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Senate GOP Leader McConnell Pledges Guerrilla Warfare to ‘Eliminate’ ObamaCare
November 4, 2010 - 2:49 PM
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
(CNSNews.com) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged that Republicans will do everything they can to roll back and “eliminate” the unpopular health care reform legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law in March, including taking it apart piece-by-piece if necessary.
McConnell, speaking at the conservative Heritage Foundation on Thursday, said that Republicans in both chambers of Congress would attempt to repeal the bill in its entirety. Should that effort fail, Republicans will then turn to guerrilla tactics to stop the unpopular legislation.
“On health care, that means we can, and should, propose and vote on straight repeal, repeatedly,” said McConnell. “But we can’t expect the president to sign it.”
“So we’ll also have to work, in the House, on denying funds for implementation and, in the Senate, on votes against its most egregious provisions,” he said. “At the same time, we’ll need to continue educating the public about the ill-effects of this bill on individuals young and old, families, and small businesses.”
McConnell spoke directly about the Republicans’ limited ability to get rid of the new law, highlighting that Democrats still control the Senate and Obama is still president. McConnell sought to explain that Republicans will do what they can to carry out the mandate of Tuesday’s midterm victories while injecting a dose of “realism” into GOP exuberance.
“Today, Democrats not only have the White House,” said McConnell. “They have the Senate too. So we have to be realistic about what we can and cannot achieve, while at the same recognizing that realism should never be confused with capitulation.”
McConnell – recognizing that electoral victories may not translate into legislative victories -- said Republicans would use oversight and obstruction to prevent any back-door attempt to implement left-wing policies that he claimed the public had rejected.
“We may not be able to bring about straight repeal in the next two years, and we may not win every vote against targeted provisions, even though we should have bipartisan support for some,” said McConnell. “But we can compel administration officials to attempt to defend this indefensible health spending bill and other costly, government-driven measures, like the stimulus [spending] and financial reform.
“Through oversight we’ll also keep a spotlight on the various agencies the administration will now use to advance through regulation what it can’t through legislation,” said McConnell. “Potential backdoor efforts in this area could include imposing a new national energy tax through the EPA now that cap-and-trade is dead; additional health care provisions through HHS; Card Check through the National Labor Relations Board; and some form of immigration change through the use of administrative amnesty and the selective enforcement of our laws.”
McConnell also said that Republicans would “stop the liberal onslaught” by trying to eliminate the new health care law, cut spending, and by opposing “loudly” any further attempts at stimulus spending.
“We will stop the liberal onslaught,” he said. “We will make the case for repeal of the health spending bill even as we vote to eliminate its worst parts. We will vote to freeze and cut discretionary spending. We will fight to make sure that any spending bill that reaches the Senate floor is amendable, so members can vote for the spending cuts Americans are asking for. We will push to bring up and vote for House passed spending rescission bills.”
“On the economy, we will work hard to ensure Democrats don’t raise taxes on anybody, especially in the middle of a recession. We will loudly oppose future stimulus bills that only stimulate the deficit and fight any further job-killing regulations. We will fight tooth and nail on behalf of Americans struggling to find and create jobs.”
In an obvious ode to Tea Party criticisms of Republicans’ past performance, McConnell said that the new Republican contingent would focus on doing a “few things well” rather than trying to “re-engineer” society.
“Another obstacle is the temptation to over-read our task. It’s my view that Americans are no more interested in a Republican plan for using government to reengineer society than they were in the Democrats’ plan to do so. Government has limits, thank heavens, and voters want us to respect them. That’s why Republicans will focus on doing a few things well.”
