GOP Plots All-Out War on ObamaCare

Democrats, meanwhile will attack 'CruzCare'
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2013 8:53 AM CST
GOP Plots All-Out War on ObamaCare
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, right, walks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, as they make their way to a GOP strategy session on Capitol Hill, Nov. 19, 2013.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

If it sounds like Republicans are reading from the same playbook in their ObamaCare offensive, it's because they are. A memo sent to House Republicans this week detailed an unusually focused attack plan, the New York Times explains. Republicans are to focus en masse on one of the program's failings, then swiftly pivot to the next as soon as that narrative gains traction, constantly keeping Democrats on their heels. First they focused on the website, then on dropped plans, and next they plan to shift to rate shocks.

"Yeah, there is a method being followed here," one rep says, "but really these stories are creating themselves." (This story, for example, must have been music to strategists' ears.) Democrats, meanwhile, have developed a counter-strategy: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is set to launch a campaign contrasting ObamaCare with "CruzCare," in hopes of highlighting how limited Republican policy alternatives are, the Washington Post reports. Ted Cruz is actually planning to roll out his own plan, but Democrats expect it to be the a potpourri of standard-issue Republican policies, rather than a credible ObamaCare alternative. (More House Republicans stories.)

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