CBS's O'Donnell Asks If Romney Has 'Credibility Problem' on ObamaCare Mandate
Norah O'Donnell kept safeguarding provisions of ObamaCare on Sunday's Face the Nation, daring Speaker John Boehner to oppose "protections for individuals" in the bill. She also asked if Mitt Romney has a "credibility problem" for opposing the law's individual mandate.
"But he [Romney] was for it before," O'Donnell insisted to Boehner. "Doesn't he have a credibility problem?" [Video below the break. Audio here.]
O'Donnell continued her pro-Obama spin from the previous week by listing parts of the bill that might be hazardous for Republicans to repeal.
"Is there anything good in this law?" she pressed Boehner before rattling off a list of provisions in the bill like "free mammograms under Medicare" and coverage for those with preexisting conditions.
After Boehner admitted to being fine with certain provisions, but not how they are carried out in ObamaCare, O'Donnell then badgered him about why he wanted to repeal the whole law. "Why not, then, if you like some of the provisions in the Affordable Care Act, why not work with it rather than ap – repeal the whole thing?"
O'Donnell also scoffed at the Republican plan to vote once again to repeal the law. "What's the point?" she asked.
A partial transcript of the interview, which aired on Face the Nation on June 1 at 10:32 a.m. EDT, is as follows:
NORAH O'DONNELL: The House has already voted some thirty times to repeal or defund this law. What's one more vote going to do?
Rep. JOHN BOEHNER (R-Ohio), Speaker of the House: And we're going to do it one more time.
O'DONNELL: What's the point?
BOEHNER: It's -- we want to show people we are resolved to get rid of this. This law –
O'DONNELL: You don't think after thirty times they think you're resolved?
(...)
O'DONNELL: Is there anything good in this law?
BOEHNER: Well, there's always going to be parts of it that are good. But when you look at the 2,700 that no one read and, uh, you know, remember Nancy Pelosi said well, we have to pass this before we know what's in it. Republicans are not going to go down that path.
O'DONNELL: I asked you if there's anything good in it because I want to ask you about some of the specific provisions in the bill. Since you are going to be repealing it, are you willing to roll back the provisions that would provide free mammograms under Medicare?
BOEHNER: Listen, there are a lot of provisions that can be replaced. Remember, I said, we want to take a common-sense, step-by-step approach to replacing ObamaCare.
O'DONNELL: Let's talk about what's specifically in this bill because there are a lot of protections for individuals.
BOEHNER: Of course there are.
O'DONNELL: If you are under twenty-six years old, you are out of a job, you can stay on your parent's insurance. Do you support that?
BOEHNER: I do. And the health insurance industry has made that a practice within their industry.
O'DONNELL: What about it --
BOEHNER: They came out and made that statement a couple of weeks ago.
O'DONNELL: What about additional preventative care like for children, for instance, you don't have to pay a copay on immunizations?
BOEHNER: As I -- as I said, Republicans believe in a common-sense, step-by-step approach to replacing this law. And all of those provisions, popular provisions, many of them very sound provisions can, in fact, be done in a common-sense way, but not in 2,700 that no one read.
O'DONNELL: What about preexisting conditions? What about the millions of Americans that have preexisting conditions and are discriminated against?
BOEHNER: We believe that the way it is done within ObamaCare is -- is pushing the cost of health insurance for all Americans much too high. We believe that the state high-risk pools are a much more effective way to making sure that those with preexisting conditions have access to affordable health insurance.
O'DONNELL: Access to affordable health insurance, but you're not saying you would be for a law that would prevent discrimination of those individuals?
BOEHNER: No, we just believe there's a better way to make sure that they have affordable access to quality health insurance.
(...)
O'DONNELL: Why not, then, if you like some of the provisions in the Affordable Care Act, why not work with it rather than ap -- repeal the whole thing?
(...)
O'DONNELL: It's clear you oppose the individual mandate, and yet your Republican nominee Mitt Romney came up with an individual mandate and proposed a tax penalty in Massachusetts. Does he have a credibility problem?
BOEHNER: Listen, Governor Romney, just like all the rest of us Republicans in Washington, are going to work to repeal ObamaCare. And our resolve is stronger than ever with the passage or with the approval of the Supreme Court.
O'DONNELL: But he was for it before. Doesn't he have a credibility problem?
BOEHNER: Yeah, this is an issue that was in Massachusetts. That's in one state. That's why we have fifty different states. They are laboratories of democracy. Governor Romney understands that ObamaCare will bankrupt our country and ruin the best health care delivery system in the world.
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Comments
Doesn't Norah
Submitted by bkeyser on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 1:06pm.
walk into the room with a credibility problem?
Hey, Boehner!
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 1:09pm.
There is PLENTY in the law that is AWFUL! How about making a list and hitting those points every single day!
Stop letting the idiots control the debate!!
The awfulness is in the
Submitted by ricklail on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 1:24pm.
The awfulness is in the writing of the rules. I did a word search on deemed and deems in the bill. 18 times it says as deemed appropriate by the Secretary, that being Bloody Sebillius. 15 it says as the Secretary deems appropriate. She is the problem. When the rules are completed under her direction it will be nothing near the bill. She was given to much power. Think the free birth control is bad? The bill sucked but the rules will be suckyer. Is that a word? The majority of these rules will not be made public until after the election. Obama does not want a fight like he is going to have with the Catholic Church with any other group before the election.
Is That A Word?
Submitted by stratman on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 3:11pm.
Sure. Why not. Chief Justice Roberts calls a penalty a tax to punish us with Obama's baby.
Made up words and new meanings to words never before imparted are now the new "norm".
You are correct, rick. We have only scratched the surface on the suckness of ObamaCare and the unelected, and soon to be untouchable (2017), committees who will, along with Sibelius, determine all the operational nuts and bolts and parameters of ObamaHell - a centralized concentration of near limitless power by so few individuals over so many people not seen outside Communist China and the USSR in peacetime or the Nazis in wartime.
RINO alert!
Submitted by gopcongress on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 2:42pm.
This was a very painful experience to watch. Of COURSE there are "good points" in the bill, but it takes a plethora of "bad points" in order to make those relatively few "good points" to come out. This was a demonstration of how RINO's screw the pitch for the conservative agenda, and why we must continue to find leaders who will speak for our point of view, not apologize and negotiate it away.
John Boehner must be seriously considered for replacement as Speaker once we overwhelm the 2012 election with more conservative/libartarian representatives.
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