Patrick Morrisey: Joe Manchin Stood with Schumer to Defend Obamacare

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) stood with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday to defend Obamacare and attack President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Sens. Manchin, Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Bob Casey (D-PA) joined Schumer to defend Obamacare’s pre-existing protections amid a court fight.

Nathan Brand, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey for Senate campaign spokesman, said, “Sen. Joe Manchin continues to put the interest of Washington liberals like Chuck Schumer and his radical special-interest donors ahead of the health care of West Virginians.”

In 2011, Manchin as governor of West Virginia supported repealing Obamacare. Last year, Sen. Manchin voted against repealing Obamacare. The West Virginia Democrat also voted against Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate. Overall, Manchin voted against repealing Obamacare nine times.

Breitbart News reported that 80 percent of those who pay Obamacare’s individual mandate make less than $50,000, making the mandate’s repeal a significant tax cut.

In April 2018, President Donald Trump criticized Manchin’s vote against the tax cut legislation, saying:

Joe, he voted against. No, it was bad. I thought he would be helpful because he talks. Grabs me; I grab him. Says hello; I say hello. But he votes against everything. And he voted against our tax cuts. And that was bad. And he voted, he also voted against medical help and health care. And that’s bad, and we can’t have it.

Vice President Mike Pence offered similar criticism in January when he charged, “When the time came to repeal and replace the disaster of Obamacare, Joe voted no.”

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, West Virginia’s individual premiums under Obamacare increased by an average of $441 since 2013, which amounts to a 159 percent increase.

Sen. Manchin also cited heath care as one of the reasons that he is reluctant to support Supreme Court Justice nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

After Trump announced his nominee, Sen. Manchin said he will “evaluate Judge Kavanaugh’s record, legal qualifications, judicial philosophy and particularly, his views on healthcare.”

Breitbart News reported that Obamacare insurance regulations that establish pre-existing conditions are primarily responsible for the significant increases in premiums. A McKinsey and Co. report found that both Obamacare regulations, community ratings, and guaranteed issue were the most damaging Obamacare regulations.

“When President Trump asked Sen. Manchin to fix the broken health care system by repealing and replacing Obamacare, Joe sided with Washington liberals and said NO,” Brand added.