RNC ad blames Democrats for failure to repeal ObamaCare

A new ad from the Republican National Committee (RNC) claims ObamaCare is “failing,” and blames Democrats for congressional Republicans’ failure to repeal and replace the law earlier this year.

The ad points to “skyrocketing” insurance premiums as an example of ObamaCare failing, and hits Democrats for blocking “a better plan to repeal and replace Obamacare once and for all — obstructing our president just to score political points with the radical left.”

Republicans control both the House and Senate, but were unable to pass an ObamaCare repeal bill this summer after Senate Republicans objected to both the substance of the legislation and the secretive process by which the bill was drafted.

Republicans did not need any Democrats to support the bill in order for it to pass, but failed to get the necessary 50 votes to pass the bill under the special, reconciliation process.

The Senate tried again in September with a bill sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), but that bill never made it to the floor.

The ad appeared nationwide on Tuesday, the day before the start of a crucial open enrollment period for ObamaCare plans. Open enrollment has been cut to just six weeks this year, and ends Dec. 15. 

Democrats accuse the administration of “sabotage” and say the number of new enrollees is likely to drop as a result of the change.

The ad from the RNC seems to bolster those claims.

Trump has long called for the end of ObamaCare, making it a cornerstone of his presidential campaign, and has taken a series of actions since his inauguration to challenge the law. 

He signed an executive order that instructed agencies to loosen ObamaCare rules, slashed advertising and outreach dollars, cut enrollment staff and earlier this month cut off payments to insurers that reimburse them for giving discounts to low-income enrollees.

In addition, multiple independent analyses have shown that the high premiums are a direct result of Trump’s actions, most notably his decision to end the insurer subsidies and his executive orders.