Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) blasted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) for suggesting the most recent Obamacare delay is due to Americans not being "educated" about using the internet Thursday on the Senate floor.
"Only in Washington, D.C., do you see politicians blaming the American people for their failures, because that's essentially what this is. The Obamacare legislation by and large, I think most people will conclude, just isn't working," he said.
Thune noted his 94 year-old grandfather uses the internet everyday and blasted Reid for trying to shift the blame for Obamacare's failed rollout.
"I don't think the problem is the internet, or that the people in this country aren't educated enough to use the internet. I think it has a lot more to do with the fact that incompetence here in Washington, D.C. led to a failed rollout that confused millions of Americans, and that is not their responsibility, nor should we blame the American people for that. That is the government trying to do big things and not doing them well."
The South Dakota senator extended the theme that government is not capable of doing "big things" to the Democrats' proposed federal minimum wage increase.
He said given the country's experience with Obamacare, the American people will not and should not yield to another big government power grab that will cost jobs.
If the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats were really interested in job creation, Thune argued, they would approve the Keystone Pipeline and implement the European and Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreements.
"Those are the types of things that do create jobs. We know that. Instead of having an election-year agenda that is just transparently stated to [not] be that, why don't we actually talk about things that will create jobs and will improve the overall standard of living for people in this country?"