Yesterday, Kay Hagan went on the attack. Not a SuperPAC. Not her campaign. Kay.
In the confirmation hearing for Sylvia Matthews Burwell, Obama’s choice to succeed Kathleen Sebelius, Hagan let loose on Thom Tillis for failing to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. It was a smart use of incumbency and an argument that hit home. Polls show that a solid majority of people believe the legislature should have provided health care to the 500,000 people that would have been eligible. And she had Burwell point out that it would have cost the state nothing.
Then, in an interview, she defended Obamacare. While acknowledging “commonsense fixes,” she embraced the program and listed its strengths. She noted that pre-existing conditions kept people uninsured and that women paid more for insurance than men. Tell the truth on ‘em, Kay.
Nationally, Democrats need to follow Hagan’s lead and pivot away from numbers to benefits. We’ve heard too much about 8 million people signing up and not enough about the strengths of the program. It’s not just successful. It’s good for the American people and repealing it would hurt a lot of families.
The White House should have done a better job of explaining Obamacare to the American public. It’s not too late, but Senate candidates like Hagan can’t wait. They need to help the American people better understand the program by letting them know what repeal will mean. As poll after poll has shown, a solid majority of people like most aspects of the program. They just fear what they don’t understand and the GOP propaganda machine has exploited that fear. It’s time to clear it up.
Yesterday, my follow blogger here at PoliticsNC and our conservative voice, John Wynne, says that in the minds of voters, Hagan is already Obama. He argued that to win, Kay Hagan needs to turn Thom Tillis into Todd Akin. That’s not quite right. She just needs to turn him into the North Carolina General Assembly. Obama’s far more popular than the legislature. Yesterday, she began that process.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Okay, Kay, I’m convinced. I promise I won’t vote for Thom Tillis. Now tell me why I should vote for you over Sean Haugh.
Tillis is the radical right-wing republican NC General Assembly and the radical right-wing republican NC General Assembly is Tillis! Period!
Any attempt to paint any republican now serving as “moderate” is laughable at best. Look at what the state legislature has passed. That alone is reason not to vote for Tillis.
Not a good first two days as US Senate candidate for Tillis. The NY Times once again decried the sharp regressive direction NC is taking, taking its lead from Tillis’ record and his primary win. Then, Tillis can’t seem to answer a straightforward question on MSNBC regarding whether or not he supports a minimum wage rise—even if the state were setting the policy, not the feds. If Hagan is to win, Tillis will have to periodically show his proven penchant for sounding either unimaginative, extreme, mealy-mouthed, or just plain lost. And Hagan will need to show some real fire and grit in all her positions, whether they be on the ACA, minimum wage, Medicaid expansion, extending unemployment benefits, and same sex marriage.