Obamacare Repeal Protesters Bring Message To Reichert's Issaquah Office

ISSAQUAH, WA - About 40 protesters tried to meet with U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Bellevue, at his office here on Wednesday about the potential repeal of Obamacare - but when they got there, the office was dark and no one answered the door.

Issaquah resident Lindsey Walsh said she organized the protest with the goal of talking to Reichert or someone from his staff about the congressman's recent vote to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Walsh and other protesters said that some 43,000 people in Reichert's 8th Congressional District could lose their ACA coverage if the law is repealed without a replacement.

Last week, Reichert was one of the House Republicans who voted in favor of a budget resolution that would allow lawmakers to replace it with a preferred alternative. Republicans have not offered specifics on a replacement, although Republican president-elect Donald Trump has said that he wants to provide healthcare for all Americans.

"In 2010, the Obama Administration and Democrats who supported Obamacare made promises to Washington residents and Americans across the country that were never fulfilled,” Reichert said in a statement on his vote. “Families found they could not keep their doctors or hospitals and they were left with lower quality, higher cost healthcare plans.

The protesters marched into an office building along Southeast 56th Street and funneled into a narrow hallway, at the end of which was Reichert's office. They were met there by a locked door, although a sign on the window indicated that the office should've been open.

Walsh said that she had contacted Reichert's office to make sure it was open and not closed for lunch. She did say that Reichert apparently has the flu. Reichert spokesperson Breanna Deutsch said that staff at the Issaquah office - he has another one in Wenatchee - are often very busy.

"We have a limited staff serving in the district office. They are inundated with phone calls and are always engaged in meetings during the work day both in and out of the office," Deutsch wrote in an email. "For several years the office entry door has been locked and monitored for the safety of our staff and constituents. Our staff is always responsive to voice mails and emails, and our constituents are encouraged to contact us anytime."

The protesters took turns knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell, but no one answered. Roseann Popa, of Sammamish, brought a large bowl full of popcorn kernels - 15 pounds, she said - to illustrate how many people could lose healthcare in Reichert's district.

"That number can be hard to grasp," she said. "I felt this was the best was to illustrate it.

The protesters left signs and the bowl of popcorn kernels at Reichert's office door. Before disbanding, they vowed to organize again.

Images via Patch.com