The target of President Obama’s attacks on health care says the president is merely shopping for a decoy to distract from the fact Democrats can’t pass a plan even though they enjoy complete control of Congress.
Mr. Obama has blasted GOP South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint for telling conservative activists on a conference call that if they beat the Democrats health plan it could be Mr. Obama’s “waterloo” although he’s been careful not to say his name. Democratic fundraising groups in Washington, on the other hand, are following Mr. Obama’s charge, but going one step further and calling Mr. DeMint out by name.
In a televised address on Monday afternoon Mr. Obama repeated the “waterloo” comment, crediting it to a “Republican senator,” suggesting Mr. DeMint was being petty. The president then followed up with liberal bloggers by holding his own conference call where he again brought up “waterloo.”
The Democratic National Committee sent out a fundraising solicitation that day saying “GOP Senator Jim DeMint told a special-interest attack group that if they’re ‘able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” On Tuesday the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, tasked with raising money for Democratic Senate candidates, followed suit by emailing a similar appeal using the DeMint “waterloo” quotation. MoveOn.org sent one out titled “Waterloo” late Tuesday afternoon.
The DSCC mailer said Mr. DeMint and other Republicans want to “use the issue for political gain—and wound President Obama in the process.”
Mr. DeMint thinks the Democrats are just trying to find someone to blame on their stalled plans.
“The biggest obstacles to President Obama’s $2 trillion government takeover of health care are Democrats, the American people, and the facts,” he said in a statement provided by his office to the Washington Times. “And after the failed stimulus that wasted money as millions of jobs have been lost, many Democrats know their constituents won’t be fooled again.”
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