Rand Paul: ‘There Won’t Be A Repeal’ Of Obamacare Without Conservatives

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) looks on at a press conference to discuss "The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act" March 10, 2015 in Washington, DC. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a poss... Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) looks on at a press conference to discuss "The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act" March 10, 2015 in Washington, DC. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a possible Republican presidential candidate, introduces on Tuesday legislation with two Democrats that would prevent the federal government from prosecuting medical marijuana users in states where it is legal. Photo by Olivier Douliery/Sipa USA MORE LESS
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday stressed that conservatives are key to Obamacare repeal.

“Conservatives will be listened to or there won’t be a repeal,” Paul said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We’re not just going along with whatever they try to shove down our throats. We’re going to be a big part of this.”

He criticized a leaked draft of a GOP Obamacare replacement plan to rework the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies into refundable tax credits.

“Refundable tax credits, this means you get back money you didn’t pay. Somebody else’s money,” Paul said. “So I don’t think we can dress up Democrat ideas and put a Republican stamp on them, call them a tax credit and say that we’re giving them something different than what Obamacare was doing.”

He said that Republicans “shouldn’t dress up a new government entitlement program” as a policy shift.

“What we should be for is lowering insurance premiums, lowering the rates and letting working class people get good insurance at a less expensive cost,” he said. “We are bankrupt as a country because we’re overextended already on the entitlement programs that we have without adding new ones.”

House Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows (R-NC) and House Republican Study Committee Chair Mark Walker (R-SC) said they would have trouble voting for a bill resembling the recently leaked draft.

Sens. Paul, Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) signaled their support for Meadows and Walker in tweets posted Monday night, and two outside conservative groups, Club for Growth and FreedomWorks, announced their support as well on Tuesday.

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Notable Replies

  1. @spencersmom

    (This article makes me feel Beshear is actually a great idea…)

  2. "Conservatives will be listened to or there won’t be a repeal," Paul said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We’re not just going along with whatever they try to shove down our throats. We’re going to be a big part of this.”

    “So the GOP majority had six years to come up with an ACA replacement and yet…”

  3. Oh, and…

    So I don’t think we can dress up Democrat ideas and put a Republican stamp on them

    You know, Rand, your So-Called President would be perfectly fine with that idea or whatever as long as the stamp on it is “Trump.”

  4. WTF. I thought conservatives have a simple goal: Repeal. What other requirement is there? Is there a liberal wing among conservatives which believes in socialism?

  5. Suits me.

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