Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) is backing away from his comparison of “Obamacare” to the Gestapo but he’s standing by his declaration that America is no longer free.
“It was not my intent to insult anyone, especially the Jewish Community, or minimize the fact that millions of people were murdered,” LePage said in a statement on Monday.
LePage admitted that including a Gestapo reference “clouded my message.” Regardless, he said: “We no longer are a free people. With every step that Obamacare moves forward, our individual freedoms are being stripped away by the federal government.”
This past weekend, in the governor’s weekly radio address, LePage vigorously criticized the Supreme Court ruling that upheld health care reform: “We the people have been told there is no choice. You must buy health insurance or pay the new Gestapo — the I.R.S.”
The full statement released Monday:
AUGUSTA — Governor Paul LePage released the following statement Monday regarding his recent radio address in which a comparison was made of the Internal Revenue Service to the Gestapo:
“It was not my intent to insult anyone, especially the Jewish Community, or minimize the fact that millions of people were murdered.
Clearly, what has happened is that the use of the word Gestapo has clouded my message. Obamacare is forcing the American people to buy health insurance or else pay a tax. Our health care system is moving toward one that rations care and negatively impact millions of Americans.
We no longer are a free people. With every step that Obamacare moves forward, our individual freedoms are being stripped away by the Federal Government. This should anger all Americans.”
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