Chuck Todd had both Senator Mike Lee, a staunch Right Wing Republican Conservative and Charlie Dent, a right of center Republican Moderate Conservative on Meet the Press. He asked their opinions of Senator Bill Cassidy’s statement implying healthcare is now a right.
GOP Congressman concedes health care is a right
Chuck Todd had two politicians from the Republican Party who seemed as dissimilar as they could get in their current health care ideologies. It was clear that Mike Lee was caught off guard and that Charlie Dent was coming out of his Conservative shackles.
Chuck Todd read the following statement that Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) gave to the New York Times.
“There’s a widespread recognition that the federal government, Congress, has created the right for every American to have health care,”
“Essentially, Senator Lee, he is saying the debate is over about whether ‘government’ should be involved in this or not,” Chuck Todd said. “And now it is just time to design a law that acknowledges this right; that people have a right to health care and the government has to figure out how to do it for them. Do you concur with that?”
Lee gave the typical Ann Randian answer about what government can do to you versus for you. He disagreed and tried to tie Obamacare to the GOP’s imaginary failure of the ACA.
Chuck then passed the baton to Congressman Dent.
“I spoke to Senator Cassidy and Senator Collins at length,” Charlie Dent said. “Senator Cassidy from a very Conservative state, Louisiana. I tend to agree that we have a national healthcare architecture now, flawed as it is. I voted against it. But we are going to have to work with it to try to make the system better, more market oriented, patient friendly, patient-centered. I think to a certain extent, that debate has already been settled.”
The Trumpcare debacle may bring some Republicans around.