Senate Republicans Lie Low on the Fourth, or Face Single-Minded … – New York Times
Republican senators have had to decide whether public appearances would be fruitful or the crowds hostile. Many lawmakers seem to have given up on town hall-style meetings and parades. Others are still braving them, knowing they may get an earful on the health care bills.
Never before, in the 15 times that Ive marched in this parade, have I had people so focused on a single issue, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who rejected the latest version of the bill, said in an interview shortly after walking the parade route in Eastport, Me. I think its because health care is so personal.
On Tuesday, Ms. Collins and the few other Republican senators who ventured out most of them opponents of the current bill, and most in rather remote locales were largely rewarded with encouragement to keep fighting.
This may be promising for other senators who are not planning to stay in all week. Ms. Capito has public events set for the coming days. The delay in voting on the Senate bill, which Ms. Capito strongly rebuffed, has taken some of the heat off, though activists in West Virginia said signs had been readied for Tuesdays parades just in case.
Other Republicans will soon be out and about, and some already have been. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was met with chants of Vote no! in a Baton Rouge church on Friday as he discussed the states recovery from the 2016 floods. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas will hold three town hall-style meetings this week in the western part of the state, and Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa has scheduled nine as part of his annual tour of the states 99 counties. Senator Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania is holding a televised meeting on Wednesday, albeit with an invitation-only audience.
While the receptions they receive may vary, judging by those in the streets on Tuesday, the primary subject will not.
Health care! Health care! Health care! Hilary Georgia, a part-time resident of Eastport, cried as Ms. Collins passed the spectators in camp chairs unfolded before neat wooden houses.
Eastport, which is recognized as the easternmost city in the United States, draws a large and festive crowd on Independence Day, even though it is remote. So is Wrangell, Alaska, where Senator Lisa Murkowski, another key Republican in the health care debate, took part in a parade on Tuesday as well.
There was no escaping politics, however. The reception for Ms. Collins was one of gratitude and fulsome thanks for her disapproval of the Senate bill, mixed with some anxiety over whether she would stick to her position.
Im still concerned because I know it keeps getting revised, said Kristin McKinlay, 44, an independent voter who is worried that a new bill could leave her without health insurance and stopped Ms. Collins to introduce herself because she had called the senators office so many times. I hope we have her commitment.
At a late-morning parade in Ely, a small city in northern Nevada surrounded for miles by only sagebrush and juniper trees, Senator Dean Heller, who has come out against the bill, rode down Aultman Street on a horse.
Get in line behind Trump! one man shouted, while an older man offered, Thanks for protecting Medicare! Generally, however, things remained subdued in Ely perhaps in part because, as several people along the parade route said, residents were just surprised to see Mr. Heller there.
This was still more activity than anything done by Mr. Gardner of Colorado, who has not held a town hall-style meeting this year. Coloradans have noticed. In February, hundreds gathered for a mock town hall-style meeting in Denver, where they addressed questions to a cardboard cutout of the senator. Last week, wheelchair-bound constituents occupied his office for 60 hours in protest of cuts proposed in the health bill, before being dragged out by the police.
Mr. Gardners Fourth of July was devoid of public events, though on July 3, he could be seen on his front lawn in his hometown, Yuma, playing with squirt guns and smoke bombs with his children.
This was as combative as his holiday was likely to get. Even though one in four residents of Yuma County receives Medicaid assistance, and many would probably lose their health care coverage under the Senate bill, those who disagree around Yuma tend to keep quiet.
I wanted to say something so bad, let him know what I thought, said a woman on a nearby porch, who gave her name only as Edna and identified herself as a 76-year-old lifelong Republican. She said several people in her family would lose coverage if the Affordable Care Acts expansion of Medicaid were rolled back, but when she ran into Mr. Gardner with his grandmother at the Yuma Days dance at the local high school a week ago, she let it drop.
I went to school with his aunt, Edna said. I see his mom and dad daily. We are all friendly. Am I going to boo at him in front of his grandmother in her wheelchair?
There is also the question of whether talking to ones senators, much less yelling at them, will make much of a difference anyway, a pessimistic thought on a day celebrating the ideals of self-government.
I think theyve got their priorities mixed up, said Connie Christiansen, standing on the lawn of her familys house in Shell Rock, Iowa, having watched as Boy Scouts, tractors, ATVs and musicians but no United States senators passed by.
If she saw Mr. Grassley, she said, she would tell him to retire. She had simply forgotten about Iowas other senator, Joni Ernst.
Ms. Christiansen called her 25-year-old cousin, Maggie Cain, over with a question: What do you think about talking to senators?
I feel like it wouldnt really make a difference, Ms. Cain replied.
See? Ms. Christiansen said. It doesnt make a difference how young you are. You feel the same. Helpless.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, had no public events on July 4. Mr. Portman marched in two parades.
Campbell Robertson reported from Alderson; Dave Philipps from Yuma, Colo.; Jess Bidgood from Eastport, Me.; and Emily Cochrane from Shell Rock, Iowa. Kim Raff contributed reporting from Ely, Nev.
A version of this article appears in print on July 5, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: With Voters Riled, G.O.P. Senators Lie Low.
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Senate Republicans Lie Low on the Fourth, or Face Single-Minded ... - New York Times
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