These coal country voters backed Trump. Now they're worried about losing Obamacare.

[DonViejo]

By Greg Sargent December 27 at 10:40 AM

Last night, CNN aired a terrific segment on people from coal country who voted for Donald Trump — but are now worried that his vow to repeal Obamacare will deprive them of crucial protections that enable them to stay afloat financially. This dovetails with other reporting that suggests a lot of Trump voters may be harmed by repeal of the law.

Which raises a question: Did voters such as these know they were voting for this? After all, Trump promised countless times throughout the campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act, didn’t he? If they are complaining about this now, don’t they have only themselves to blame?

No. I’m going to argue that, while Trump did repeatedly vow repeal, these voters were absolutely right to conclude that he would not leave them without the sort of federal protections they enjoy under Obamacare. That’s because Trump did, in fact, clearly signal to them that this would not happen.

The CNN segment features people who live in Eastern Kentucky coal country and backed Trump because he promised to bring back coal jobs. Now, however, they worry that a provision in the ACA that makes it easier for longtime coal miners with black lung disease to get disability benefits could get eliminated along with the law. That provision shifted the burden of proving that the disability was directly caused by work in the mines away from the victim. Those benefits include financial and medical benefits. Some benefits now also extend to the widows of miners who had black lung disease — or pneumoconiosis, a lung illness associated with inhalation of coal dust — after their husbands die. Other reporting has also confirmed widespread coal country worries about losing these protections.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/12/27/these-coal-country-voters-backed-trump-now-theyre-worried-about-losing-obamacare/?utm_term=.554eab8a4d44&wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1

[Aristus]

1. ...

[guillaumeb]

2. Voting has consequences.

Being unable to process information and make intelligent decisions also has consequences.

Soon these southern, values voters will experience the consequences, but will they be able to understand that they are at fault?

[LonePirate]

8. They will not understand that they are at fault for voting in destructive Republicans.

Just look at the voters in Kansas and Wisconsin who re-elected Brownback and Walker after they decimated their state economies. These voters are no different when it comes to accepting responsibility and understanding the error of their ways.

[guillaumeb]

12. True. And the utter bankruptcy of supply side ideas is never really examined

in the corporate media.

[Blue Shoes]

3. boo fuckin hoo

[stopbush]

4. Idiots. They had 18 months to evaluate Trump, yet they bought the bullshit

hook, line and sinker.

Now, a mere 6 weeks after electing the asshole, they are worried that he'll do exactly what he said he'll do to Obamacare.

Oh, and your fucking coal jobs aren't coming back, either. THEY NEVER WERE, assholes.

[spooky3]

5. All Americans should know that the Congress votes on legislation. It doesn't take

a genius IQ or advanced education to know that with a Republican Congress, the best these voters could hope for is that Trump would veto changes to Obamacare that didn't "take care" of them. In addition, you don't have to be especially well-informed to know that Republicans have voted MANY times to repeal Obamacare without replacement. So, even if you believed all of those "Trump signals", and there are many reasons why you should not have, you would have to be concerned about what the Congress would do.

So I COMPLETELY disagree with Sargent's analysis.

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. I don't really care. You get what you vote for. I'm surprised at the number of people who didn't....

believe the words that came out of Trump's mouth. They figure he just said stuff to get elected, and he won't follow through with it? They're either really stupid, or they voted their fear of "the other". My money's on the latter.

[benld74]

7. Made the bed, now everyone sleeps in it. Thanks

[Ohioblue22]

9. Fuck em enjoy your black lung you built it

[Ohioblue22]

10. Stupid fucks are dying from black lung yet they vote for *it*

To bring back the black lung jobs back. God they're stuck on a cycle of stupid

[Drahthaardogs]

17. They are not stupid, they are desperate

Coal jobs provided a living at one time. The alternative is retail which does not.

[Squinch]

11. Hmmmm... that seems like hatred coming back around to bite one in one's own ass...

Wait till they hear about Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security!

[irisblue]

13. Hard to feel sympathy

So many people in coal country voted against their instrest. And with that screwed the rest of us.

[Starry Messenger]

14. I'm an adjunct who voted for Hillary and will be losing Obamacare

I'm getting so fucking sick of these articles.

[treestar]

15. Fucking morons

These people suck so much. How can they be that fucking stupid? I don't deserve to lose the ACA, but they sure do.

[hatrack]

16. Shocked, shocked, I tell you!