Lauren Egan@ The Bulwark
THE DESCENT OF THE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into an agency of anti-vaccine agendas and organizational chaos—see my The topic has been emphasized by several Democrats over the past few days. Sen. Patty Murray said it was “dangerous” for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remain in power and called for him to be fired. Rep. George Whitesides, who represents a competitive California district and who has a background in science and technology, said that “we must protect our seniors and our kids from the dangers of communicable diseases” and called for Kennedy to be removed from office. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted that Kennedy’s “stubborn, pigheaded, and conspiracy-based attacks on proven science are going to make many more people sick and cause more deaths.” He, too, urged President Donald Trump to immediately remove RFK Jr.
It seems highly unlikely at this point that Trump will do that. But it would also be foolish to downplay the political significance of the chaos that Kennedy has overseen in the past few months.
Among the staffers at Democratic campaign committees and super PACs that I spoke with last week, the CDC saga was seen as a component of a larger story that the party could tell about Donald Trump dismantling the health care system. And although part of that story, for some audiences, might end up being about Kennedy—his purges at the CDC, his war on vaccination, his dismantling the FDA—another part, likely more politically potent, would be health care becoming less affordable and less accessible.
Affordability issues are already at the center of the messaging and advertising campaigns for the campaign committees and leading super PACs. Just this weekend, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a digital ad blaming Trump for jacking up grocery prices and making Labor Day cookouts “ridiculously expensive.” And as I wrote last week, Democratic leaders are also focusing on rising energy prices….
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There are signs that Republicans also see health care as a major vulnerability going into next year. Sen. Joni Ernst, whose seat Turek is vying for, has recently told people close to her that she will not run for re-election. And though her reasons for doing so likely vary (an overall bad climate for Republicans is probably atop the list), health care notably was already one of her bigger vulnerabilities. Democrats pounced on the viral “we all are going to die” comment that Ernst made at a town hall earlier this year in response to constituents’ concerns about the Medicaid cuts. Ernst, who was elected in 2014 on a promise to repeal Obamacare (back before the legislation’s popularity had skyrocketed), was never able to find her footing after.
But perhaps the most telling comment last week came from a far less high-profile conservative. Students for Trump cofounder and MAGA diehard Ryan Fournierpleaded with Republicans to pass the extended Obamacare subsidies, arguing that the president’s policy agenda—and their own political standing—could crumble without it….