A day after the Supreme Court handed the president a near-total victory on his signature health care law, his campaign was out with a new message that people will “move past the political debate” over the law as it begins being implemented.
“Most people want the political debate past them,” Obama advisor Stephanie Cutter said on Friday on CNN’s Starting Point. “We're going to continue implementing this law, efficiently and effectively, and over time the American people are going to see the benefits and I think move past this political debate.”
Host Soledad O’Brien appeared stunned. “I was with you up until the ‘move past the political debate,’ then I lost you,” she said.
Republicans have already vowed to repeal the law and many elected officials are saying that it will once again become a key issue in the 2012 campaign.
The GOP also plans to make much of the fact the court justified the law under tax provisions , and Cutter was asked specifically, “Is this a penalty or a tax?”
Cutter responded: "It's a penalty that if you choose not to get health care, and you're imposing a hidden tax on all of us -- because we pay for your health care -- then you’ll pay a penalty."
Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.
Leave A Comment