Michael Steele is warning Mitt Romney that he needs to propose "a clear alternative to Obamacare" in order to appeal this fall to independent voters worried about their health care.
"It's not enough for Mitt Romney to come out and say that this is insufficient, that this is unconstitutional in our view, or whatever," the former RNC chair said on MSNBC's Now With Alex Wagner. "It is now incumbent on his team to lay out a clear alternative to Obamacare."
Steele continued: "If you don't want this, if the House is going to strike it down in a vote, then you'd better be prepared to put something on the table for those independent voters out there, particularly the Moms out there who's got a sick child at home or is caring for a parent, who has still a lot of questions about all this."
Steele's comments underline the political difficulty that Romney could now face, as he campaigns for president on a promise to repeal the law. In a response to the court's ruling earlier Thursday, Romney called again for repeal, but gave only vague details as to what should replace it.
Indeed, in recent days, Republicans appear to have shifted from a message of "Repeal and Replace," to one of simply "Repeal," amid concern from some in the party's base that parts of Obamacare might be allowed to stand.
