Sparks Fly as GOP Votes to Repeal Health Care

WASHINGTON - On Jan. 19, the Republican-controlled House voted 245 to 189 to repeal health care reform. The party line vote capped a vigorous debate in which Republicans vilified the health care law and Democrats exalted it, reports CBS News Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes.

"When you order every American to buy health insurance whether they want it, need it or not, that's a government takeover of healthcare," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, on the floor.

"Really? Who is taking over what health care plan? Who? We are offering people tax incentives, small businesses tax incentives to go buy private insurance plans," answered Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-New York.

But a tentative agreement to tone down the rhetoric was shattered when one Democrat likened Republican claims about the law to Nazi propaganda.

"You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie and eventually people believe it," said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee. "The Germans said enough about the Jews and people believed it and you had the Holocaust."

The most vocal critics of the law were the dozens of new Republican members who made repeal a top campaign promise.

"The people of Indiana sent me to Washington D.C. with very specific instructions: get the government out of our lives," said Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Indiana.

Democrats called the repeal vote pure politics.

"If the American people want us to work together, this is not the way to do it. If there is a problem with the bill we should tweak it!" said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York.

Republicans say tweaks aren't enough and tomorrow they begin drafting replacement legislation. But as long as Democrats control the Senate, neither the repeal nor the replacement have any chance of becoming law.

[Turbidite]

So now the GOP wants us to return to the same old non-functioning, pre-exisiting system where the poor, and a large part of the elderly, cannot afford health care and are doomed to death because the Republicans want to continue feeding at the financial support trough of the medical insurance companies, hospital organizations and the medical profession in general.

[endurorob_5]

afmcalax January 20, 2011 8:24 AM EST
Actually Democrats have always been open to Republican suggestions. Look at the record, but Bonehead Boehner and the Sentae Confederacy decided that they would bank of the overall stupidity of Americans to vote against their own interest. 8 years of Bush ... no ideas; 2 years with Obama ... no ideas; no leading the House ... and still no ideas. Republicans are the party of no ideas but great propaganda!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++That is a flat lie. They blew off any idea repubs had.

[discussthis]

enduro, why don't you show us the "record" you want us to look at? I am pretty sure your response showing how dems are open to Republican suggestions will not use up a lot of time or space.

[discussthis]

Sorry, I meant this post to address afm, not endurorob

[discussthis]

To understand how much political space the health-care law took up, remember that the initial deadline set by the White House for a vote was in August of 2009. It took seven more months, an address to a joint session of Congress, an end run around filibuster rules, a deal with the pharmaceutical industry and some serious backroom dealing in the Senate to get the bill to the finish line.

In the 14 months from proposal to signature of the law, little else happened in Congress, despite Democratic supermajorities in both Houses of Congress.

And don't forget obamao's repeated promise that he was focusing on jobs and the economy "like a laser", and the stimulus would cap unemployment at 8%. Next he claimed millions of jobs created, even as unemployment went to 9%, then almost 10% (actually 17% real figures). And many of these "jobs" were in non-existent congressional districts.

How did the "Summer of Recovery Tour" work out? Well, obamao decided that jobs and the economy were not as important as he originally thought; what has he done during 2010 to maintain that laser-like focus on jobs and the economy? More lies from the white house.

[RealWorldNow]

Exactly! You won't hear it from the alphabet news though.

[discussthis]

skyk-2009 says endurorob_5, now the President has said he's willing to listen to ANYTHING that will make the Law better.>>>>>>>>> This is the same "president" who promissed to reach across the aisle, be open and transparent, etc., then proceded to horse trade behind doors which were closed to the GOP, and rammed a "health care" bill down the throats of Americans, a bill that we were told we would not know what was in it till it passed. Please, skyk and other apologists for obamao, do not demand that we believe anything this liar-in-chief says; you may want to reconsider obamao's veracity, as well.

[endurorob_5]

louiville12 January 20, 2011 7:57 AM EST
Yep the majority of Americans didn't want it and still don't in it's current useless graft ridden form and now the Democrats have stepped up as the Party of NO, keep the graft coming....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++If the dems wanted actual health care reform, something would woud bring the costs of actual health care at least under control if not down, then that is all well and good. But what the dems actually want is not reform. They want "free" health care for all. For those that don't remember, Obama's initial idea for his health care reform act was to provide health care for all. When the polls showed that Americans, by a wide margin, were not so much interested in making sure everyone had insurance as they were interested in bringing down the skyrocketing costs of health care. Well, all of a sudden, Obama says his plan is to bring down costs.

[RealWorldNow]

But it has raised costs and now it will start killing jobs as well. If it was such good legislation why are so many unions asking and receiving waivers?

[utjoey21]

You can't actually be serious, the Democrats the party of NO?!?! How ill-informed you are. As I seem to recall the Republicans said No to...well...just about everything. If they didn't get their way it was, "no, I'm not playing with you anymore!" Your propaganda is astonishing as well, the bi-partisan GAO has stated that Health Care reform will save billions. Moreover, the Republicans would do well to introduce legislation that actually has a chance of becoming law; these "show" votes do nothing but waste time and money. Why don't they start to tackle unemployment, hey there's an idea.

[afmcalax]

Just remember this in 2012 ....

The first act of business of the Republicans in Congress was to sign up for their tax-payer subsidized health insurance ....

The second act was to vote to deny the same for all other Americans.

Republicans and their Tea Party zelaots ... Hypocrits in Action ... Still the Party of No for working class Americans

[endurorob_5]

The health care plan the congress recieives is a benefit of their job. It is not an entitlement that the health care "reform" creates.

[endurorob_5]

skyk-2009 January 20, 2011 7:48 AM EST
endurorob_5, now the President has said he's willing to listen to ANYTHING that will make the Law better. No one in the Democratic Party has ruled out any Republiklan Option, mostly because there IS NO OPTION! Let's face is Spuds this was a dog and pony show for people like you... people who hate their fellow American's so much that you will repeal Health Care Reform with NO SOLUTION anywhere in sight!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I knew that comment would draw you out. The president only now says he is willing to work with repubs because they have one of the houses and he has no choice. Whenthe dems put this health care debacle together and rammed it down our throats neither they nor the president had any interest in listening to what the repubs had to say. They just bribed enough of there own members to vote for it and shoved it down the throats of the people.

[afmcalax]

Actually Democrats have always been open to Republican suggestions. Look at the record, but Bonehead Boehner and the Sentae Confederacy decided that they would bank of the overall stupidity of Americans to vote against their own interest. 8 years of Bush ... no ideas; 2 years with Obama ... no ideas; no leading the House ... and still no ideas. Republicans are the party of no ideas but great propaganda!

[endurorob_5]

But as long as Democrats control the Senate, neither the repeal nor the replacement have any chance of becoming law.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Democrats. The party of "NO".

[RealWorldNow]

2300 pages of garbage, it would take days for attorney to sift thru to extract whats in it so Nancy can understand it. She still has no clue. It does not reduce costs.. therefore it is a failure.

[abbe91]

"When you order every American to buy health insurance whether they want it, need it or not, that's a government takeover of healthcare," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, on the floor.

OK, let's amend the bill and remove that part, just that part. I wonder if Pence would like it that way ...

[1renegade]

Imagine that. Our new reps really do have the backbone to do what the people asked of them.

[RobAla]

I asked my new rep to repeal this law.