Republicans aren’t just trying to undermine President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, according to Former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.). They’ve also been trying to undermine the President “as a human being” since his election.
Appearing on CNN‘s “State of the Union” this week, Dean discussed the rollout 2.0 of HealthCare.gov and how it plays into the larger picture of the President’s poor polling and damaged reputation as a whole. He told host Candy Crowley that there is “no evidence” that the damage for Obama will be lasting.
“That’s Right Wing talking points against this President, who from day one, when he got in there, they’ve tried to undermine him as a human being,” he said.
He also criticized Republicans for trying undermine Obamacare when they haven’t even seen the results yet. Even though Dean stated he had not yet tried the website in its updated and supposedly functional state, he said “the proof is in the pudding” and that “the President can right this ship.”
He compared currently low national healthcare enrollment rates to the ultimate results of Romneycare in Massachusetts, where 98.5 percent of citizens have healthcare and many people signed up right before the deadline. He argued that people on both sides of the aisle should try to make the ACA work — even after admitting to Crowley that he wasn’t originally behind it and didn’t think it was an “ideal” plan.
“I lose my patience with this nonsense,” he said the debate over Obamacare. “And I do believe that the facts are going to be determined by what happens on the ground.”
Countering Dean’s argument was former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.), who pointed out that Massachusetts’ insurance costs are the highest in the country. He argued that the Obamacare legislation was supposed to be fixed in conference, but it wasn’t — resulting in “a disastrous bill.”
“This is just beginning, the disaster of Obamacare,” Santorum said.
The administration’s message about HealthCare.gov is that it has reached its goals for its Nov. 30 re-release — but Dean, Santorum and the rest of the nation will, in fact, have to wait and see how everything plays out.
