Shameless

by digby

I don’t know how these guys can say this stuff with a straight face. First the party which has relentlessly tried to destroy Social Security and Medicare for over decades is now shedding crocodile tears about how the Democrats aren’t “protecting the seniors.” And now this:

In recent days, GOP leaders have focused their crosshairs on the individual mandate, a key component of an effective health care reform bill. FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey (R-TX) attacked the mandate as a “healthcare industry boondoggle”, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) called the mandate a “stunning assault on liberty,” and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) delayed the committee mark-up by questioning the mandate’s constitutionality.

The addled odd duck from Iowa, Chuck Grassley has joined the fray as well. But guess what? Republicans were all for it before they were against it:

The mandate is going to be unpopular especially if the subsidies are inadequate and there’s no affordable public option, so you can see the political temptation to go after it. But Republicans love to mandate that people pay private interests money, it’s paying it to the government they can’t stand. They certainly weren’t arguing against forcing people to pay for private insurance until now.

You would never go broke betting on Republican hypocrisy.

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