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Sen. DeMint on health care and Honduras
By: J.P. Freire
Associate Commentary Editor
07/16/09 2:04 PM EDT
At a luncheon held by the American Spectator and Americans for Tax Reform, Senator DeMint (R-S.C.) addressed the debate on health care reform saying that the Democrats weren't the least bit interested in providing health care to Americans. "This government is doing everything it can to prevent individuals from owning their own health insurance," he said.
When asked who from his own caucus he suspected would cross the aisle and side with Democrats, DeMint said, "I'm not going to say, but you can probably guess. One of'em has gone over to the other side already," possibly in reference to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) who has announced he will seek reelection as a Democrat. On whether he feels that the Blue Dogs protests over spending would help tip the scales toward opposition to the bill, DeMint demurred. "I'll believe it when I see it. They talk a big game, but they still voted for cap and trade."
On the importance of this issue, DeMint was unequivocal: "If we lose healthcare, we will lose free market economics in America." Asked about the prospects of the plan's defeat, he said that it was all a question of letting the public look at the bill. "[The Democrats] know if it hangs out there in the August break, we'll load it onto the internet and people will find out what's in the bill.
Switching gears, I asked him about how he felt about the Obama administration's handling of the Honduran power struggle. "The state department was poorly informed, and they poorly informed Obama. I think this has been a disaster for us that we're not willing to stand up to Castro, Chavez, and Ortega."
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