Urgency of the 2010 elections

This quick note comes from the Alliance for Retired Americans:

Republicans Say They Will Try to Repeal Health Care Law if They Return to Power

According to the Associated Press, if Republicans succeed beyond any current predictions and capture both the Senate and the House, some are planning the prospect of a government shutdown as a tool they would use to try and repeal this year's health care law. Republicans could also fall back on the "congressional power of the purse," denying the administration billions of dollars to carry out the legislation. The House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, (D-MD) dismissed the talk of repeal as wishful thinking. Hoyer said that he's confident Democrats will stay in charge, and even if Republicans win, "they can beat their chests and say they won't fund the implementation of the law, but I think the law is the law, and if you can't change it, then, frankly, you have a responsibility to carry it out." On "America Speaking Out," a website sponsored by the House GOP, the mantra, "Repeal and Replace" drove home the stated goal of what to do about the health care law. Still, Republicans would not have enough GOP votes to overcome President Obama's vetoes. Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) signaled a slightly different plan, saying to home state reporters recently about the law, "What can we do? We can make narrow targeted efforts to go after the cost problems. Without the president, we can't repeal it. But we can go after portions of it aggressively."