In an editorial, NJ.com expressed hope that U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-3rd) had heard the anguish that came through at the marathon town hall session, and lamented that half a million of our state's residents stand to lose health-care coverage under the terms of his amendment.
A tumultuous May 10 meeting between U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-3rd) and 300 of his angriest constituents made headlines worldwide.
The New Jersey congressman is seen as single-handedly rescuing the GOP attempt to dismantle Obamacare with an amendment tailored to please his party's far right wing.
In an editorial, NJ.com expressed hope that MacArthur had heard the anguish that came through at the marathon town hall session, and lamented that half a million of our state's residents stand to lose health-care coverage under the terms of his amendment.
Here's what some readers had to say:
Melland: At what point do we move the discussion to the fact that Obamacare is imploding ... A disaster of a plan that was only passed by one party in which many members did not read it because they were so rushed to pass it.
How angry N.J. voters vented at MacArthur for 5 hours
time2decide: The GOP just continues to destroy their current opportunity to lead.
nickleass: How many people lost and/or could not afford insurance after the ACA was passed? Why don't we hear about them?
Unblocked: MacArthur had the respect to hold a town hall at the urging of a liberal "grassroots" organization. The behavior of those said individuals was disgusting. Lack of respect while discussing his deceased daughter warrants an immediate apology and more.
TMoor: MacArthur consistently failed to make a case for a fatally-flawed plan he wrote that will effectively deny affordable health care to tens of millions of Americans, more than 90,000 of them in his own district.
Lendinghell: Republicans could easily enact a program that would cover everyone at much less cost. It's called Medicare for all. A good single-payer system would cost the US about half what it pays now. And everyone would be covered, cradle to grave.
CountMountjoy: The GOP doesn't care how many people may die or go broke due to lack of affordable health insurance. This bill is their first step in their plan to cut taxes for the wealthy. The people who support it either have good coverage (for now) or are too stupid to realize they are getting screwed.
TrentonObserver: Get a job that provides health insurance and be done with it, already, instead of demanding that everything you want in life is somehow your God-given right.
northnjboy: No one is going to die as a result of this legislation. The ACA was designed to fail and will do so in less than 2 years. Replacing ACA with something sustainable is the only responsible course of action.
Reasonable: At this point, nothing to really sweat about. The Senate is going to make all types of changes. Probably worth keeping all the hysteria under control until we start to see what they wind up doing.
BrassBand5: Considering many pre-existing conditions most people have zero control over, they should not matter to any society worthy of being deemed civilized. And the overall number that will lose health insurance is over 24 million.
ru4knights: I would love to see Congress lose their benefits program and given the opportunity to use the open market like everyone else. I think these pre-existing conditions issues and outrageous pricing for seniors would end.
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