JONATHAN CHAIT SEPTEMBER 8, 2010
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Health care reform repeal activist Michael Tanner complains that none of the Democrats who voted against the Affordable Care Act have signed on to repeal. Meanwhile, Republicans are decidedly lukewarm:
Among the six Republicans who have not signed either discharge petition are senatorial candidates Mark Kirk in Illinois and Mike Castle in Delaware. This is particularly surprising in the case of Kirk, who once vowed to “lead the effort” to repeal the health-care law.
Meanwhile, over in the Senate, a bill by Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) to repeal Obamacare has attracted only 21 cosponsors, meaning that 19 Republican senators have not yet committed to repeal. Among the scofflaws are Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and Republican conference chairman Lamar Alexander.
Nor has repeal of Obamacare been a national Republican theme. Individual candidates have, of course, made it an issue. But national Republican spokesmen have not invested the issue with a sense of urgency.
Right. It's not going to happen. People may have been put off by the legislative process, but they believed and believe health care needs to be reformed. Going back to the status quo is political poison. That's why Republicans are keeping their distance before the elections.
1 comments
Earth to Chaitless: At least five House Democrats are running ads bragging about their votes AGAINST Obamacare. Surveys of ads run by candidates indicate that no Democrat has run an ad bragging about the health care bill since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did in April. More recently, he's been concentrating on depicting his opponent, Sharron Angle, as a wacko Opposition to the new health reform law is continuing to grow in the states - just as Congress prepares for its final pre-election legislative session. Colorado, for instance, just placed an initiative on the ballot that would, if passed, block many aspects of Obamacare - including the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance. A similar measure was overwhelmingly approved by voters in Missouri last month. And several states recently announced that they don't believe they have the authority to enforce the new law. With actions like these, the message to Washington is clear: If Congress doesn't repeal Obamacare, the states just might do it themselves. The health reform law remains unpopular. The August Kaiser Health Tracking poll found that 45 percent of Americans disapprove of the new law. Among likely voters, the numbers are even worse. The most recent Rasmussen Reports survey found that 56 percent favor repealing health care reform. State officials across the country have heard their constituents - and acted accordingly. This fall, voters in Arizona and Oklahoma will consider ballot initiatives similar to the ones in Colorado and Missouri. Lawmakers in Florida tried to put a measure invalidating the individual mandate on the ballot, but their effort was struck down by the state Supreme Court. These measures have an excellent chance of passing.
- mr_rationale
September 10, 2010 at 2:19pm