Republicans are "wasting their time" trash-talking Obamacare on the campaign trail — Democrats have "embraced" the law and will be "proud" of it in upcoming races, according to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Republican David Jolly's win Tuesday in Florida over Democrat Alex Sink was a fluke, Pelosi said Thursday, pushing back at the GOP's characterization of the victory as a harbinger of elections to come, and a reflection of
voter anger over Obamacare.
“The fact that it is an off-year election — in other words, a non-presidential year — and a special election is like a double-whammy in terms of reducing turnout,” she said, according
to The Hill.
“We feel confident about the fuller participation in November, and what that will mean for that election.”
Jolly on Tuesday had chided Pelosi for her "spin control."
“The president’s health-care plan has hurt the people in this county, and a number of people came out to the polls today to express that concern to the president and to Congress," he said, telling Fox News: “I think my new colleague Nancy Pelosi might be engaging in some spin control this evening,"
the Daily Caller reported.
On Thursday, Pelosi insisted the GOP is misreading Jolly's victory.
“I think the Republicans are wasting their time using that as their electoral issue, and they will find that out,” she warned, adding Democrats were "absolutely not" avoiding the issue of the controversial law.
"I'm very proud of our House Democrats and how they've not only embraced the Affordable Care Act ... but how proud they are of it," she said.
"There are many good things about the Affordable Care Act that are good for the health and well-being of the American people. There are some things that need to be fixed, let's do that. And that is the message of our members."
But The Hill reported the National Republican Congressional Committee contends that message "failed."
“If you’re a Democrat in one of those crossover seats, I’d be panicked this morning, because their playbook they’ve given [Democrats] is to run on ObamaCare,” Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, head of the NRCC said Wednesday, The Hill reported.
“Go support the president and go support Obamacare, and they tried that out and it failed.”