How a newsjacking senator strutted into a TV host’s crosshairs
Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, tried to latch onto and invert Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional plea on behalf of the Affordable Care Act. The late-night comedian issued a scathing response.
That’s a lesson Sen. Bill Cassidy is learning after Jimmy Kimmel scorched his new health care bill on Kimmel’s program last night.
Why the high-profile feud? Kimmel is the eponym of Cassidy’s health care litmus test. Cassidy introduced the “Jimmy Kimmel test” after Kimmel shared the story of his own son’s congenital heart disease.
Kimmel tearfully told his audience his son was born with a congenital heart disease and had undergone open heart surgery that may not have been covered by insurance before Obamacare was enacted.
“You were born with a pre-existing condition, and if your parents didn’t have medical insurance you might not live long enough to even get denied because of a pre-existing condition,” Kimmel said at the time. “If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make.”
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