Perry 'Taken Aback' by Crowd's Insurance Reaction

GOP should be 'party of life,' he says of those cheering the death question
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2011 4:30 PM CDT
Perry 'Taken Aback' by Crowd's Insurance Reaction
Texas Gov. Rick Perry during last night's debate.   (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Count Rick Perry among those "taken aback" at the reaction of some in the crowd during a debate question about health insurance last night. (A handful shouted "Yeah!" and cheered to a hypothetical question about whether someone who forgoes insurance should be allowed to die. See the video here.) Asked about it today, the Texas governor replied, "I was a bit taken aback by that myself," reports NBC News.

"We're the party of life. We ought to be coming up with ways to save lives." He made clear, however, to draw a distinction with the death penalty, which he supports as a matter of "justice," he said. "But the Republican party ought to be about life and protecting, particularly, innocent life," he added. (More Rick Perry 2012 stories.)

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