You are so right! I posted at 28 before reading your comment.
Posted on 03/26/2010 7:50:08 AM PDT by Maelstorm
For Republican candidates across the country, the movement du'jour seems to be a pledge to repeal health care reform if elected. Republicans are rushing to co-sponsor and promote efforts to repeal the bill on Capitol Hill. But not everyone is biting, exposing another fissure between the GOP's right and far-right.
The latest GOPers caught in the mix are in Delaware -- with candidate Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) challenging Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) to sign on to repeal plans. Castle, like every single Congressional Republican, opposed the legislation. But he said that repealing "is not realistic."
Similar spats have sparked across the country with repeal-happy candidates like Marco Rubio (R-FL) accusing Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) of not taking a harsh enough stand. According to the Conservative Club for Growth, which is tracking "Repeal It" pledge-takers, 226 candidates across the country have signed on.
Rubio has been going after Crist to join him as a Repeal It pledge-taker. Even though Crist says he would support rolling back the legislation and his attorney general's lawsuit claiming the bill is unconstitutional, he's not signing. The intra-party warfare smacks of the anti-tax pledge that Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform has been demanding that Republicans sign for years.
As we've reported, the Republicans don't seem settled on their message given the new political landscape of health care reform growing more popular now that its law and facing a newly energized Democratic party.
The splits are seeming to pop up in some of the bluer states where Democrats have an advantage. In Delaware Castle said it doesn't make sense to try and repeal the measure while President Obama remains in charge, since he can veto anything Congress sends him. Castle said it's "not the best use of our efforts."
But according to DelawarePolitics.net, O'Donnell charges that by not signing, Castle is "breaking faith with the people of Delaware and America in refusing to support the conservative-led effort to repeal ObamaCare, a totally disastrous and unconstitutional health bill."
In California, Tom Campbell (R) hasn't signed it, but his Senate primary rivals Carly Fiorina (R) and Chuck DeVore (R) are leading the repeal charge. In the Republican primary race to in Connecticut, longshot Peter Schiff has signed the pledge but Linda McMahon and Rob Simmons have not.
The red states have their splits too. In Indiana, former Sen. Dan Coats hasn't jumped on board, but tea party candidate Marlin Stutzman has. In Utah, Sen. Bob Bennett (R) has a tough caucus challenge from the right. So this week he signed on as a co-sponsor of Sen. Jim DeMint's repeal legislation.
For his part, Obama says Republicans should "go for it," and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told reporters this week they will hold GOPers accountable for trying to repeal the bill.
"We are actually pursuing every Republican and want them to say for the record that they're for repeal because being for repeal means taking away rights, taking away benefits," Menendez said in response to a question from TPMDC. "We're happy to battle them on that field."
Additional reporting by Evan McMorris-Santoro and Brian Beutler
These politicians are no better than the congressional sellouts. They see the media spin that the Dems are back and immediately try to match their position to the current propaganda.
There’s no difference guys if you sell your vote for goodies in your district to help you get re-elected or if you sell your conservative support for what you think is the politically expedient route.
NO DIFFERENCE!!!
Dumping on Castle makes no sense. He is in a heavily democrap State, and will vote party line when he needs to.
Repeal happy? Listen we're talking about fighting the largest tax increase and socialist takeover in American history. There's nothing happy about this fight. We're hoppin’ mad in fact!
Leave it to this blog which ‘in March 2009 TPM topped TIME Magazine's list of 25 Best Blogs of 2009.’ Need I say more?
Since the TPM folks think so much of themselves and need to ask the practical/impractical question about Repeal - I could care less currently if this is impractical.
It is symbolic of the continued fight and thus practical.
Of course it will take 60 Senators, the House and the WH to repeal. It's going to be a huge fricken’ mess we're cleaning up after the RATS, imho. Then there are all the other messes they've left like ticking economic time bombs for us to clean up so we don't leave our children and grandchildren saddles.
You know what TPM, don't lecture me on practicality. It'll make me angry - and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry...I tend to change into a large Lou Ferrigno looking green man. So please don't try it...;)
“Dumping on Castle makes no sense.”
Dumping? A little competition in the primary is not going to hurt anyone.
“Conservatives always giving up ground to hoards.”
No more.
“Sorry but the whole point of this article is to try to create a rift where none exists. The dems are fractured NOT the republicans.”
This is a blog praised by Time magazine...that’s all we need to know.
“The last chance to save the Republic is at hand.”
I think you are right. If we don’t hold the lines and push back HARD right here, right now. This nation will slide into the European socialist abyss for a generation or longer.
In the primaries, vote for the REPEAL candidates! For once the Dems have given us good advice: "Obama says Republicans should "go for it," and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said "We're happy to battle them on that field."
We are too Bob! Game On!
“Yah, Republicans are really divided and fissured on the question of government health care. But Democrats are united and their voters love the extra taxes and government control over their bodies.
NOT. Total BS and propaganda.”
Even the RAT polls prove this is a huge pile of bullcrap.
You are so right! I posted at 28 before reading your comment.
MORE MEDIA BIAS.
“right and far-right” is their term for this, but ...
THE MAJORITY OF VOTING AMERICANS SUPPORT REPEAL according to Ras poll.
‘This smacks of MSM-driven ‘turmoil’
I’ll give the MSM turmoil - the bigoted RAT water carrying propagandist morons...;)...oops, they’re journalists, they vigorously argue...bwwwwwaaahahahaha...that’s hilarious. Guess what MSM, you’re dying, ‘cause we’re not listening to your claptrap any longer...:)
Bravo and well said.
Folks ... the LSM is giving us flak. But you are always going to get flak when you are OVER THE TARGET.
They want to sow division on how to respond, but the reality is - not a SINGLE Republican voted for this nor is for this bill, and MANY Republicans at both state and federal level are doing everything they can to roll it back. Support those candidates who are doing the right thing and we WILL prevail.
“THE MAJORITY OF VOTING AMERICANS SUPPORT REPEAL according to Ras poll.”
And even according to the RAT CNN poll - 59 - 39 oppose the bill just passed.
This is of course why Obama is in campaign mode and the LSM is desperately spinning away like a top... they think with enough media bias they can change those numbers and people will ‘give up’ on the issue.
has the BIAS been as thick as mud or what?
He votes against Republicans all the time.
“This is of course why Obama is in campaign mode and the LSM is desperately spinning away like a top... they think with enough media bias they can change those numbers and people will ‘give up’ on the issue.
has the BIAS been as thick as mud or what?”
Yes! But we’re not READING, LISTENING or WATCHING them anymore and it’s driving them nuts...now if we just break out TV and Movie viewing habits as Americans and read more, we’ll solve two or three other concurrent issues that plague us a society.
Now that healthcare has passed, those are for repeal will be the bad guys.
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