Ever since the passage of the health care reform bill in the House of Representatives on Sunday, many GOP lawmakers -- though not all of them -- began calling for repeal of the legislation.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) has taken the lead on a Senate GOP mission to stonewall the health care bill as their chamber prepares to vote on reconciliation fixes. Gregg hopes to slow the process by proposing a number of amendments to the reconciliation bill.
"The only issue between now and the next election will be the repeal of it," Gregg said, echoing Sen. John McCain's earlier comment that Democrats will get "no cooperation for the rest of the year" on their legislative agenda.
On Tuesday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) referred to the health reform bill as a "fiscal Frankenstein" that will "make insurance more expensive." According to Politico, Ryan plans to push for repeal of the legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also clarified Tuesday that he would support repealing the health care bill.
"I can tell you with the campaign that will continue with the American people, I think the slogan will be 'Repeal and Replace,'" McConnell told reporters, according to Hotline On Call. He has since introduced his own bill to repeal the legislation, Hotline reports.
In the immediate aftermath of the House vote Sunday night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) released a statement calling the bill an "unconstitutional," irreparably broken "power grab" that "must be repealed." His resolution, limited to a single sentence -- "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the amendments made by that Act, are repealed," has picked up 12 GOP Senate cosponsors as of Tuesday afternoon.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was quick to back his Senate colleague, releasing a statement announcing that he was "committed to repealing this multi-trillion dollar health care nightmare and replacing it with bipartisan reform that will lower costs and improve access."
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) also announced Monday that she'd join DeMint's effort to repeal the newly passed health care bill.
Former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, who is running for Senate, was also quick to publicly back her support for repealing the bill, a trend that has since become adopted by a number of other candidates running for office.
Other Republicans followed in DeMint's footsteps on Monday, drafting their own versions of bills designed to repeal the legislation passed on Sunday night and signed into law on Tuesday.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) announced that America "must take their country back by methodically eliminating every vestige of creeping socialism, including socialized medicine."
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who has been one her party's most visible opponents of health care reform, also called for "repealing this monstrosity of a bill." Representatives Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) followed Tuesday, denouncing health care reform and introducing their own versions of legislation to repeal the bill.
Sen. John McCain blasted out a fundraising email Monday afternoon telling supporters "I assure you I am not quitting our fight. I believe we must repeal this bill immediately."
But not all Republicans are set on dismantling the bill.
Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.), who is currently engaged in a bitter Republican primary for Senate, has expressed his discontent with the bill's passage, but refused to explicitly call for the legislation to be repealed.
Former Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Phil Gringrey (R-Ga.) have all been wary of declaring an all out war on the entire health care bill, Think Progress reports.
Recently-elected Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts said that "the American people deserve better," than the bill passed Sunday night, but stopped short of calling for its immediate repeal.