Politics/elections

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) launched new advertisements Thursday against House Republicans who voted to repeal ObamaCare this week.

The 10 vulnerable GOP members "wasted" taxpayer money with the vote, the Web ads charge. Thursday's vote was the 37th time House Republicans have sought to repeal, defund or dismantle healthcare reform.

"Americans have lost their patience," said DCCC spokesman Jesse Ferguson in a statement. "It’s clear that as long as House Republicans are in charge, they’ll keep fighting the same ideological battles and obstructing progress." 

Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) announced Friday she will run for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R), joining an increasingly crowded field of GOP contenders. 

Handel, who mounted a failed bid for Georgia governor in 2010, said in a statement she was running because the state needs a “conservative Senator with the courage to take on the status quo.”

Handel’s candidacy became likely when one of her close political allies, Rep. Tom Price, announced last week he would not run. 

Three members of Georgia’s congressional delegation — Reps. Jack Kingston, Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun — have already launched Senate campaigns. 

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said Thursday she's afraid the IRS might use its role in enforcing President Obama's healthcare law to blackmail Americans.

The House is set to vote Thursday on a bill, sponsored by Bachmann, to repeal the healthcare law.

Republicans have sought to tie the repeal vote to the scandal over IRS agents targeting conservative groups for additional tax scrutiny. 

Targets include GOP Reps. Chris Gibson (N.Y.), Michael Grimm (N.Y.) and Joe Heck (Nev.).

A pro-McConnell advocacy group is launching its first ad on Friday, touting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) fight against President Obama's health care reform law.

President Obama will make a public defense of his signature healthcare law, using Mother's Day as a backdrop.

In a nod to the right, House Republican leaders will once again seek to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law next week.

House GOP leaders had to pull the bill two weeks ago amid pushback from conservatives in the Republican conference. 

Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) is the latest potentially vulnerable Democrat to say he's "concerned" about how the Obama administration is implementing its signature healthcare law.

One senior Democrat told The Hill this week that a botched ObamaCare rollout would be a threat to the party in 2014. And Bera, already a top target for Republicans, is clearly worried about the effects of a messy implementation process.

"I'm moderately to very concerned," Bera told the Sacramento Bee editorial board. "I have been consistently concerned about the cost of care going up."

Forty percent of the public does not know that President Obama's healthcare law remains on the books and is being implemented, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The survey is a stark reminder of the daunting task ahead for the White House as it works not only to remind people that the law exists, but to encourage them to enroll in its new coverage options.

Seven percent of those polled thought the law was struck down by the Supreme Court. Twelve percent thought Congress has repealed the law, and another 23 percent didn't know or refused to answer.