Democrat Jones talks health care in Senate campaign stop

Nov. 08--Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones doubled down on his criticism of his opponent's health care policies in a campaign stop in Anniston on Tuesday.

"He's not even for 'repeal and replace,' which I think is a silly slogan" Jones told a crowd of about 125 supporters at Classic Too on Noble Street. "He's not even for that. He's for repeal."

Jones, a former U.S. attorney, faces Republican and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in a Dec. 12 special election for U.S. Senate. The winner will finish the Senate term begun by Jeff Sessions, who left Congress to become the nation's attorney general.

Most observers have seen an uphill battle for Jones in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in more than 20 years. Polls have sometimes shown Jones close enough to Moore to be within the margin of error, but they've never shown him ahead.

Jones says he's confident he can win by focusing on kitchen-table issues, in particular health care. In his Tuesday speech, Jones defended the Affordable Care Act as "the start of the conversation," he promised to work to fix the ACA's problems and to bring down premiums, criticized the GOP's "repeal and replace" bills and panned Moore for failing to weigh in on the debate about health insurance program for kids.

The Children's Health Insurance Program, a state-and-federal health insurance program for kids, provides health insurance directly to more than 80,000 children in Alabama, and supports Medicaid coverage for another 70,000. The program is out of money because Congress hasn't approved a funding bill to pay for it, and Alabama's program could shut down by March if a solution isn't found.

Jones criticized Moore for saying, in a visit to Anniston last month, that he hadn't had a chance to review the issue.

"Because Roy Moore doesn't want the federal government in health care, he refuses to say whether or not he supports that program," Jones said.

Moore's campaign said in April that Moore wants to "make sure that the federal government is getting out of the health care business entirely." Jones maintains that means Moore wants to end Medicare and Medicaid. The fact-checking site Politifact rated that statement false, saying Jones had put words in Moore's mouth.

Jones doubled down on the claim Tuesday.

"When he says he wants the federal government out of health care, he wants them out of Medicare as well," Jones said.

He defended the claim, saying Moore has never said affirmatively that he does support either program.

Asked about Moore's position on Medicare and Medicaid after the speech, Moore spokesman John Rogers said that he wouldn't comment "except to say that the Politifact article speaks for itself."

Moore is well-known among conservatives both nationwide for the struggles that twice led to him being disciplined during his time on the state supreme court. In 2003, he was kicked off the court for refusing a higher court's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Supreme Court building. He was re-elected in 2012, and suspended from the court last year for telling probate judges to defy the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

Jones on Tuesday said he could work across the aisle to get things done in the Senate, while Moore couldn't compromise even with members of his own party.

"We haven't had such a divisive figure running for office in a long time," Jones said. He compared the race to the 1970 gubernatorial election between racial moderate Albert Brewer and segregationist firebrand George Wallace. Wallace beat Brewer, in a Democratic primary, and went on to become governor.

"Unfortunately, we chose the wrong path, and we paid for it for a long time," he said.

That message seemed to resonate with Democrats in the crowd.

"The place where we are right now is a place of bigotry and divisiveness," said the Rev. Dante Whittaker, chairman of the Talladega County Democratic Party. "I hope people will go out and vote and say 'enough.'"

Rebecca Burt of Anniston said she'd be glad to campaign for Jones. She said even conservative voters could be convinced to support Jones if supporters talk about pocketbooks issues.

Burt's husband, Mack, was also in the audience, and is a relatively recent convert to the Democrats. He said he was naturally a Republican or independent, but switched "because the party left me." He said he's not sure what Republicanism means anymore.

"The world has gotten very weird," he said.

Capitol & statewide reporter Tim Lockette: 256-294-4193. On Twitter @TLockette_Star.

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