WV-Sen: Democrat Joe Manchin Says Repeal ObamaCare – Say What?
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D), who is in a tough fight for a Senate seat, said Monday he’d support repealing the healthcare reform law if it can’t be fixed.
Manchin, who’s been falling behind in his race against Republican John Raese, said he supports repealing part of the bill but would support repealing all of it if a partial repeal doesn’t fix its problems.
“The president’s plan — ‘Obamacare,’ as it’s been called — is far too reaching. It’s overreaching. It needs to have a lot of it repealed,” Manchin said Monday on Fox News. “If you can’t fix that, repeal the whole thing.”
The harsh take on President Obama’s signature legislative achievement this Congress is just the latest effort by Manchin to distance himself from establishment Democrats. Last week, the governor of coal-heavy West Virginia said Obama was “dead wrong” on climate policy and for supporting cap-and-trade legislation.
Raese’s campaign charges Manchin with sending mixed messages on healthcare.
You think?
Here we go again with another Democrat bait and switch – talks like a Republican and will follow Harry Reid and Obama on policy votes in the Senate. Here is what Manchin really said on ObamaCare (note his change in position as he fell behind in his Senate race.
- MANCHIN IN SEPT. 2009: “I Am Totally Behind Health Care Reform.” (Remarks by Gov. Manchin, UMWA Labor Day Rally, www.youtube.com, 2009)
- MANCHIN IN MARCH 2010 (7 DAYS BEFORE HOUSE PASSAGE): “I’d Be For It.” (National Governors Association Health Care Roundtable, C-SPAN, 03/15/10)
- MANCHIN IN APRIL 2010 (AFTER OBAMACARE WAS SIGNED INTO LAW):
“[M]att Turner, spokesman for Gov. Joe Manchin, said the governor
supported the legislation.” (Walt Williams, “Health Care Reform Has
Unknown Costs For State,” The State [WV] Journal, 4/2/10)- SEPT. 9, 2010 RASMUSSEN MOVES WV SENATE RACE TO “TOSS UP”: Poll Also Shows 65% of West Virginians Favor Repeal Of Health Care. (West Virginia Senate: Manchin (D) 50%, Raese (R) 45%, Rasmussen Reports, 09/09/10)
- MANCHIN IN SEPT. 18, 2010: “I Wouldn’t Have Voted For The Final Version Of That Thing With The Way That It Came Out,” (“Manchin health record mixed,” Charleston Gazette, 09/18/10)
- SEPT. 21, 2010 PPP POLL SHOWS MANCHIN LOSING TO JOHN RAESE 46-43: “PPP’s
First Look At The West Virginia Senate Contest Finds A Very Tight Race
With John Raese Up 46-43 On Joe Manchin, A Result Within The Poll’s
Margin Of Error.” (“Close Race In West Virginia,” Public Policy Polling, 09/21/10)- MANCHIN ON SEPT. 26, 2010 SUPPORTS REPEAL OF OBAMACARE: “Pressed On His Support For Repeal, Manchin Clarified That He Favored ‘Repealing The Things That Are Bad In That Bill.’” (“Manchin Calls For Partial Repeal Of Health Reform,” RealClearPolitics, 09/27/10)
Geeeeez, Joe, take a principled position on ObamaCare would you? Or is POLITICAL EXPEDIENCE your middle name?