Republicans in Congress are back in their districts with an important charge this August recess: sell the reconciliation bill to voters.
As Democrats point out in a new campaign memo, that task hasn’t exactly been easy.
Republicans are taking heat from voters on a number of fronts, from Jeffrey Epstein to Medicaid cuts. And in a memo obtained exclusively by NOTUS, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee notes that Republicans are having major trouble selling the reconciliation bill, with the campaign arm for House Democrats predicting that legislation will be “THE defining issue of the midterms.”
“In the few weeks since being sent home early for the summer, House Republicans have been inundated with a deluge of negative headlines, protests at their district offices, and Letters to the Editor, sending one loud and clear message: Voters HATE the Big, Ugly Law and are outraged at House Republicans for passing it,” the memo reads.
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“Inexplicably,” the memo adds, “House Republican leadership has demanded their vulnerable members go home on a hopeless mission to try and sell this cruel, unpopular law that election experts have said will cause House Republicans to be ‘eaten alive’ for their support of it.”
Republicans have weighed how to evangelize their achievements, with polling showing that voters are not exactly on board with the reconciliation bill, the economy or President Donald Trump.
The memo notes that most Republicans have avoided town halls — “Republicans are running scared, hiding from their constituents,” the memo claims — but for the GOP lawmakers who have held events in their districts, Democrats point out that they haven’t gone well.
The DCCC specifically points to a Rep. Mike Flood event earlier this week in Nebraska, where the Republican representative was booed by a crowd of roughly 700 as he attempted to sell voters on the merits of the GOP’s reconciliation bill. (The scene has played out repeatedly this year.)
In response to a question from NOTUS at the event, Flood told reporters that getting negative feedback was sometimes “part of the process.”
“This is the town square,” Flood said. “Sometimes it’s the loudest voices, sometimes it’s some of the quietest. They’re all here to take in democracy at this level, and it’s my job to answer their questions.”
But many Republicans are opting not to host large availabilities. In a leaked memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm gave Republicans tips on how to maximize their time during recess — without town halls. NRCC Chair Richard Hudson explicitly told Republicans they shouldn’t be doing the events earlier this year. And in the DCCC memo, Democrats cite rising prices, sagging job growth and rising unemployment to explain why Republicans aren’t holding town halls.
“It’s no wonder most Republicans are avoiding the American people altogether,” the memo reads.
But the DCCC makes it clear that the reconciliation bill will be a key focus over the next year as Republicans try to maintain control of the House.
“The sense of buyer’s remorse is real and growing daily. The more the American people learn about it, the more they hate it,” the memo says. “House Democrats will continue to be on offense, showing up in Republican-held districts and hammering the contrast that House Republicans work for the billionaires, not the people.”
“The American public is pissed and ready to vote Republicans out of the majority next year,” the memo concludes.
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