Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) found reassurance in the news that Democratic leaders in Congress agreed to delay debate of healthcare reform legislation until after the August recess.
DeMint, one of the most strident critics of the president’s healthcare agenda, told his Twitter followers:
Reid and Pelosi have delayed a vote on a government takeover of health care until September, your voices are being heard
The South Carolinian (in)famously, depending on your point of view, said in reference to healthcare “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”
Obama has since used DeMint’s remarks to rail against his critics and sell the public on his healthcare reform plan.
Earlier today, Democratic leaders fended off grumblings that the delay indicated trouble for healthcare bills in the House in Senate.
President Obama said he was “comfortable” with the delay as long as it allowed lawmakers to fix “tough problems.”
“The Republicans have asked for more time, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said at a noon press conference on Thursday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) echoed Reid’s sentiments. “I’m not afraid of August,” she said.