Friday, November 8, 2013

Heritage Action & The Obamacare Fight

Time magazine had a story back in October titled "Loss Leaders" about the recent budget/debt crisis, and described Heritage Action like this:
...More doctrinaire groups began raising money with the explicit goal of pushing Republican policy to the right.  Outfits like Heritage Action for America weren't interested in cutting deals to soothe financial markets.  They wanted to energize the despondent core of true believers.  Working out of drab, fluorescent-lit offices a few blocks and a world away from the gilded suites of the Capitol, Heritage stoked the primal fear of primary challenges in most members of Congress.  It pushed hot-button issues, published rankings to praise the orthodox, and used their clout to punished signs of squishiness.  Ideology, not party strategy, was their passion.
Heritage Action and others paved the way for the ambitious junior Senator  from Texas, Ted Cruz, a slick and silver-tongued rookie who appears to have noticed that Obama once had those same credentials.  In late July, Heritage began promoting a plan backed by Cruz to turn the approaching budget crisis into a roadblock for Obamacare.
Heritage Action is now asking people to share their stories about how Obamacare is hurting them.  Here is a previous Think Tank Watch post on Heritage Action's $550,000 "Defund Obamacare" campaign.  Heritage Action also has posted an Obamacare "Increase Map" where one can see how much more (or less) they will pay for health insurance in their state.