WILLINGBORO, N.J. — Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur knew it was going to be a rough night.

The architect of the amendment that’s credited with resurrecting the Republicans’ health care plan purposely planned his Wednesday night town hall in a town he lost last fall — by nearly 90 points.

Standing in the middle of a 300-person crowd, arrayed on all four sides of him, MacArthur opened with a narrative he’s used both in GOP conference meetings ahead of passage of the health care bill in the House last week and in media interviews since: that health care is personal to him because of the death of his 11-year-old daughter.

But the crowd wasn’t having it. Some of the most raucous among them complained that they’d heard that story before and suggested MacArthur was exploiting his daughter’s death for political purposes.

“Don’t tell me what I’m using,” MacArthur fired back.