Health Care Law Divides Republican Rivals | HuffingtonPost.com

In intraparty skirmishes from Georgia to Nebraska, the GOP’s most strident candidates and activists are insisting on a no-holds-barred approach. They accuse fellow Republicans — including several incumbent senators — of being too soft in their opposition to the Affordable Care Act and to the president in general.

The outcomes will help determine just how conservative the Senate Republican caucus will be during Obama’s final two years. And they could influence which party controls the chamber, with Democrats hoping that the most uncompromising Republican standard-bearers will emerge from the primaries and fare as poorly in general elections as their counterparts did in several 2012 Senate races. Republicans need to gain six seats for a majority.

Republican Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia, who wants to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss, stepped into the rift recently when he seemed to scold much of his party during an interview on a conservative talk radio show.

“A lot of conservatives say, ‘Nah, just step back and let this thing fall to pieces on its own,” Kingston said. “Well, I don’t think that’s always the responsible thing to do.”

Rep. Paul Broun, one of Kingston’s rivals in a crowded primary field, pounced immediately, declaring in an Internet ad, “I don’t want to fix Obamacare, I want to get rid of it.” Conservative commentators hammered Kingston with headlines like “Kingston has surrendered on Obamacare.”

“This goes right to the bigger fight between the ideologues and the pragmatists,” said Republican strategist Todd Rehm of Georgia, who isn’t affiliated with any of the eight GOP candidates for Chambliss’ seat. Candidates who want to capture the divided Republican electorate, he said, “see that you can’t compromise on any of it. … The moment you start to sound like you’re open to any compromise, you’ve sold out the ideologues.”

via Health Care Law Divides Republican Rivals.