January 28th, 2010

Reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

About 30 state House Republican lawmakers on Wednesday urged passage of legislation that would guarantee Pennsylvanians the right to choose health care plans, regardless of federal mandates.

“Do you want Obamacare?” said Rep. Matthew Baker, R-Tioga County, the bill’s sponsor. “Do you want to pay higher taxes? Do you want less quality in heath care?”

Brett Marcy, a spokesman for House Majority Whip Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne County, called the bill “hollow political bluster.”

“It seems the state House Republicans are only interested in perpetuating the right-wing propaganda of their national party,” Marcy said. “The voters are tired of these lies and scare tactics, and they’re tired of this kind of extremist political ideology.”

Despite Republican Scott Brown’s recent victory for a Massachusetts Senate seat as an opponent of federal health care, activists said they believe Congress will press ahead on the issue.

“I don’t think it is dead,” said Sharon Cherubin, executive director of UnitePA in Lancaster, who attended the event. “(State legislation) is a fail-safe measure. The big issue right now is, it’s being mandated. It’s unconstitutional.”

But Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell said later that President Obama and Congress should forge ahead with a health care bill.

“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding in the public about health care,” Rendell said. “We — and I’m including myself — haven’t done a good job of explaining it.”

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