NRSC

John Cornyn: Health Care Will Be The #1 Issue In 2010

Speaking with Capitol Hill reporters yesterday, NRSC Chairman Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said that if some type of health care legislation is able to limp its way out of Congress, Republican candidates across the country are poised to make it the premiere issue of the fall campaign.

Politico: GOP sharpens midterm attack line

• While Cornyn said his personal preference would be to stop a bill entirely, his campaign committee is already preparing its attack line for a scenario that assumes Democrats squeeze a bill through the controversial reconciliation process in the next month. The Texas senator said Republican candidates would be asking voters, “Are your health care costs lower?”  “And I think the answer to that would be, no, they’re not,” said Cornyn, answering his own question in a briefing with reporters.”

CNN: Cornyn says health care to boost GOP at polls

• Democratic push for health care reform this year will translate into significant GOP gains at the ballot box regardless of whether or not a bill actually passes, according to the Republican senator overseeing his party's efforts to retake the chamber in November.  "Democrats think by passing the bill they'll be able to get it behind them and change the subject to something else like jobs," said Texas Sen. John Cornyn at a news briefing Monday. "But this will do the opposite. This will make sure that health care is the number one issue that the election is won or lost on in November"…Cornyn cited the Democratic handling of the health care issue as a top reason why Republicans are running strong races for eight seats currently held by Democrats in Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania.

MSNBC’s First Read: Cornyn: 'Health care is the No. 1 issue'

• A year ago, the economy was the one and only issue that mattered. It certainly remains the overarching one. But Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee made it clear he wants his candidates to focus on health care.  Because Democrats have said passing their health-reform bills would lower costs, the question Cornyn said that should be asked of voters will be, "Are your health-care costs lower now in Nov. 2010 by virtue of passing this health care bill,” the Texas Republican, wearing his signature black cowboy boots under a dark pinstripe suit, told a roomful of reporters at a Monday morning briefing about the 2010 Senate landscape. "And I think the answer to that will be, ‘No, they’re not.’"

Hotline OnCall: Cornyn: It's The Health Care, Stupid

• NRSC chair John Cornyn thinks Dems haven't learned anything from Sen. Scott Brown's (R-MA) win in Jan., and he's OK with it.  Speaking to reporters at a briefing this morning, Cornyn posited that if health care reform passes, it will be "the No. 1 issue that the election is won or lost on in November."  "Obviously the No. 1 issue that the American people care about is jobs with the 9.7% unemployment rate," he said. He pointed out that Pres. Obama said during his SOTU address that the government would turn its attention to jobs but instead, health care has gotten more of the focus.