Obamacare Turns Doctors into GOP Candidates

“Do no Harm” is part of doctors’ Hippocratic Oath. But some doctors are taking that a step further this year, trying to do good by running for Congress as Republicans, Roll Call reports.

“In medicine you deal with the entire spectrum socioeconomically, and you have to develop communication skills to develop that doctor-patient relationship based on trust, and that translates very well into political life,” says Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., a cardiovascular surgeon who was elected in 2004.

Obviously healthcare is the main area of expertise for the GOP doctor candidates, which is important in a year that has seen the passage of Obamacare. And now they are building their positions on other issues too.

Nan Hayworth, a Republican ophthalmologist running against Democratic Rep. John Hall in New York, says permanently extending the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 is just as important as repealing the healthcare law. Other Republican doctors also are focusing on financial issues in their campaigns.