Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Blue Dog Democrat from North Carolina, supports repealing Obama’s healthcare takeover:
“One of the Democrats who voted against health care reform in Washington D.C. lent his support Monday to the discussion of repealing the legislation. U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC) says he would favor repealing the entire health care bill that President Obama recently signed into law.” (Gavin Johnson, “McIntyre supports repeal of health care bill,” WECT-TV, 3/29/10)
So do most Americans:
“Currently, two weeks after passage, 54% of the nation's likely voters still favor repealing the new law.” (“54% Favor Repeal of Health Care Bill,” Rasmussen Reports press release, 4/5/10)
But not liberal politician Roy Herron – he wants the president’s package of Medicare cuts, tax hikes, abortion funding and budget-busting government handouts to remain law:
“Dr. Lee Carter questioned if Herron will help clean-up the recently approved health care reform…Herron said he would work to keep the good and change the problematic areas.” (Joel Washburn, “Herron brings jobs tour to Carroll County,” The McKenzie Banner, 4/6/10)
He also defended the bill last month, claiming it’s not as bad as Americans are making it out to be:
“…[Herron] added that the legislation is not as terrifyingly bad as the GOP has painted it…” (Nicholas Beadle, “Fincher, Herron talk health care reform in early morning campaign stops in Jackson,” Jackson Sun “Motion Carried,” 3/22/10)
And no wonder: Roy has a long record of supporting government-run healthcare.
In 1993 – when President Bill Clinton and Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) offered up similar government healthcare takeover plans – he supported their efforts:
“‘Do not give up on universal coverage,’ asked Clinton. Cooper followed Clinton and said his approach was much closer to Clinton's bill than either the single-payer plan proposed by liberal Democrats or the moderate Republican plan. ‘We are also committed to achieving universal coverage, and I think it should be on the President's timetable of 1998,’ said Cooper…Tennesseans and Mississippians attending the DLC's annual conference said they believe Clinton is now on the right path after a rocky start…‘The big issue for a lot of us is health care reform,’ said Tennessee State Rep. Roy Herron of Dresden. ‘I hope he and Congressman Cooper would continue to talk and find a solution.’” (James Brosnan, “Clinton, DLC tout success; health care split looms,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, 12/4/93)
“‘Our bills are very similar,’ Cooper acknowledged last month. ‘(They) have a lot in common and we’re very proud of that’…Indeed, like Clinton, Cooper would turn over control of America's health care system to the government.” (Joseph Perkins, “Clinton Lite: `Rival' health reform plan is just as ill-advised,” San Diego Union Tribune, 3/11/94)
“Alternatives rising in Congress, as support for President Clinton's original health care reform plan dwindles, have flaws…One, called ‘Clinton-Lite’ because of its resemblance to Clinton's proposed Health Security Act…would force people into government-approved health care plans, severely limit health care options, make employees pay more, and limit choice of doctors and access to specialists…With other features similar to Clinton's plan, Cooper-Grandy would move relentlessly toward greater regulation and more taxes - things lawmakers claim they want to avoid.” (“Beware ‘Clinton Lite,’ Daily Oklahoman EDITORIAL, 4/19/94)
And Roy Herron was a vocal supporter of TennCare, a disastrous state-level precursor to Obamacare:
“Tennessee in a year has done what Washington talks about doing in a decade. Washington aims for 95 percent of our citizens to have health insurance in the next millennium. Tennessee will achieve it next month.” (Roy Herron, “A ‘Tennessee Treasure,’ Memphis Commercial Appeal, 12/25/94)
“Sen. Herron said that TennCare has been beneficial to the state in a number of ways.” (Michael Finn, “Legislator Cites Difficulty In Obtaining Tenncare Info,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, 10/10/97)
“In 1994, Tennessee launched an ambitious public insurance program to cover its uninsured. The plan, TennCare, fulfilled that mission but nearly bankrupted the state in the process. As originally envisioned, the Tennessee plan expanded Medicaid, the government health-care program for the poor, to cover people who couldn't afford insurance or who had been denied coverage by an insurance company. With an initial budget of $2.6 billion, TennCare quickly extended coverage to an additional 500,000 people by making access to its plans easy and affordable. But the program became so expensive that Tennessee was forced to scale it back in 2005. Now, as Congress debates a national health-care overhaul, state experiments like Tennessee’s are informing the discussion.” (Avery Johnson, “Tennessee Experiment's High Cost Fuels Health-Care Debate,” Wall Street Journal, 8/17/09)
“Years ago Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, called it a ‘disaster.’ Today President Obama calls the same idea ‘reform.’ Both the president's prescription for the uninsured and Tennessee's TennCare program are premised on the same sugar pill: a vast expansion of health insurance coverage without affecting cost or quality…Given Tennessee's predictable experience, one wonders what ObamaCare cheerleaders have been smoking. No wonder attorneys general in so many states have gone to court.” (“The TennCare lesson: A national disaster,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review EDITORIAL, 3/27/10)
Indeed, Roy campaigned on universal healthcare while running for state Senate in 1996:
“He also stressed support for ‘better schools for our children, better jobs for adult, and affordable health care for all citizens’…‘Every citizen should have access to affordable, life-saving health care.’” (“Representative Roy Herron announces for Senate,” Dresden Enterprise, 7/24/96)
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Andy Seré
Regional Press Secretary
National Republican Congressional Committee
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