Roy Moore Campaign Chairman Bill Armistead released a press release on Friday attacking Luther Strange for his shapeshifting stance towards Obamacare repeal.
On Friday morning, Luther Strange told CBS in an interview that he supported the “concept” of the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill; however, he wants to review the “specifics” of the bill regarding Alabama before he endorses the legislation.
“I support the concept of it very much so,” Strange told WIAT. “I haven’t seen the specifics of how it affects Alabama yet, so I’ve not signed off totally until I make sure our citizens are protected.”
Armistead argued that Strange’s changing stance towards Obamacare repeal makes him indicative of the Washington Swamp. Armistead said, “This morning in a CBS interview in Birmingham, Luther Strange put his swamp skills on full display, now saying that he cannot be certain to vote for the Graham-Cassidy version of the partial Obamacare repeal.”
The Roy Moore campaign chair added:
For several days now, Strange’s allies have been suggesting that Strange would be the better advocate for Alabama because he can work with the DC leadership and have used the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill as an example. They have said that Strange would work with them on a partial repeal of Obamacare to support the President, while Roy Moore would be too principled to achieve progress on either a full or partial repeal.
Now, Strange is saying that he likes certain aspects of the bill but cannot make a decision on whether he can vote for the bill. Ironically, Roy Moore takes the same exact position. However, their reasons for uncertainty are very different.
Strange wants to make sure that federal slush fund spending for programs is protected. Roy Moore wants to make sure that the federal government is getting out of the healthcare business entirely.
Armistead explained Moore and Strange hold fundamentally different views on the role of government in society; Moore wants to truly shrink the size of government, while Strange wants to make the government more efficient. Armistead charged:
This divergence in attitudes is perhaps the best example of why there is so much friction between establishment Republicans and conservatives. Conservatives like Roy Moore want the overspending stopped and for government to get smaller. Establishment Republicans like Luther Strange just want to work with liberals to manage the overspending and big government a little better.
Armistead concluded his statement by saying, “Perhaps this is why Alabama is losing its patience with Mitch McConnell and Luther Strange, and this is why Roy Moore will win the nomination on Tuesday.”