Many holding signs with slogans such as “Stop Repeal,” “Don’t Take Away Our Care” and “Our Health Not Politics,” hundreds of people packed the plaza in front of Portland City Hall to overflowing on Sunday to show their opposition to Republican attempts in Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Those gathered heard from Democratic political leaders, low-income advocates a representative from Planned Parenthood and others.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District told the crowd that Congressional Republicans say they’re going to replace the ACA, but Pingree says they have no plans on how to do that.
“Sometimes they say we’ll replace it in 3 years after another election cycle. They won’t let anyone know what they’re doing, but now, thanks to their president elect, they tell us that they’re going to replace it right away, but they have no plans. Nothing they’ve discussed with us. They just say, ‘Wait, we’re going to tell you what it is.’ It’s called repeal and delay,” she says.
Maine Senate Democratic Leader Troy Jackson from Allagash says there have been times in his life when he had the fear of not knowing whether his family would have health coverage.
“I’ve known people that were close to me that also didn’t have health insurance, and when something happened to them, what did they do? They didn’t go in and get it taken care of. They tried to push it off. They tried to say, ‘Well, it’ll go away.’ Well, for too many people, that doesn’t happen,” he says.
Former presidential candidate and independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont called for similar rallies to take place around the country Sunday.
