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Democrats are confidently selling Obamacare for perhaps the first time since the law was passed.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have rallied behind the case that the Affordable Care Act needs to be amended and not repealed, using the prospects of coverage disappearing as a cudgel against Republicans, including newly installed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. But the real action has been in the districts, where constituents and activists alike have overwhelmed phone lines and town halls demanding that Republicans put the brakes on their repeal efforts.

The latest bit of disruption took place Thursday night, when constituents practically upended Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetzs town hall over concerns about an Obamacare repeal and the Republican lawmakers handling of congressional oversight with respect to the Trump administration. Other representatives have had similar experiences, with some fleeing their events, others beingforced to leave with police protectionand a select few (maybe just one: Justin Amash) forcefully pushing back against the crowd.

Feeling buoyed by what theyve seen, groups tasked with defending the law are ramping up their efforts. Save My Care, which is in the middle of a two-month bus tour, is planning a new demonstration targeting Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) outside his appearance at a Republican Party dinner this weekend. And from there, its going to Arizona to target GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.

What Obamacare defenders need in the Senate are three Republican votes unwilling to support repeal legislation so long as there isnt a replacement to accompany it. And for that, Heller and Flake are prime targets, as both have had some moderate streaks in the past, both come from states that expanded Medicaid coverage under Obamacare and both are up for re-election in 2018.

But even if groups like Save My Care are able to sow enough doubt of the efficacy of repeal among elected officials and the evidence is mounting that serious doubt exists the law remains under obvious threat. Price has vast administrative control at HHS over Obamacares implementation. And he could try to reduce and upend the legislation through its administration.

For now, the hope is that enough localized pressure will force members to legislate around the law (as opposed to killing it) and make even Price think twice about letting Obamacare simply crater to death.

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Obamacare Advocates Set Their Sights On Republican Senators Out West - Huffington Post

Consumer sentiment is very high, but Democrats and Republicans have starkly different views on the economy.

A measure of how optimistic Americans are about the economy, known as consumer sentiment, fell in February just a month after hitting the highest level since 2004. But Democrats and Republicans see the economy in starkly different terms.

The consumer sentiment survey dropped to 95.7 this month from 98.5 in January, based on a preliminary reading by the University Michigan. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a reading of 98.

Americans were just as optimistic about current economic conditions in February as they were in January, but they set their sights a bit lower for the next six months. A gauge that measures expectations slipped to 85.7 from 90.3.

In February, roughly six in 10 consumers polled made either positive or negative references to some government action by the new Trump administration, an unusually high level. About the half the responses were favorable and half were unfavorable.

Expectations for the next six months among Democrats were near a historic low while expectations among Republicans was near a record high.

These differences are troublesome, said Richard Curtin, chief economist of the Michigan survey.

He said consumer spending is more influenced over time by negative instead of positive expectations, perhaps a sign that it could eventually weigh on the economy.

A similar survey of consumers by the New York Federal Reserve suggests that recent highs in consumer confidence are exaggerated by partisanship. After factoring out how liberals and conservatives view the economy, the New York Fed concluded that overall consumer confidence is probably little changed compared to pre-election levels.

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Democrat, Republican consumers have starkly different views of US economy - MarketWatch

MSNBC

A Republican megadonor and the 'perfect little puppet' MSNBC Seated behind Trump were members of Congress, members of the new president's family, former presidents, and one Republican Party megadonor: billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. It was the first time in recent memory a new president ... and more »

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A Republican megadonor and the 'perfect little puppet' - MSNBC

Just three weeks into Donald Trumpspresidency, Republican lawmakers are getting a taste of how hispolicies are going over with voters at home.

On Thursday night, a town hall outside Salt Lake City by Congressman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, boiled over into a raucous display of grassroots rage, largely in opposition to Trump and Republican leaders attempts to dismantle Barack Obamas legacy.

As many as 1,000angry constituents packed into a high school auditorium to chant Do your job! Do your job! at Chaffetz. This was in reference to Chaffetzs position on the House Oversight Committee and refusal to investigate Trump for his alleged conflicts of interest. Chaffetz struggledto respond to the swelling of rage and strained to make himself heard over the microphone.

Youre not going to like this part, Chaffetz said to loud boos. The president, under the law, is exempt from conflict of interest laws. That did not go over well with the crowd.

At other points throughout the evening, protesters yelled Your last term and Shame! at the congressman.

Come on, come on, youre better than this, Chaffetz tried to say over the din.

No were not! a voice shouted back in return.

The event was remarkable, considering town halls are usually quiet civic events where the local PTA ask their elected representatives polite questions. In this case, people made emotional pleas to Chaffetz not to take away their healthcare orgut Planned Parenthood, and to hold the new administration to account for possible ethics violations.

At one point a young girl asked Chaffetz, Do you believe in science? Because I do.

I dont pretend to have all the answers, he responded. There are good people on both sides of the aisle, he said, nearly drowned out by boos.

The scene was reminiscent of the fledgling tea party movement during the summer of 2009, when angry conservative voters descended onto their representatives town halls. Many credit that tactic with getting the wave of conservative Republicans into office during the 2010 midterm elections.

Chaffetz tried to stay cheerful and nonchalant, even while protests outside the high school auditorium swelled to even greater crowds and the din inside grew so loud he joked it was like the Price Is Right here.

The protesters were largely organized by progressive activist organizations, including Indivisible and Town Hall Project, which is working to mobilize Democrats to fight Trump and Republicans. According to a CNN reporter, many of the people who were at the Utah event had never been to a town hall before.

Many of the questions yelled at Chaffetz were about Kellyanne Conway, a senior Trump adviser, who recently promoted Ivanka Trumps fashion brand during an appearance on Fox News. Chaffetz said yesterday he would refer Conway to his committee for an ethics investigation and that her statement was clearly over the line and unacceptable.

The protest in Utah wasnt the only emotional town hall on Thursday. In Tennessee, around a 100 protesters descended on Republican Rep. Diane Blacks Ask Your Rep event with a similar angry message, including one woman who made an impassioned plea for preserving the core tenets of the Affordable Care Act.

As a Christian, my whole philosophy in life is pull up the unfortunate, one young woman, visibly shaken, said toBlack. The individual mandate, thats what it does: The healthy people pull up the sick.

Follow Olivia Becker on Twitter: @oliviaLbecker

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Angry protesters took over a Republican town hall in Utah - VICE News

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 20, 2016. Hensarling is chairman of the Financial Services Committee.Photograph by Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

The Republican chairman of a key House of Representatives committee has laid out his plan to roll back Wall Street rules and consumer protections conceived after the 2008 financial crisis, a step that will largely define the financial deregulation debate in the Trump era.

Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, outlined his legislation to clear away many rules bankers say have hobbled investment and economic growth in a staff memo seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The plan comes after President Donald Trump on Friday signed a largely symbolic executive order that outlined an intention to ease banking rules, which he and other critics of the Dodd-Frank reform law passed after the financial crisis say hinder lending.

Under Hensarling's plan, the largest U.S. banks would face less oversightthough not as little as they had been hoping forwhile startups would have easier access to investors.

The plan would significantly dilute the powers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created to help guard individuals from fraud in mortgages, student loans and other financial products but has drawn the wrath of Republicans. Hensarling has called it a "rogue" agency.

Hensarling's legislation, called the Financial Choice Act, is likely to clear his own committee within a few weeks and ultimately be passed by the full House. But it would require 60 votes in the Senate, where Republicans hold 52 seats and Democrats defend the CFPB and many of the provisions House Republicans would weaken.

On Thursday, the senior Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Sherrod Brown, said he would fight the Hensarling plan, saying it betrays "candidate Trump's campaign promises to hold Wall Street accountable and help working Americans."

Banking industry officials generally reacted positively, though they conceded it was still early days in the process.

"It's very aggressive and a very good starting point to rolling back a lot of the rules and regulations," said Paul Merski of the Independent Community Bankers of America.

"If this were a football game we'd be in the first quarter," James Ballentine of the American Bankers Association told Reuters.

Not the Whole Big Bank Wish List

Hensarling's primary approach is unchanged from the bill he introduced last year. It would allow large banks to avoid some oversight if they boost their capital reserves, or "leverage ratio," to 10% or better, which is seen as helping them weather financial shocks.

Large banks have said the 10% level is too costly and they would likely opt for existing rules.

Still, the Hensarling bill gives large banks some things they would like. The stress tests banks undergo to prove to regulators that they can withstand economic difficulties, now performed annually, would only occur every other year.

The bill would also allow the president to remove the CFPB director at will. Currently, the CFPB director is independent of the president and is appointed to a fixed term.

Congressional Republicans including Hensarling have indicated they would separately try to use the federal budget process to starve the CFPB of funds, a strategy that would only need 51 votes in the Senate.

Hensarling's original bill would have erased the Volcker rule, which limits bank's ability to make some speculative investments. The recent memo leaves that language unchanged.

Hensarling's Choice Act envisions more hurdles for the Securities and Exchange Commission and its enforcement work.

The bill would also ease rules that govern public companies, including some accounting and investment controls. Credit rating agencies would also get some regulatory relief.

Initial public offerings might be easier under Hensarling's bill. More companies, including the largest privately held ones, could avoid tough disclosure requirements and be able to "test the waters" with potential investors in advance of an offering.

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Here's the Republican Masterplan for Wall Street Deregulation - Fortune