GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – One Wisconsin Republican has no regrets with voting to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Eighth District Representative Mike Gallagher appeared on WTAQ’s Jerry Bader Show Monday to discuss why Thursday’s legislative action was necessary.
“The Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner showed me a map projecting what the individual market was going to look like next year if we do nothing. Northeast Wisconsin essentially disappears from the map.”
Gallagher says the nation’s healthcare system has been broken for a long time and that the Affordable Care Act helped reveal its biggest problems.
“Even the most ardent defenders of Obamacare will say we need to fix it, which implies that it’s broken.”
While Gallagher condemns the Democrats chanting of ‘na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye’ at their Republican colleagues following the vote, indicating some GOP legislators that voted for the repeal would suffer in the 2018 midterm elections, he also takes issue with Republicans actions from later that day.
Many House Republicans attended a White House lawn ceremony with President Trump and Vice-President Pence.
“What are we celebrating? We haven’t passed a bill into law. The Senate is going to rewrite this thing. I’ve never seen the Packers pop the champagne at halftime.”
The House GOP healthcare bill now heads to the Senate, where some Republicans have indicated a complete rewrite, as Gallagher noted.
On Monday, Gallagher also discussed recent criticism over his failure to hold in-person town hall meetings with the residents of his district.
In recent months, many Republican legislators throughout the nation have been greeted by loud vocal opposition at their events.
Gallagher condemns that behavior, saying “I’m just not interested in political theatre. We have far too much of it on both sides. I’m interested in having an honest dialogue and conversation.”
The congressman notes he has reached out to over 100,000 people to take questions and concerns.
Following last Thursday’s healthcare vote, protestors gathered outside Gallagher’s Appleton office.
“I recognized some of the people on the left that were demonstrating in front of my office, because I met with them, individually and personally.”
Gallagher notes he has offered to meet with many of those people in a setting he believes is more productive.
“Would you like to meet one-on-one? Would you like a group discussion so we can debate and be civilized? It’s funny how they then rescind the offer.”
Gallagher says many on both sides have become unwilling to debate, being set in their opinions and closed off to alternative perspectives.
He’s also concerned with false information put out through social media and the internet.
“If we don’t have a space in this country where we can have shared facts, then how are we going to solve any of these problems (that the United States faces)?”
