RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Republicans in Congress have already taken the initial steps to start repealing the Affordable Care Act. Democrats are hoping to at the very least slow that process down by rallying public support for the health care law. Those rallies happened around the country over the weekend, and NPR's Scott Detrow went to one of the biggest in Warren, Mich.
SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE: For the past eight years, Obamacare has mostly been defined by its Republican critics. They've railed against its costs, its scope and its mandates. On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to reframe the debate. Before the landmark health care law was passed, he said, coverage was out of reach for too many people.
(SOUNDBITE OF RALLY)
CHUCK SCHUMER: But average, middle-class people, the people of Macomb County, couldn't afford health care. Now they can.
DETROW: Macomb County, Mich., is an interesting place to make that argument. The county tells the story of Democrats' 2016 woes. It went narrowly for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but gave Donald Trump a 10-point win over Hillary Clinton. That more than accounted for Trump's razor-thin margin in the traditionally Democratic state. Schumer may soon be the most powerful Democrat in Washington. But on Sunday, he was the warm-up act.
(SOUNDBITE OF RALLY)
SCHUMER: And let me say this. Here's Bernie.
(CHEERING)
DETROW: The minority leader had to pause for all the Bernie cheers when the Vermont senator arrived in the middle of Schumer's speech. In Warren, Sanders delivered the message Democrats made at rallies all across the country. Obamacare may have taken a political beating over the years, they said, and it may need changes, but the law has become entrenched enough that an outright repeal would disrupt millions of Americans' lives.
(SOUNDBITE OF RALLY)
BERNIE SANDERS: If you want to improve the Affordable Care Act, let's work together. But if you think you're simply going to throw millions off of health insurance, you got another guess coming.
DETROW: Democrats are pleased with the amount of people who showed up at the rallies. Thousands came to San Francisco's City Hall, where House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke. A large crowd also showed up in Boston to hear Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.
(SOUNDBITE OF RALLY)
ELIZABETH WARREN: We will make our voices heard.
DETROW: In Michigan, people stood outside in the cold for a variety of reasons. Connie Tucker said her family needs Obamacare.
CONNIE TUCKER: I'm on Medicare, but I have a grand-niece who is dependent on the Affordable Care Act. She has a pre-existing condition. She was born with a genetic anomaly.
DETROW: Terry Fields showed up more out of the general dread that so many liberals are feeling on the eve of Trump's inauguration.
TERRY FIELDS: I just believe that all of our rights and privileges are going to be taken away from us by Trump and the Republicans.
DETROW: Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow conceded to the crowd that the GOP has the votes it needs to ram through an Obamacare repeal if the party votes as a block. But she said the crowds that showed up across the country can slow a repeal down.
(SOUNDBITE OF RALLY)
DEBBIE STABENOW: If we aren't emailing and phone-calling and going to offices and speaking out and telling our stories, they're going to proceed.
DETROW: Emails, calls and public pressure on lawmakers from conservatives made Obamacare a political liability for many Democrats after it was passed. The party is hoping to use that same playbook against Republicans this time around. Sunday's rallies were a first step in putting the plan into action.
Scott Detrow, NPR News, Warren, Mich.