Hatch on GOP’s ObamaCare repeal push: ‘They shot their wad on healthcare’

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) raised some eyebrows when he used a colorful phrase to argue that it was time for Republicans to move from the healthcare debate to tax reform.

“We’re not going back to healthcare. We’re in tax now,” Hatch told Politico on Wednesday in a story published Monday.

“As far as I’m concerned, they shot their wad on healthcare and that’s the way it is. I’m sick of it.

{mosads}Hatch’s office was quick to defend and explain the turn of phrase, which has a few different meanings.

“As few of you were alive during the Civil War, here’s a valuable jargon lesson on ‘wads’ and the shooting of them,” Hatch tweeted.

As few of you were alive during the Civil War, here’s a valuable jargon lesson on “wads” and the shooting of them. https://t.co/dOYvcfgImO pic.twitter.com/wk9aaNb3s2

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) August 7, 2017

Hatch’s office linked to an online version of the Oxford dictionary.

While the phrase Hatch used has taken on a sexual connotation, it also has meanings that are far from blue comedian material.

The Oxford dictionary’s definition for the phrase is that it means someone has spent all of their money. 

Hatch’s Civil War reference is a nod to the definition of “wad” described by Merriam-Webster as “a soft plug used to retain a powder charge or to avoid windage especially in a muzzle-loading gun.”

The comments come after the GOP plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare collapsed last month. 

Some lawmakers are pushing for Republicans to continue their healthcare push in an effort to fulfill their longtime campaign promise to repeal and replace former President Obama’s signature domestic achievement.

Others are arguing that Republicans should move on to other agenda items, such as tax reform.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said this past weekend he doesn’t like to “dwell on situations where we come up a little bit short.”

“Even on the night when we came up one vote short of our dream to repeal and replace ObamaCare, here’s the first thing I thought about: feel better, Hillary Clinton could be president,” he said during an appearance at a Republican event in Kentucky.