About a dozen protesters gathered at the Tippecanoe County courthouse Friday to speak out against the latest Affordable Care Act repeal bill, currently awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate.
The Greater Lafayette chapter of the group Indivisible is trying to urge as many people as possible to call senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Todd Young (R-IN), and push them not to support the so-called Graham-Cassidy bill.
Despite Friday’s small protest turnout, member Lisa Dullum says the group isn’t feeling ‘repeal fatigue’ – instead, she says this attempt shows they’re making a difference.
“I think we’re realizing how successful we’ve been keeping it back. I mean, if you think back to the spring, everyone thought it was a sure thing – and here we are in September, and there’s a really good chance it’s not going to happen,” Dullum says. “So, I think we’re all excited and pumped up.”
Christopher Hegarty says calling the senators’ offices has been successful. He says Joe Donnelly has been more receptive – the democratic senator has also announced that he will vote ‘no.’
“It’s been good to hear, at least from him and his office, that they support reforming healthcare in a sensible way,” Hegarty says. “Not this, basically.”
Hegarty says a few days ago, Todd Young’s staffers told the group Indiana’s junior senator was still undecided on how he would vote.