• by Philip Rosenstein , April 12, 2017

The initiative to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and replace it with the American Health Care Act (AHCA) failed in the House of Representatives. Sporadic reports say the Trump administration’s recent attempts to resurrect legislation and appease the far-right Freedom Caucus have been unsuccessful.

And the political response has been swift.

Centrist Republicans who stood behind the Trump-Ryan AHCA bill are being increasingly targeted by progressive groups with district-specific attacks ads.

The ads appear as Congressional reps travels back to their home districts for a two-week recess.

Save My Care, a group of progressive health-care advocacy organizations supporting the preservation of the ACA, is spending more than $1 million in TV ads across seven GOP-held districts.

The targeted Republicans are: Mike Coffman (CO), Carlos Curbelo (FL), Darrell Issa (CA), Tom MacArthur (NJ), Brian Mast (FL), Martha McSally (AZ), David Valadao (CA). These incumbents appear on lists of districts Democrats hope to turn blue in 2018.

An ad attacking Darrell Issa (CA) points to the hypocrisy of Issa having “promised to protect our health care,” while at the same time, supporting the repeal of the ACA and the AHCA replacement. The ad notes various dire outcomes of the AHCA provided in the Congressional Budget Office report on the bill.

The ad closes out: “Tell Darrell Issa: stop trying to repeal our health care.”

According to The Washington Post, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Jesse Hunt does not believe GOP incumbents should worry, claiming: “Far-left groups are desperate to provide air cover for House Democrats who share their love for Obamacare and will have to answer for it at the ballot box.”

There is a serious problem with Hunt's characterization: Polls in late March show a 17% approval rating for the Republican-drafted AHCA. Conversely, support for the ACA in April is at an all-time high, 55%, per Gallup.