Rand Paul: “Weak-kneed Republicans” need to “get over themselves” and repeal Obamacare

On CNN Tuesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) discussed why competition and choice are the most effective tools when it comes to lowering health insurance costs:

Videos by Rare

“My problem with the Senate bill as it currently exists is it doesn’t fix [the adverse incentives of Obamacare],” Paul said. “We keep 10 of 12 of the Obamacare regulations and keep the idea that you can still buy [health insurance] after you get sick. So I’m concerned the death spiral of Obamacare may even get worse with the Republican version.”

“The most important poll is the individual market,” he continued. “If you’re a plumber or a pest control guy and you’re trying to buy insurance, in 50 percent of the country there is only one insurer, and we now have many counties where there are no insurers. So without question Obamacare has been a failure, and it is getting worse…”

RELATED: With Obamacare, Democrats won the battle to “fundamentally transform America”

Paul said the most important poll that exists on Obamacare is how many of its customers are able to get health insurance.

“In 50 percent of the country, they are stuck with a monopoly, and it is spreading to where in many parts of the country, there are going to be no insurance options, so something has to be done. Obamacare is failing in the individual market,” Paul said.

“But the best way to fix it is through freedom. And everyone seems to be afraid of freedom. What we should do is legalize inexpensive insurance,” he added.

Paul said consumers ought to have more flexibility to buy the insurance they want at the price they want.

“Right now you have people with big hearts who want [insurance] to cover everything, but you are pricing poor people out of the market. President Obama wanted to help poor people, but he actually priced poor working people out of the marketplace,” he said.

RELATED: What exactly is the point of this Republican health bill?

In a Wednesday interview with Fox News, Paul pointed out how unpopular the legislation is on both sides of the aisle.

“The half of Republicans that hate it are conservatives like myself who went to rally after rally after rally saying ‘We’re going to repeal ObamaCare,’ and now we’re not repealing it, we’re keeping it,” Paul said.

“These weak-kneed Republicans up here who are saying, ‘Oh, we got to spend more money and we got to keep Medicaid forever, the expansion,’ they need to get over themselves,” he added.

What do you think?

Fox News adds a familiar face that conservatives love and liberals love to hate

Remember those teenagers arrested for selling water on the National Mall? There’s a happy ending