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Don’t Compare the Trump Resistance to the Tea Party

In episode 46 of Primary Concerns, a Democratic strategists says today's protesters are more legitimate and righteous than the Obama opposition.

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

There’s a strong temptation in politics to compare mass protests in support of Obamacare to the tea party protests of 2009, which nearly derailed health care reform before it passed. Jesse Ferguson thinks the comparison is flawed. Jesse worked on Capitol Hill during the law’s creation and for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016. In the wake of Clinton’s defeat, he turned his efforts to saving the law from repeal. But in 2013, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, which makes the fight an unusually personal one for him.

Further reading:

  • Jesse Ferguson argues at length that more distinguishes the 2009 and 2017 protest movements than unites them.
  • Brian Beutler says that the GOP’s difficulty repealing Obamacare is a cause for celebration, but may presage a major Republican legislating crisis later this year.