Kay Hagan should hold a press conference outside of MoCoHo and demand to know what Thom Tillis means when he talks about repealing Obamacare. 

Does he want to go back to screening out people with pre-existing conditions?

Kick young adults off family policies?

Uninsure the millions who have gained coverage?

Undo the success of the ACO program, which is making a big difference here in GSO?

If not, what's his plan for keeping the stuff people like, and paying for it?

Not that Tillis talks much about ACA anymore. After months of positive news, he can't afford to be pinned down on what his alleged repeal plan would really mean. You have to dig at his campaign site for Obamacare bashing.

But Kay's site also avoids the issue. She's running a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust campaign and is afraid that the law's lingering stigma will hurt her.

Which it will, if she and/or Democratic supporters don't get the message out.  

Comments

[Lex]

Worst. Campaigner. Ever.

Well, OK, maybe not the absolute worst. But, Lord, not good.

[Ed Cone]

Erskine was even worse.

[hartzman]

"The State Employees Association of North Carolina today announced the filing of a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower for possible breaches of the SEC’s “pay-to-play” rule involving State Treasurer Janet Cowell, former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and his wife, JP Morgan Board of Directors member Crandall Bowles."

http://www.seanc.org/news/seanc-in-the-news/seanc-files-sec-whistleblower-complaint-over-potential-pay-to-play-by-treasurer-janet-cowell-and-erskine-bowles/
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All the finest people.

[Andrew Brod]

This piece on Kentucky is instructive. I've had similar thoughts regarding Medicaid expansion. It's obviously the right move for North Carolina, but who's the constituency for it? Not rich people, as they already have insurance. Not old people, as they already have Medicare. Rather it's poor people, relatively few of whom bother to vote.

The point of the article I linked is that it might be too late for Grimes, though I have to wonder. It ain't November yet. But what about Hagan?

[Andrew Brod]

I presume that Grimes still wouldn't want to connect Kynect, the popular health exchange which is nothing more than Kentucky's implementation of the ACA, to Obama. So don't. It could be branded as a Democratic initiative, because it is. It exists in Kentucky because of the state's Democratic governor. If she's smart about it, Grimes should be able to run as a Democrat who embraces certain key Democratic policies, not as a member of Obama's party.

[Charles L. Thompson]

Hagan made one very positive remark about Obamacare. So I contributed to her campaign, with a note indicating that's why I did it. Since then, I have gotten lots of solicitations to give or do more, but I have never seen another positive remark about Obamacare. Am I missing something?

[John]

Hagan's "Tell Thom" (or "Tell Tillis") ads have been effective. I would say the non-stop barrage of negative ads have improved her standing in the polls. I seriously doubt it was her debate performance. And her recent ad in which Hagan appears on camera complaining of Tillis' negative ads (ho HO!) is dreadful. Hagan is so wooden and unnatural in front of a camera she makes George W. Bush look like Jon Hamm. Keep her off camera as much as possible, keep pounding Tillis on his terrible record as speaker in the State House and she'll probably be fine.

For Tillis' part, he needs to drop the "repeal Obamacare" nonsense. That ship has sailed. It does not mean he has to like it, nor should he stop talking about fixing the parts of Obamacare he disagrees with. But he is not going to repeal it and any notion that he will (or even can) is silly. If I were Tillis, I would run a constant loop of news footage showing Hagan in a dead sprint running away from a reporter asking her questions about her statements of being able to keep your doctor if you like it. That was the biggest lie about Obamacare (and one that our president knew was a lie from the get-go). Hagan bought into that line of bullshit lock stock and barrel. Tillis should pound her on that. But Tillis is too busy airing completely meaningless ads on "Obama's assault on gun owners" (ok, what did I miss? What assault on gun owners? Last time I checked there were plenty of idiots with firearms doing all sorts of carnage). Tillis is not exactly Mr. Personality in front of a camera, either (but not nearly as bad as Kay...hoo boy, she needs help there).

I think both of them are pretty weak but Kay has lots of bucks and she'll have the mainstream media behind her. I seriously doubt that she will lose despite her reticence in touting Obamacare.

[Bill Bush]

I have said before, and I repeat, Kay Hagan could beat Tillis over the head with the success of Obamacare where it has been implemented. And she could punch him again with an enumeration of the needs in NC. Then she could ask where he sent our tax dollars, and what he bought with them. I am deeply disappointed with her running away from President Obama. The haters will never vote for her over Tillis. Forget them.