Representative Adam Smith

And every health care provider, particularly ones who are operating on the margins right now, like rural hospitals or community health care clinics,

They go under, and now you don't have access to that care.

And also they have to charge the people who do have insurance more.

So it impacts absolutely everybody.

As far as what the Republicans are pulling over people, the highs on this one is a couple issues here.

On healthcare specifically, they're saying, look, it's just work requirements.

It's just signup requirements for Medicaid.

Another thing they're saying is that the Affordable Care Act

tax credits are add-ons that were put on during the pandemic.

And some of them were put on during the pandemic, but they were needed before the pandemic, right, for all the reasons that we've stated.

But I think the bigger issue right now that Democrats don't address as directly as I think we should is what Republicans are really saying is, look, when the Democrats were in charge, were you happy?

And they point out all the bad things that Democrats have done and in some of our governing challenges in places like Washington state.

And I'm not happy.

frankly, but the way Democrats have been governing in the Seattle, King County area on a wide range of issues.

And so it's really sort of whataboutism.

And they accuse us of having made all manner of different mistakes all across the board and tried to distract.

I've joked that at the end of the day, the Republican message, whenever you attack them on something is, I know you are, but what am I?

It's almost that simple sometimes.

They're blaming us for all of this, but many times without any sort of factual connection to it.

They just make the statement and think that if they tell the lie often enough, people will believe it.