While meeting liberal activists at this year's Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas, Tarryl Clark said she opposes individual health care mandates like those included in the federal health care legislation.
"I'm against individual mandates," she told Talking Points Memo while discussing the health care bill. "Minnesota's been a leader in health care. We've shown that you can get just about everybody covered without having mandates."
Clark also said the bill did not do enough "on cost containment."
Clark spokeswoman Carrie Lucking said the state senator still would have voted for the health care bill had she been in Congress.
"Just because you have concerns about parts of the bill doesn't mean that overall you don't think it's a step in the right direction," Lucking said, noting that Clark is particularly supportive of the provision barring discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
Clark's website, which contains an entire PDF devoted to her stance on health care, makes no mention of her opposition to individual mandates.
TPM also reports, sans video, that Clark "said she's considering joining the Blue Dog Democrats if elected this fall in the 6th Congressional district." That would place her amid the likes of Rep. Collin Peterson, who is known to vote against his party on major legislation.
When asked if Clark was interested in joining the Blue Dogs, Lucking said she would "consider an invitation to any caucus that was given to her."
