Cornyn: It's The Health Care, Stupid
NRSC chair John Cornyn thinks Dems haven't learned anything from Sen. Scott Brown's (R-MA) win in Jan., and he's OK with it.
Speaking to reporters at a briefing this morning, Cornyn posited that if health care reform passes, it will be "the No. 1 issue that the election is won or lost on in November."
"Obviously the No. 1 issue that the American people care about is jobs with the 9.7% unemployment rate," he said. He pointed out that Pres. Obama said during his SOTU address that the government would turn its attention to jobs but instead, health care has gotten more of the focus.
Cornyn wants GOPers to kill health care reform -- so long as they take pains to explain how they'd like to restart the process. And if it does pass, he presumes that GOPers will campaign on trying to repeal it.
As for a larger bank of issues, Cornyn wavered on whether GOPers should lay out a comprehensive agenda, though he did say that Brown's focus on national security, fiscal responsibility and stopping health care reform in its current form was a good mix.
"I think there is some talk about having another sort of contract," he said, referring to the highly successful "Contract with America" that GOP leaders unveiled in Sept. 1994. "And I believe there will be a move toward trying to come up with a sort of consensus document, but I think this is different from 1994 in that I don't think that the voters are looking for Washington insiders to tell them what their agenda should be."
Instead, he hinted that he liked the slightly different "Contract from America," an idea that's been floated more recently to take advantage of listening to voters. Similarly, he called the Tea Party movement important in that regular citizens who may previously not have been engaged in politics are "taking to the streets."
After the jump, Cornyn offers his thoughts on several hot races.
Cornyn, who heads his party's efforts to win back SEN seats, spotlighted several high-profile races, including:
MO: Cornyn said Sec/State Robin Carnahan (D) is "certainly an insider when it comes to government." More: "Between [Rep. Roy] Blunt (R) and Carnahan, you have the 2 best known names in Missouri politics, and I don't think anybody's going to be able to claim to be a true outsider."
NY: Cornyn said there are more candidates "bubbling up" to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) and he expects a "significant" and "substantial" candidate to emerge.
WA: "I have talked to ['04/'08 GOV nominee] Dino Rossi (R). He's contemplating the race." He said there are other candidates contemplating the race, including ex-local news anchor Susan Hutchinson (R).
WI: Ex-HHS Sec./ex-Gov. Tommy Thompson is still "contemplating the race."
"Cornyn wavered on whether GOPers should lay out a comprehensive agenda"
That says it all.
Unwilling or unable to provide comprehensive solutions for America. Or both.
That's the Republican Party in a nutshell.
They just don't care.
This whole health care thing is about jobs jobs jobs, that's why obama is pushing for this hard. We conservatives, on the other hand, have framed the debate in a manner that has crippled our ability to see it for what republicans in the past would have seen it. We are all in it together, and reform is a path to new jobs, medical service, providers and even insurers - and they can't be off-shored. I have changed my mind I hope you will take a look and think about it too
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