Why are Dems vulnerable? Obamacare

New Hampshire families simply cannot afford the cost of this failed policy

In 2012, President Obama won re-election in part by driving a false narrative that Republicans are waging a war on women. It seems that not much has changed in the Democrats’ political playbooks in these last two years, because Democrats nationwide and especially right here in New Hampshire are once again claiming that Republicans are at odds with women.

No one can blame Democrats for trying to repeat past success. But here’s the problem – 2014 is not 2012. Democrats have broken their promises time and time again, and this year Granite State residents are ready to make a change and vote Republicans into office.

One stark contrast between 2012 and 2014? Obamacare. In 2012, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was still promising New Hampshire residents that if they liked their doctor, they could keep their doctor. But in 2014, we know that’s not the case. Obamacare is now a disastrous reality for the Granite State, due largely to Shaheen’s deciding vote for the law.

Because of Shaheen, many New Hampshire residents have lost access to their family doctor, the person who they have trusted to take care of their family for years. Because of Shaheen, many New Hampshire residents have seen their hours reduced at work because their employer can no longer afford to keep them on staff full time due to the regulations required of employers by Obamacare. Because of Shaheen, 22,000 Granite State families have received health insurance cancellation letters because their plans no longer fit the requirements of Obamacare, and their employers can no longer afford to provide the kind of insurance plans that meet Obamacare mandates. Plans that in many cases have coverage requirements that many people simply don’t need or want.

Shaheen alone is not responsible for the failures and burdens of Obamacare. While she was the deciding vote for the legislation in 2009, her colleagues in the House, Congresswomen Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster, also share the blame.

We all want affordable, accessible health care coverage, but New Hampshire families simply cannot afford the cost of this failed policy, and Reps. Shea-Porter and Kuster have turned a deaf ear to the people they are supposed to represent, refusing to even hold town halls to answer the questions of families who have lost their coverage altogether.

Granite State families are, unfortunately, facing many economic difficulties today in addition to the burdensome cost of Obamacare. Economic stagnation leaves us with 38,000 unemployed neighbors, a gallon of milk at $3.65, gas at over $3.50 a gallon, and the only answer offered by our governor is more government spending, which always leads to the same outcome: higher taxes for all.

Recently Gov. Maggie Hassan led the charge in passing an increase in the gas tax and will sign it into law. This law means one thing for all of us – less money in our pockets.

Under the leadership of Hassan, our state’s Rainy Day Fund has dwindled to perilously low levels and our credit rating has been lowered from “stable” to “negative.” The answer is not more taxes and more spending; it is reduced government spending, tax cuts, balanced budgets and sensible contributions to our Rainy Day Fund.

In a country where women start more small businesses than men, and women make the majority of consumer purchase decisions and the majority of health care decisions for their families, it is hard to make the argument that a party that fights for limited, efficient government, lower taxes and free-market health insurance reform is somehow against women. These are the principles that, when translated into policy, lift up the entire community and protect the America of unlimited opportunity that we all hold so dear.

It’s easy to understand how and why New Hampshire Democrats are pursing this narrative – many of the elected officials we are working to replace this year are indeed women. That Shaheen, Shea-Porter, Kuster and Hassan are women is a non sequitur. They could just as easily be men – our argument would be the same. They aren’t working for New Hampshire, and it’s time for them to go.

Jennifer Horn is chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.