Ex-Reid aide: McConnell’s ‘original sin’ was casting ObamaCare as ‘partisan, socialist takeover’

A former aide to retired Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for his handling of healthcare reform, saying his “scorching the Earth” when ObamaCare was written paved the way for the failure of its repeal.

In a series of tweets, Adam Jentleson, former deputy chief of staff for Reid, who also served as Senate majority leader, touted the transparent process by which ObamaCare was created and went after McConnell for casting the effort as a “partisan, socialist takeover.”

“At the risk of pushing my luck, I’d like to offer a few thoughts about McConnell’s role in scorching the Earth on which repeal died,” Adam Jentleson tweeted Wednesday.

“McConnell’s original sin was recasting the fundamentally bipartisan process and substance of Obamacare as a partisan, socialist takeover.”

Jentleson said ObamaCare was “crafted in a fundamentally transparent & bipartisan way.”

Were there flaws and mistakes? Sure. But fundamentally it was months of hearings, public debate & extensive, earnest bipartisan outreach. 4/

— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 19, 2017

Dems *genuinely* wanted Republican buy-in. They included GOP amendments & ideas in the bill. And some Rs genuinely wanted to work w/Ds. 5/

— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 19, 2017

{mosads}

“But one man stood athwart this open, deliberative and bipartisan process yelling ‘STOP’: Mitch McConnell,” Jentleson added.

His comments come after the Senate GOP’s healthcare reform bill collapsed earlier this week amid lack of support.

On Tuesday, McConnell said the Senate would move forward with a plan to repeal ObamaCare, even as the repeal-only plan has already faced opposition by some members of his conference.

President Trump on Wednesday tweeted that Republican senators need to “keep their promise to America” on healthcare. Republicans “never discuss how good their healthcare bill is,” Trump said in a later tweet.