Thom Tillis: Bad for NC

In North Carolina, where Democrat Kay Hagan has taken a huge beating over Obamacare, the leading repugican opponent is now getting hammered for his stance on healthcare.…

Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.

Democrats seem to finally understand this concept. So, here’s an interesting and predictable turn of events regarding the popular narrative that Obamacare is poison to Democrats (we’ve been telling you since this meme started that it would fail once Obamacare kicked in): “Democrats have to run against Obamacare! They’re going to get slaughtered in 2014! ”
And yet, in North Carolina, where Democratic Senator Kay Hagan has taken an $8 million Koch Brothers funded beating over her vote for Obamacare, her leading repugican opponent, State House Speaker Thom Tillis,  is getting hammered for his position as well from “both sides” of the aisle, according to John Frank and Jim Morrill writing for the Charlotte Observer.
Yes, it turns out that the people are not being led to the Koch Brothers slaughter so easily. They want to know what repugicans would do to replace Obamacare. And repugicans have no plan.
First, Tillis “was criticized in a TV ad earlier this month for wanting to repeal the federal health care law’s more popular items, such as provisions that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions and charging for mammograms.”
So Tillis floundered about trying to find a position, and landed smack in the middle of a tea-jihad against “nationalized” healthcare, after he embraced another repugican’s plan which retains some provisions of the federal health care law.  “But that stance drew scorn from his repugican primary rivals, forcing the House speaker to walk a narrow political line. Greg Brannon, who is courting tea party loyalists, has said the Burr plan is ‘national health care.’” Brannon, like most tea partiers, clearly has no clue what Obamacare actually is, for he criticized it for not being exactly what it is  — a market based solution.
So I’m sure you’re dying to know how Tillis is going to play this thing. How about wishy-washy nothing for the Big Win?

Tillis has declined to endorse Burr’s plan, but doesn’t have an alternative.
“I don’t think I need to come in with a plan,” he said in a recent interview. “I think we need to take a look at the ones that already exist and build on those.”

Karl Rove and Roger Ailes are no doubt ready to pull their hair out after this bit of spinelessness, but what’s a repugican do to?
Greg Sargent pointed out that if you’re explaining, you’re losing (and h/t to Mr. Sargent for the link):

As repeal sinks to 31%, NC repugican cabal Sen candidate hammered for failure to explain stance: http://t.co/sDCjK91ADB #ExplainingIsLosing
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) February 27, 2014

Because this answer as to why Tillis vaguely got behind the repugican cabal “plan” but wouldn’t endorse it is not exactly compelling: “It’s not a detailed set of legislation; it’s a direction that tries to embrace only a handful of things that Obamacare seems to have right, but takes things in a very different direction, particularly in relation to how people pay for it.”

“… but takes things in a very different direction?” The policy wonks of the repugican cabal have spoken! Gee, maybe next repugicans will come up with a one pager with a super large font that reads” repugican cabal HealthCare Plan: Just like Obamacare, Only With a Different Name.”

Tillis, like most repugicans, is also against raising the minimum wage. He is facing a rather fierce primary with at least six other repugican cabal candidates, even though he’s got the most money and power behind him, due to what is being called a “pay-to-play” scheme of legal but dark money, reported by The News Observer.
Democrats have an opportunity here to go on offense, because the truth is that while Obamacare – like all large new policy implementations – is not perfect, it is good. It is better than what we had. It is necessary. It saves money and saves lives, and that’s nothing to scoff at.
So repugicans can keep criticizing it and holding up their big font fake plan, but it’s the same corporate give away they’ve been touting since the shrub was the pretender. Other than that they have no plan, and of course, that plan does not protect the patients like Obamacare does — and those are the parts that people like. Go figure. The average American likes having health insurance, just like these member of government.
Democrats can take a proud stand, and say “I did something for the people, what have you done? Where’s your plan?”