At least this guy’s honest.
Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., as quoted in the Wall Street Journal:
“‘Mr. Obama said he’ll challenge Republicans to explain how they will cover large numbers of uninsured people. But Rep. Dave Camp (R., Mich.) rejected that standard. ‘We didn’t portray our bill as being universal coverage,” he said in an interview. “We never attempted to do that.’”
Well, this is somewhat of a departure from the standard GOP line, which contends that Republicans would love to do some version of comprehensive reform and cover the uninsured. They just can’t sign onto the Democrats’ bill.
Anyone who has watched this debate knows this is crap. One need only look at history: when was the last time a Republican president proposed a comprehensive health care reform bill — or made any effort to cover the uninsured? (Answer: Richard Nixon.) When was the last time Republicans, when they controlled Congress, tried to pass comprehensive health care legislation? Never.
Camp, to his credit, is simply stating the truth: Republicans don’t want to see comprehensive health care reform enacted. And covering the uninsured just isn’t their thing. After all, why would you want to cover the uninsured when you could just cut taxes?
Matthew Spieler
Matthew Spieler is a former policy analyst for Congressional Quarterly, where he covered health care, education, labor, and veterans’ affairs. A graduate of The George Washington University, he has also worked as a reporter for CQ covering ...
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