The Hill’s Michael O’Brien is reporting that West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin (D-WV) — “who is in a tough fight for a Senate seat” and has previously said that he would repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act — is now insisting that he’d vote for repealing the entire law “if it can’t be fixed”:
DOOCY: I know a while back you did support the president’s reform of the health care system in the United States. You were behind it. Now, however…
MANCHIN: See, no I wasn’t. Let’s be accurate on that.
DOOCY: Well you, I’ll give you a chance. You were supportive of it. Now, you’re calling for repeal of part of it.
MANCHIN: I still and have always been in support of health reform. If anybody believes that a child should be left off of their parents and also pre-existing conditions and small businesses and all those things should go uninsured, something is wrong in America. Now with that, the president’s plan — ‘Obamacare,’ as it’s been called — is far too reaching. It’s overreaching. It needs to have a lot of it repealed. But you can fix that. If you can’t fix that, repeal the whole thing.
Watch it:
In September, after the Wonk Room posted a video showing Manchin saying he would have voted for the Affordable Care Act if he had been in Congress, his campaign admitted that “he said at the time that he would vote to do that.” His staff told us that Manchin opposed only “several sections” of the law “including any provisions that allow for the funding of abortions and the provisions that are cumbersome to small businesses.” “He also believes people’s personal responsibility and healthcare choices should not be taken away by overreaching regulations,” the campaign said.
During a March 17 panel on health care at the National Governors Association, however, Manchin said, “I’d be for it” when asked if he would support the health bill. “I think you’ve got to move the ball,” he said. “I have never, since I’ve been in the legislative process and since I’ve been governor, I’ve never gotten a perfect bill. I’ve never gotten a bill exactly the way I’ve wanted it. … Let’s try, let’s try to make this. Bring us all in. Let’s make it work.”