April 13, 2010 06:29 PM UTC

That Was Fast: Norton Abandons "Repeal Obamacare" Pledge

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• by: Colorado Pols

Reading through the second of two posts yesterday by former Rocky columnist Jason Salzman (we promoted the first, click here or scroll down), on the subject of GOP Senate candidate Jane Norton’s recent radio appearance with conservative blogger Ross Kaminsky–clearly there were a number of points for Salzman to run down from this interview (we agree, for example, that Norton’s rant about municipal building codes is quite peculiar), but about two-thirds of the way into that second post, we found what should have been the banner headline.

“Well, realistically, I don’t think you can repeal it, [Pols emphasis] with the makeup we’re seeing right now, and even if we were able to put in place conservatives in all the seats, you wouldn’t be able to repeal it because of the President’s veto power…”

That’s right: after campaigning hard on her pledge to “repeal Obamacare” since passage, Jane Norton’s pledge has apparently shifted to “defunding,” via the normal appropriations process, the fictitious “16,000 IRS agents” Glenn Beck expects in your neighborhood conducting armed death panel patrols any day now. But as much as Kaminsky would like to just blink and happily accept this wholesale reversal as perfectly consistent, “defunding” one piece of the health reform bill is not the promise Norton made–here is what she said in a press release just three weeks ago:

This bill represents the most significant move toward the failed policies of socialism America has seen in more than six decades. Our country must elect leaders this November who will work to repeal ObamaCare [Pols emphasis] and bring real reform to our healthcare system.

Folks, we told you this was coming. When health care reform was finally passed last month, and the Tea Party fringe went completely “A Browning Can” insane, opportunistic candidates like Norton tried once more to channel this unstable fringe rage into something they could use electorally. So she stepped right up and pledged to “repeal Obamacare,” and the base cheered her on.

Since then we’ve watched as the national GOP establishment backpedaled away from “repeal” pledges, and polls started to show the uptick in support for reform that everyone–from longsuffering Democrats to conservative icon David Frum–knew would follow.

And here you go, folks. Only three weeks later, Norton is backpedaling too.