Shadegg Won't Endorse Steele's Health Care Rhetoric

Not every Republican, it seems, is entirely comfortable with the aggressive tenor of Michael Steele's attacks on President Obama's health care proposals.

Pressed during an interview on MSNBC whether he agreed with the RNC Chairman that the president's plan on health care and the stimulus were "dangerous and reckless," Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) first attempted to dodge the question and then did not exactly endorse Steele's position.

"Well, those are pretty strong words," said the Arizona Republican before quickly moving on to more comfortable political turf. "I do believe that the stimulus bill was a failed process and it has not done what the president told us it would do. He told us it would stop the loss of jobs and hold unemployment down. He said we would not get to anything close to the 9.5 percent unemployment rate we have now. I do think that what he is doing to health care will, in fact, destroy health care and all of the good things in it that we have right now."

To be certain, Shadegg is one of the few Republican officials who has expressed publicly any ambivalence with Steele's line of attack. Sen. Jim Demint (R-S.C.) who was the first to call health care Obama's Waterloo moment, doubled down on his remarks during a speech on the Senate floor on Monday.

Steele himself, has gone on a bit of a media campaign to drive home the message that Obama is engaging in a dangerous experiment with America's health care system.

That said, Shadegg's remarks hint to a potential fissure within GOP ranks over how strongly the party should oppose Obama's health care reform proposals. While Republicans may hope to "break" the president politically on this issue, it has the potential to blow up in their faces. As one Democratic operative argued, "They're taking their cockiness to a new level but there's silver lining in [Monday's] Washington Post poll. Their numbers haven't moved in six months even with Bush out of the White House."

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Comments

[spinns17]

http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2009/05/08/fortune-ge-healthcare.fortune/

[grf67]

Of course he doesn't support Steele. He is a white racist and Steele is black.

[Human-Being]

I have a full blown "redneck" Republican, mountain living, friend from Pennsylvania, who is totally fed up with the GOP rhetoric. He said his brother and 4 of his coworkers feel the same way. I sent him the contact information for their Reps and Senators, he told me he never thought to complain to them.

I hope the Republican plan to crush Obama falls on them like billion ton elephant.

[Factonfact]

President Obama and the Democratic Party seem bound and determined NOT to make the simple public relations mistakes that doomed the Clinton Health Care Reform. The major tactics of the Republicans, very much as in the past, today are DISTRACTION and DELAY. But the Republicans also had a couple of Easter Eggs given them by the Clinton Administration: (1) President Clinton hemmed and hawed; and (2) The Clinton's relied too much upon the word of Democratic leaders in the Senate, including its leader, George Mitchell, that "a bill will be passed."

Well, a bill wasn't passed during the Clinton Administration and millions upon millions of citizens have suffered for it. Many, many have died because of it.

Perhaps Obama supporters might want to erect some white crosses or something like that on The Mall in memory of all Americans who died since 1994 because they could not afford the health care.
they needed.

Yes, Republicans in the Congress can be the death of you.

[DinSea]

This is a great idea! Plant a memorial garden with markers showing the number of dead & dying due to NO HEALTH CARE. We did this with Iraq casualties on SOU campus (Oregon) and it stretched for blocks - was astounding. You could not NOT be affected by the sight.

[huffingt]

Steele - the big gest jo ker

[dillydawg]

Just another clown in the small tent circus.

[desertdweller]

Send in the clowns! Ooops, they're already here.

[NotFooledByDistractions]

I think it kind of exposes the republicans and steps on their game when the POTUS comes out and directly disputes their nonsense. Yeah, their base keeps frothing, the the majority of the country will get the straight scoop.

I liked the way Obama handled demint - I think he should keep it up.

Steele kind of lost any strength he had in his message when he was exposed as being nothing but a puppet with talking points. "I don't do policy" - huh? You're the head of the rnc, shouldn't you at least be conversant on their position? Doofus.

[Cakey4814]

Never in my life have I seen a Chairman get checked like Steele; it's embarassing and he should know now that he needs to get clearance to make generalized statements regarding the GOP.

[desertdweller]

You'd think they would have gone to the bullpen by now.....

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

No Plan, No Idea, No Clue!
That’s the rebranding of the new Republican party for you.

[huffingt]

they have C street

[DestinationsUnknown]

Now they are connecting Healthcare to JOBS!

JOBS JOBS JOBS

Now they are screaming where are the JOBS?

Are they kidding?

Did they forget what BUSH TAX CUTS for the RICH were going to do?

JOBS JOBS JOBS

Bush tax cuts for the rich- where are they- they are still receiving them!

The Party of NO stated tax cuts create jobs- where are the jobs?

The Bush tax cuts for the rich- where are they?

DO NOTHING Party of No stated they create jobs- where are the jobs?

Now- it is Obama’s problem- JOBS JOBS JOBS!

Now- all you rich folks- WHERE ARE THE JOBS?

[Chaimirija]

The Reform WILL provide jobs...and save the ones being lost left and right in hc right now..read the bills, links posted in my profile here....

[PhDcommonsense]

These people are truly a piece of work. Michael Steele is one of the worst RNC leaders I think they have had, if he cannot articulate what type of Health Insurance is best with this outlandish trash he is trying to sell to the public that it is for their own good that Health Care fails.

As I stated earlier, you have to wonder what kind of thinking on the part of their constituents will keep putting some (not all) Republicans back in office. They sound like they are not even from this Planet. The public overwhelmingly wants Health Care and yet these people are trying to find a way not to give it to them. Why are the Republicans fighting hard not to give it to them? Tell all of the Republicans to ask their elderly parents, relatives, and friends to give up the Socialized medicine they are currently getting with Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and let's not forget the excellent medical plans the Congress Gets with the Public Option on the Taxpayers.

Can someone help me to understand how such mean-spirited thinking that goes against the basic principles of cooperation for the good of the Country.

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

They are still in campaign mode, note the catch phrases.

[DestinationsUnknown]

8 years of no child left behind?

Steele noted his speech was 'set a tone and a theme'- used the word "experiment" 30 times in his speech!

Worldwide Americans do not even rank in the top 25 for education - this must be who he is setting the tone and a theme for.

30 times! !

"If we slow this sausage-making process down, we can defeat it," he reasoned.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele must have liked what he read. When he gave a speech at the National Press Club on Monday, he all but read aloud from Castellanos's memo.

"Slow down, Mr. President: We can't afford to get health care wrong," said the memo.

"Slow down, Mr. President: We can't afford to get health care wrong," said the chairman.

[jolebo]

The repubs are scared to d e a t h that the public option will be a success, and then they will be even more insignificant.

[Cleanerman]

It is called greediness.

[Appleton]

Mr. Steele is a pure lackey in the traditional sense of that word. He is expected to carry the approved messages to the media to test the public reaction, and then take the heat alone when it backfires. It may not be the best job in the world, but he gets free health care.

[ranchero42]

The plan to pass The Plan by pretending to try to get The Plan to FAIL is BRILLIANT! The GOP have figured out how to 1) juggle the healthcare money pipeline with the pipeline from the folks at home. 2) keep the whackjob Right at bay with the constant drumbeat of nutjobbery to lull them into the next tea party in a series of unending tea parties. 3) make voters grateful that a two party system works best when both parties get something everybody wants through the sleight-of-hand of one party pretending to block it. Shadegg needs to get on board or risk the entire BRILLIANT PLAN!

[DestinationsUnknown]

Pence-

the rethug from Indiana not sure if evolution is real -

is now on floor stating

government run take over

more talking points preacher pence

did you get those at the C- Street Bible Study?

McCain campaigned on Healthcare Reform

Clinton campaigned on Healthcare Reform

Obama campaigned on Healthcare Reform

Where were these people?

Now we have people from C- Street deciding what belongs in our healthcare system-

While throwing accusations at Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse implying lobby influence on Whitehouse during healthcare mark up-

Really Coburn? How many guns are allowed at your C-Street residence in DC?

How is that extortion for Ensign's mistress going?

Is that why we need to slow down?

[jolebo]

Do you think that C-Street needs to be thoroughly investigated.

[jorge4u]

Be careful there, Congressman, or you might not get any friend chicken and potato salad.

[jadeba]

The public option could destroy the rethugs - if it works on getting costs down, improving the quality of care, eliminating "pre-existing conditions" (could be a pimple) they are finished. They lie, they lie and then they lie some more. Most Americans know that they have no solutions, only lies. This is why they are fighting so hard. If they thought what the President and the dems want would not work, they wouldn't be fighting (and lying) so much about it. The same tire and untrue arguments about patients and docs losing control of health care, when we all know that insurance companies have all the control, that patients and docs have none now.

The insurance companies have controlled the health care system for decades - the so called free market has had its way and it has not worked. They built a house on quicksand as they insist the foundation is sound. It's time for insurance companies to go away - this conflict of interest cannot continue.

[Tuckerndfw]

HR 3200 accomplishes none of that.

It requires people to give their money to insurance companies, either directly or through taxation.

HR 3200 makes insurance companies even stronger and more profitable than they are now.