Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, in an interview this weekend on Univision, said, “I don’t think we need a comprehensive overhaul of our health care system.”
“Because our health care system,” he continued, according to a transcript posted by Latina Lista, “while it remains the best in the country and while it provides largely the services that people need and the quality of those services are very, very good, there are costs associated with this system that needs to be address more directly.”
He explained the Republicans’ plan for health care, describing it as “elbow grease” that requires neither regulation or taxation.
“It’s common sense solution, it doesn’t require a nationalizing of our health care system, and it doesn’t involve or require a great government intrusion through regulation and taxation and other confiscatory policies,” he said. “What it requires is applying a little, you know elbow grease, to allow those businesses, those Hispanic businesses for example, under the market place and get the health care that they need.”
During the interview, Steele also offered his thoughts on immigration reform and Glenn Beck’s assertion that President Obama is racist.
On immigration:
Basically what we should be saying is that there are rules that you need to get into the country, go the right door, fill out the right form, have some apple pie, hum a few bars of the star spangle banner and get to work, God bless you, and I think that that begins to set us on the right road to dealing with this issue.
And he didn’t condemn Beck’s comments, even when given two chances by host Jorge Ramos.
Ramos: For instance, when you hear commentators like Glenn Beck saying that for him President Barack Obama is a racist, with a deep seeded hatred for white people, how do you react?
Steele: That’s one man’s opinion.
Ramos: Yes, but…
Steele: That’s one man’s opinion.
Ramos: but should you defend Barack Obama against these types of comments? I don’t know, it’s just a question.
Steele: No, no, look the reality of it is when I ran for the United States’ Senate and I was called an Uncle Tom by leading Democrats in the country, when I was called a slave by Steny Hoyer who is now the majority leader in the House no one came running to my defense and no one seemed to think that that was racists at the time. I don’t play the race card, I don’t play the race game, the way some tend to want to do.
