Sanders tries to sway GOP colleague on Obamacare repeal

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was in Charleston, W.Va., Sunday for a Protect Our Health Care Rally, where he urged local GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito to vote against what he called a “barbaric and immoral” bill, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

“It turns out that the legislation that is coming before the Senate in a few days, the so-called healthcare bill, will be the most devastating attack on the working class of this country in the modern history of the United States of America,” Sanders said to a crowd of about 2,000, according to the Gazette-Mail.

“This legislation will cause devastating, unprecedented harm to millions of people in my state, in your state and all across the country.”

The Senate is expected to vote this week on its plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.

{mosads}“We will not allow 23 million Americans to be thrown off of the health insurance they currently have in order to give $500 billion in tax breaks to the top 2 percent, the insurance companies and drug companies,” Sanders said at the event hosted by Move On Civic Action and several other progressive organizations.

“You don’t have a healthcare bill by throwing off millions of people off health insurance,” he said, the Gazette-Mail reported.

So far, five GOP senators have said they won’t support the current form of the bill.

Sanders used his appearance to urge Capito to join their ranks.

“Right now, nobody knows whether this bill will pass or fail. It will come down to a handful of votes. I believe that if Sen. Capito votes no, this bill will in fact go down,” Sanders said. “If she votes no, the Republicans likely will not have the votes to pass this disastrous legislation.”

“Sen. Capito is continuing to review and working to improve the healthcare legislation released last week,” said Ashley Berrang, a Capito spokeswoman, told the Gazette-Mail on Sunday night. “She welcomes and appreciates the perspectives of West Virginians as this process continues.”