Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Woman with dying husband confronts Tom Cotton: “What kind of insurance do you have?”

Republican lawmakers around the country are facing angry backlash from their constituents over Obamacare and other issues at packed town halls. But an event for Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton on Wednesday night got especially heated.

One voter, her voice raw with emotion, told Cotton that her husband is dying and has Alzheimer’s and other conditions.

“And you want to stand there with him at home, expect us to be calm, cool, and collected? Well, what kind of insurance do you have?” she said, as the crowd erupted.

The woman told Cotton that they currently pay only $29 a month for her husband’s insurance and $39 a month for hers. They can’t afford higher premiums, she said. “If you can get us better coverage than this, go for it,” she said. “Can you beat that? Can you?”

At one point, another attendee asked members of the audience to stand up if they were affected by Obamacare. Nearly everyone did.

As Matt Fuller, a reporter for the Huffington Post, pointed out, a lot of people have gained health insurance under Obamacare in Arkansas — so it’s not surprising that Cotton’s constituents might be angry about the possibility of losing it:

Cotton agreed to hold the town hall at the insistence of Ozark Indivisible, which picketed Cotton’s office earlier this month after he canceled a previously scheduled meeting. Cotton’s office said he wasn’t letting constituents into his office at the time due to “recent threats.” Indivisible is a national network of progressive activists that has been helping local groups organize to attend town halls like these.

Other striking moments from the town hall, which drew more than 1,000 people, included a 7-year-old boy asking why it was more important to Donald Trump to pay for a border wall with Mexico than to fund PBS Kids:

At one point, Cotton was shouted down by chants demanding that Trump release his tax returns:

One woman also made a point of telling Cotton that she was “not a paid protester” — a phrase that President Trump and other Republican lawmakers have used often to dismiss the concerns of the constituents who attend the town halls.


Watch: Obamacare in Trump country

More in Politics

Podcasts
The Supreme Court abortion pills case, explainedThe Supreme Court abortion pills case, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

How Louisiana brought mifepristone back to SCOTUS.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Politics
Trump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expectedTrump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expected
Politics

As Trump heads to China, attention and resources are being shifted from Asia to yet another war in the Middle East.

By Joshua Keating
Politics
Are far-right politics just the new normal?Are far-right politics just the new normal?
Politics

Liberals are preparing for a longer war with right-wing populists than they once expected.

By Zack Beauchamp
The Logoff
Flavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA headFlavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA head
The Logoff

Why Marty Makary is out at the FDA, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Virginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymanderVirginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymander
Politics

Democrats just handed the Supreme Court’s Republicans a loaded weapon.

By Ian Millhiser
The Logoff
Can Trump lower gas prices?Can Trump lower gas prices?
The Logoff

What suspending the gas tax would mean for you, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters