Ellison to Dems: Don’t gloat, get ready for round 2

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) urged fellow Democrats not to “gloat” as the party took a victory lap after Republicans pulled their ObamaCare repeal bill from a scheduled Friday vote.

“Don’t gloat; get ready for round 2. Organize!,” Ellison tweeted on Friday.

Don’t gloat; get ready for round 2. Organize!

— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) March 24, 2017

Ellison, the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, condemned the House GOP’s bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare, noting the millions of Americans who were estimated to lose health insurance and the proposed major cuts to Medicaid expansion.

{mosads}Even with the bill’s defeat, Ellison called on Democrats and activists to keep standing up to Republican efforts on healthcare.

“The only reason it failed is because a number of Republicans felt that it did not do enough damage,” Ellison said in a statement. 

“However, they will try again. Democrats, grassroots activists, and millions of Americans who don’t want to lose their coverage must be ready to mobilize like never before.”

Hours before the scheduled voted, President Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) scrambled to get enough votes to pass the bill off the House floor. But when it appeared likely they didn’t have the votes, they canceled the vote and said they will move on from healthcare reform.

The pulled vote is a huge setback for both the administration and House GOP leadership after Republicans have been campaigning on repealing ObamaCare for the past seven years.