A Republican lawmaker hoping to grab a Senate seat in the next election says the GOP shouldn’t let Obamacare fail — it would be irresponsible.
Rep. Jack Kingston from Georgia told a local conservative radio station host that he has introduced a bill to exempt small businesses from an Obamacare mandate that requires those with more than 50 employees to provide health care. But his bill, the Small Business Fairness in Obamacare Act, is far from a repeal — something that many on the conservative side of the political aisle might now view with favor, The Huffington Post reported.
Mr. Kingston said he was aware that his bill might face fire for that very reason.
“And there’s some criticism, ’Well, are you helping improve this law when you make that change? And should we be doing that?’ A lot of conservatives say, ’Nah, let’s just step back and let this thing fall to pieces on its own.’ But I don’t think that’s always the responsible thing to do,” he said on the radio show “Z Politics.” “I think we need to be looking for things that improve health care overall for all of us. And if there was something in Obamacare, we need to know about it.”
Mr. Kingston’s spokesman, Chris Crawford, said in The Hill that Mr. Kingston in essence “said that we don’t just need to wait for Obamacare to die under its own weight. We need to be looking for solutions that would replace it.”
Mr. Kingston has voted to defund Obamacare several times, but still, his comments are at cross purposes with several other of his conservative colleagues, who take stronger opposition to the health care overhaul.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Health Care Reform
“Obamacare is simply not fixable, and Congress must stop wasting time passing bills which keep Obamacare in place,” said Rep. Paul C. Broun, also a Georgia Republican, in The Huffington Post.
Mr. Kingston faces stiff opposition from seven other Republicans who want to win seat held by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who announced recently he’s retiring.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.