U.S. Sen. Angus King has joined a Democratic “strike force” designed to help sell Obamacare to a public wary after the troubled law’s bungled implementation.
“As part of the new push from the White House to try to highlight the benefits of Obamacare amid the troubled rollout of the law, a group of House and Senate Democrats are holding daily phone calls with administration officials to coordinate the messaging of the day and serve as a communications “strike team” on the Hill,” reports Buzzfeed.com.
According to the report, the Senate Democratic strike team will include Senate Leaders Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and Dick Durbin, along with Sens. Debbie Stabenow, Chris Murphy, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tom Harkin, Max Baucus, Barabara Boxer, Tim Kaine, and Angus King.
King, who has not officially enrolled with either political party, campaigned as an “independent,” but decided to caucus with Democrats just weeks after arriving in Washington, D.C. Since that time, he has become a vocal advocate for the law. King has even gone as far as to say people who oppose the law are “guilty of murder.”
As a member of the Democratic Obamacare strike force, King has produced at least one Dec. 2 press release touting the White House’s talking points on Obamacare’s successes: “King Highlights Affordable Care Act Successess in Maine: Despite rocky rollout, new health care law is supporting better care practices and cost-saving measures like preventive care“.
“As I witnessed today, the Affordable Care Act is already beginning to make a positive difference here in Maine, even despite the problematic rollout of the federal exchange website,” Senator King said. “For example, I saw firsthand at MaineHealth how the new law is supporting improved care practices through innovative Accountable Care Organizations, and at East End Community School I saw a nationally-recognized example of preventive and wellness care with the Let’s Go! program, which the ACA is bolstering through a $2.4 million Community Transformation Grant. These ACA-supported developments will go a long way in helping Mainers to not only live healthier lives, but to also save more money in the long-run.”
King did not address the more than ten thousand Mainers who received insurance cancellation notices or the looming cancellation of small group insurance plans.
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