A group of former GOP House members with tea party leanings are
seeking political resurrection in 2014, trying to recapture offices they once held by running against Obamacare, according to The New York Times.
Some of these politicians believe that the trouble-plagued Affordable Care Act will bring them support from centrist Republicans and even Democratic voters.
"This time is going to be different, because the middle-class folks who are being affected by Obamacare are going to come out, lots of both Republicans and Democrats," said Bobby Schilling, a former Illinois congressman running for office again in a mixed district that includes Peoria, told the Times.
Nan Hayworth, who represented a Hudson Valley district in New York, is also hoping for a comeback.
"The health care law is going to be enormous in this race. But this is about people's lives and the system not working. It is not a partisan issue," she also told the Times.
The candidates seeking a new lease on political life are taking more measured positions this time around, the Times reported Sunday. Several have distanced themselves from the tea party inspired government shutdown and are emphasizing the troubles with Obamacare's implementation rather than calling outright for its repeal.
The strategy could pay off if public opinion surveys are any indication. For example, a recent Quinnipiac University poll found that
most voters now oppose the healthcare law passed by Congress in 2010 by a 57 percent to 39 percent margin.
The polls also show that President Barack
Obama's approval ratings remain down with only 41 percent saying in early December they think he is doing a good job, according to the Gallup weekly tracking survey.
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