With hundreds of thousands of Virginians estimated to be at risk of losing their coverage under the Republicans latest Trumpcare proposal, Ed Gillespie flip-flopped tonight on the Graham-Cassidy bill.
For Immediate Release
Date: September 19, 2017
Contact: Ofirah Yheskel, ofirah@ralphnortham.com
Gillespie Flip-Flops on Graham-Cassidy Bill In A Matter of Minutes
Says He Opposes The Bill On Stage; Then Says He Doesn’t Oppose It During Press Gaggle
That’s Because Ed Gillespie Will Say And Do Anything To Get Elected
Richmond, Va. — With hundreds of thousands of Virginians estimated to be at risk of losing their coverage under the Republicans latest Trumpcare proposal, Ed Gillespie flip-flopped tonight on the Graham-Cassidy bill.
For months, Ed Gillespie ducked and dodged providing voters with no answers about his support on Trumpcare, and insisted he was focused on state issues. Adding to the uncertainty of Virginians about whether or not they would have health care to count on, Gillespie previously signaled his openness to waiving protections in place for Virginians with preexisting conditions.
And yet tonight, on stage, Gillespie said he opposes the Graham-Cassidy bill.
NORTHAM: I would ask you tonight to join the two Republican governors that have said this say, bad idea. I think this would be a great opportunity.
GILLESPIE: I just said that we can’t punish Virginia.
Minutes later in the press gaggle, Gillespie said “I’m not endorsing or opposing any specific legislation.”
REPORTER: Graham-Cassidy, you oppose that?
GILLESPIE: No. What I said is that we should not in any legislation- this is what I said from the very beginning as there’s been in discussions in Washington about repeal and replace, Virginia cannot and should not be punished for being a fiscally responsible state [INAUDIBLE] when it comes to our Medicaid spending and we should not be punished for not taking the Medicaid expansion. There’s a process that is underway right now and I wanna make sure that in any process that Virginia is protected from that kind of punishment, but I’m not endorsing or opposing any specific legislation.
So — where does Gillespie stand on the bill? And why won’t he take a clear position on standing up against Virginians losing their health insurance?