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
Agree, I am hating the wussies coming out and saying well some of its good, some of its bad. What the hell do you stand for idiot!
Any candidate not willing to fight this Genocide shouldn’t have once ounce of support.
My congressional candidate wasted no time saying that he would work to repeal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Walberg
http://www.walbergforcongress.com/Home.aspx
Agree. These cowards do not deserve to be re-elected. If they had spines from the get-go, Barry Soetero would never have been elected in the first place.
I agree and the worse thing is they thing somehow by not being clear about the repeal that it will somehow convince voters to like them more? It is this kind of political hair splitting that has allowed our country to continue down this path. Conservatives always giving up ground to hoards.
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. The point of primaries is for 2 (or more) hopefuls to present themselves and their ideas to the people. The people vote and winner goes on to the general. This tactic is as old and worn out is every other one the LSM employees. We should know better than to fall for it.
Cindie
Castle had the sense to not vote for the bill but I seem to recall he was a hard sell to not do so.
He liked a lot of it if memory serves....
If it means the those wishing to repeal win the primaries, I don’t see a problem with a fracture.
The last chance to save the Republic is at hand.
Will they say the same things when the lord sith passes the amnesty bill and tax and trade?
Castle voted for cap-and-tax. RINO. He may have learned his lesson from the heat he took for that.
There is no fracture but I do agree. If someone can not outright commit to repeal then they are really not the candidate we need. We may end up stuck with them but they should understand that they need to be clear.
Almost 3 dozen house members voted against the bill. They are spinning their arses off.
Repeal Health Care
Repeal The Stimulus (1 trillion a year for ten years)
They already voted to defeat the bill. Now we need to keep them in line and run to repeal the bill. RELOAD..we need to RELOAD Congress with prinicipaled conservatives, not a bunch of weasal wording wusses.
Those against repeal are too cowardly to stick their noses out fearing it may lose them a few votes and haven’t a clue about ultimate goal of liberals. Either way, they deserve to be voted out of office and replaced with men/women who stand willing to protect the rights of the American people.
You took the words right out of my mouth. Just the talking heads. My message to them....conservatives rock!!!
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.
This is not a difficult issue. Vote for the ones who promise to repeal. Do not vote for the ones who wimp out. How hard is that??? It actually would make my decision much easier if I were wavering between 2 candidates....
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