Stefanik says she wants to repeal Affordable Care Act, then says some aspects worth keeping
Paul Ryan protégé Elise Stefanik is at war with herself (again).
Stefanik told WWNY TV News in a recent interview, “I support repealing Obamacare” but then later said “there are aspects of the Affordable Care Act that we should keep.”
Stefanik’s posturing is blatantly clear: She wants to have it both ways by appealing to her conservative base, but also appear as commonsense to moderates (not to mention her constituents who have benefited from health care reform).
It’s a pattern that the Glens Falls Post-Star described in a recent editorial as “two Stefaniks at war with each other.”
But Stefanik trying to have it both ways on a hot-button issue shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
Stefanik is the political operative who helped Paul Ryan defend his notorious ‘Ryan Budget’ as his debate coach in 2012 – the same budget that proposed privatizing Social Security and gutting Medicare.
“Once again, Paul Ryan’s spin doctor Elise Stefanik is at war with herself and trying to have it both ways on a hot-button issue,” said Bryan Lesswing at the DCCC. “Just like Stefanik helped Paul Ryan spin his notorious ‘Ryan budget’ as his debate coach, Stefanik is now trying to spin her way out of taking any kind of position on the critical issues that directly impact her constituents and the North Country.”
Background
WWNY TV News Interview Transcript (Video 2)
Stefanik: I support repealing Obamacare. (1:59)
Stefanik: There are aspects of the Affordable Care act that we should keep. (3:30)
Since Entering Congress Stefanik Has Voted Seven Times To Repeal The Affordable Care Act. [Vote #14, 1/08/15; Vote #58, 2/03/15; Vote #138, 3/25/15; Vote #183, 4/30/15; Vote # 375, 6/18/15; Vote #376, 6/23/15; Vote #568, 10/23/15]