Sen. John McCain on Tuesday blasted Obamacare as “disastrous for the American people” but said infighting between Republicans is what has dominated the news.
Mr. McCain, appearing on the Fox Business Network, explained that he still supports repealing and replacing Obamacare.
“But elections have consequences, and the Democrats control two of the three branches, the presidency and the Senate,” Mr. McCain, Arizona Republican, said. “So to think you’re going to be able to repeal Obamacare by just being obstructionist is not the way to do it.”
“The kind of sad thing about it is Obamacare is falling apart before our eyes,” he continued. “Organized labor is now coming out against it, and did, and the President’s numbers are going down in almost every category. But yet what dominates the news is the fight between Republicans.”
Mr. McCain said that there is “a real genuine debate” going on within the GOP on crafting a cohesive message, but there is a Reagan Republican wing of the party “that believes no compromise under any circumstances is the best way to go.”
“The thing that is a little bit kind of entertaining is that they all call themselves Reagan Republicans,” he said. “Ronald Reagan negotiated with Tip O’Neill, the liberal Democrat, and we saved Social Security. Ronald Reagan said the 11th Commandment is you don’t speak ill of your fellow Republicans. And Ronald Reagan is the guy that said, ’If somebody’s with me 80 percent of the time, then that’s fine with me.’”
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• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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