Boccieri In Hot Seat – Grilled Over ObamaCare

Democrats Expected a Free Ride This Recess:

“After a jam-packed legislative session marked by the passage of controversial bills like Wall Street reform, Democrats will hit the campaign trail armed with talking points to draw distinctions between the two parties. And the Democratic leadership is predicting they will get a gentler reception this time.” (Alex Altman, “Recess ’10: Democrats Work to Ensure a Friendlier Reception This Year,” TIME, 8/2/10)

Recess Roasting: Ohio Dem Grilled by Unhappy Constituents:

John Boccieri was in the hot seat at Mike’s-Milann’s restaurant in Louisville.

The freshman Democratic congressman from Alliance joined the city’s mayor and council there in mid-August for a breakfast meeting where he delivered a rapid-fire sales pitch on what he and Congress have achieved over the past 20 months.

Seemingly without taking a breath, Boccieri spent eight minutes describing how the economic stimulus bill he endorsed stemmed job losses and helped reverse the nation’s economic downturn, how energy legislation he supported would promote green jobs that can’t be shipped to other countries, and how health-insurance reform legislation he backed will pare runaway costs.

Then the grilling began. Councilman Rick Guiley declared that the health bill will increase operating costs for small businesses and local governments, while Councilwoman Cheryle Casar questioned the wisdom of requiring people to buy health insurance if they don’t want it.

“After your vote, my health insurance went up 57 percent immediately because of anticipated changes in the federal government,” said Guiley, an attorney. “That is doing harm to me and doing harm to all these business owners.”

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Like other Democrats from Ohio and around the nation, Boccieri spent much of August meeting with constituents to defend his voting record and answer questions about congressional efforts to stimulate the economy, promote energy self-sufficiency and reform the health-insurance system.

To judge from poll numbers, Boccieri and other Democrats in Ohio have an uphill battle heading into November elections that could shift the House of Representatives into GOP hands. A poll released Thursday by the GOP-leaning American Action Forum showed Boccieri’s Republican challenger, Wadsworth businessman Jim Renacci, with a 14-point lead over the incumbent.

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‘We have a lot of work ahead of us’

After leaving the Louisville restaurant, Boccieri visited a day-care center, a pharmacy and Metzger’s Ace Hardware, where customer Dave Kennedy accosted him about his health-care vote. Kennedy said he heard calls to Boccieri’s office ran 2-to-1 against the bill, and he asked how he could support the bill under those circumstances.

“I have a real concern about where we are headed and how we are spending money we don’t have,” said Kennedy, a teacher.

Boccieri replied that most calls to his office were “robocalls” from outside his district and that he thought the bill was in the country’s best interests because it would save the nation $1.3 trillion in the next 20 years and help bring down health-care costs that threaten the nation’s economic security. (Sabrina Eaton, “Ohio Democrats Defend Their Records In Congress,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/30/2010)

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