Democrats have no right to criticize Republicans for their handling of the American Health Care Act, considering how surreptitiously they passed Obamacare in 2009, CNN's Jake Tapper suggested Thursday. Yes, Republicans probably should have made the revised AHCA available much sooner to members, but Democrats were guilty of much worse when they passed Obamacare without actually reading the nearly 3,000-page bill. They "passed it to see what was in it," to quote Nancy Pelosi.
"Do you think the Democrats, in the way they sold this bill to the public, really undermined their own credibility on the issue of health care?" Tapper asked Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), who had the tall task of defending Democrats' misleading tactics in 2009.
Israel defended Obamacare, admitting it was far from perfect but shouldn't be completely scrapped. Yet, Tapper stuck to the main issue - which is that the party mendaciously misled the American people. He reminded his guests and viewers, for instance, that Obama and the Democrats were responsible for 2013's 'Lie of the Year': "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."
The GOP has won this round, finally passing AHCA, but the bill is expected to look completely different once it reaches the Senate - if it reaches the Senate.