Republican operatives believe they have found a smoking gun against Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, who said during a 2008 debate he was against a \"government-sponsored\" solution for health care. <\/p>\n
The then-congressman, who was running for an open seat in the U.S. Senate, echoed arguments made by conservatives. <\/p>\n
\"I'm not for a government-sponsored solution,\" Udall said. \"I'm for enhancing and improving the employer-based system that we have.\" <\/p>\n
In a debate overshadowed by other issues rising energy prices and the war on terror Udall's answer that July barely created a ripple. But in the context of Sen. Udall's vote for the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and his tough re-election bid against Republican Congressman Cory Gardner in November, the statement takes on new meaning. <\/p>\n
Udall's vote for the health care law has provided fodder for a number of campaign attack ads. <\/p>\n
\"Mark Udall was elected on a lie,\" Gardner said. \"Mark Udall promised he would not support a government-sponsored solution and he broke that promise and voted for Obamacare.\" <\/p>\n
Udall's campaign says if Republicans believe they have found a smoking gun, they're simply shooting themselves in the foot because Obamacare is not government-run health care. <\/p>\n
\"They are grasping at straws,\" Udall spokeswoman Kristin Lynch said. <\/p>\n
The influential PolitiFact bolsters Udall's argument. The Pulitzer Prize winning independent fact-checking website awarded its 2010 Lie of the Year to the claim that the Democratic law amounted to a \"government takeover of health care.\" <\/p>\n
\" 'Government takeover' conjures a European approach where the government owns the hospitals and the doctors are public employees. But the law Congress passed ... relies largely on the free market,\" PolitiFact concluded. <\/p>\n
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GOP seizes on 2008 statement by Mark Udall on health care reform<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Republican operatives believe they have found a smoking gun against Democratic U.S. Sen. Continue reading