http://action.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147493214Coming off the passage of the healthcare bill, GOP leaders and activists started pushing a 'repeal it' campaign. But now it looks like they're backing off that zealous charge.
Top Republicans are increasingly worried that GOP candidates this fall might be burned by a fire that’s roaring through the conservative base: demand for the repeal of President Barack Obama’s new health care law…
Repeal is politically and legally unlikely, and grass-roots activists may feel disillusioned by a failed crusade. More important, say strategists from both parties, a fiercely repeal-the-bill stance might prove far less popular in a general election than in a conservative-dominated GOP primary, especially in states such as Illinois and California…
Asked if he advises Republican Senate candidates to call for repealing the law, Cornyn said: “Candidates are going to test the winds in their own states. … In some places, the health care bill is more popular than others.”
On Tuesday, Cornyn issued a 1,280-word campaign memo that mentioned “repeal” only once. It did not advocate repeal but noted that in a recent poll, “46 percent of respondents support a full repeal” of the health law.
I can see the reasoning for both sides. On the one hand, you have Republicans running in moderate political climates where it's not exactly kosher to vociferously oppose the healthcare bill. However, if the Republicans are wishy-washy now, I shudder to think how they will act when they don't have the mid-term elections to hold them accountable. The GOP also risks losing a lot of grassroots support from teapartiers and conservatives who are primed for a fight against Obamacare right now and will be willing to vote for the GOP if for no other reason than, they're anti-Obamacare.
The Republicans are in a bit of a hard place right now trying to appeal to moderates as well as conservatives. But as the old adage goes, history repeats itself. We saw in 2008 how well it worked out for the Grand Ole Party when they tried to become the party of moderates. Actually, it didn't really work. At all.
So here's my advice to the Republican leadership. Keep up with the repeal campaign. That's where your support is. You also will look like political wimps if you back down now from the repeal you so boldly proclaimed after the bill was passed. Fight the fight, we'll support you.
Topic: GOP: Repeal The Bill! Or not. (Read 1119 times)