|
Cincinnati
Enquirer
Mandel
calls health care ‘defining’ in Ohio race
By Dan
Sewell, The Associated Press
Jul. 5,
2012
GEORGETOWN,
OHIO — The Republican challenger hoping to unseat Democratic Sen.
Sherrod Brown
said Thursday the federal health care overhaul is a pivotal issue in
their
campaign.
State
Treasurer Josh Mandel, beginning a two-day swing through southern and
eastern
Ohio, said Brown provided crucial support for President Barack Obama’s
legislation, while he would push for a repeal of the overhaul upheld
last week
by the U.S. Supreme Court. Mandel said he wants changes focused on
doctors,
patients and the private sector, not government.
“It’s a
defining issue for our campaign,” Mandel told The Associated Press.
“Sherrod
Brown held in his hands the power to stop government-run health care.
If he
would have had the courage to stand up to his party and voted against
it, it
would never have passed. He voted party line. … He believes Washington
knows
best on health care.”
Speaking to
nearly 20 Brown County Republican activists having eggs, sausage gravy
and
other breakfasts at the Country Inn, Mandel repeated that Brown “cast
the
deciding vote” on health care. The independent ad-checking group
PolitiFact has
disputed that claim, which Republicans have also made against
Democratic
senators in other states.
When the
ruling came out last week, Brown repeated his praise for the health
care
overhaul, saying it improves coverage for older people, children and
people
with pre-existing medical conditions.
The ruling
should “put an end to partisan bickering, so we can continue our focus
on jobs
and improving the economy,” Brown said in a statement.
Ohioans
voted heavily against the law in a largely symbolic referendum last
November,
and polls have indicated it continues to be unpopular in the state.
Whether the
Supreme Court ruling quiets opposition as an issue is subject to debate.
Brown
County Republican Party leader Paul Hall said he thinks the ruling and
calls
for repeal will motivate the party’s base and tea party activists...
Read the
rest of the article at the Cincinnati Enquirer
|
