates that repealing the law could result in 30 million people losing coverage.
Affordable Care Act supporters say that just like Republicans blamed Obamacare for every problem in the health care system for the last seven years, they will blame Republican repeal efforts for the chaos that is expected after repeal.
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