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Scarborough: Republicans need 'unity' in health care debate

The GOP should unite under one health care plan if the party hopes to prevail over their opponents, the Morning Joe panel agreed.

Republicans need to unite behind one alternative health care plan if they hope to prevail over their Democratic opponents in the current insurance policy debate, Joe Scarborough said on Friday's Morning Joe.

The GOP's proposals should include universal access to health care, he added. "I don't think this plays to the Democrats' advantage. I think it plays to the Republicans' advantage in a big way."

Democrats rallied in support of President Obama's health care law after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, called the Affordable Care Act a “catastrophic failure, beyond fixing" this week.

His fellow Kentuckian, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, responded that the Affordable Care Act enjoys wide support in his state and across the country.

"So I think its going to be a plus next November, and if I were running for anything I'd sure be running on it," Beshear told reporters Thursday in Washington after meeting with the House Democratic Caucus.

Republicans continue to campaign against the law and claim they want to replace it. But the administration's ability to improve the website glitches and make HealthCare.gov a successful platform has been a "big positive," former Tennessee Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr., an MSNBC political analyst, said on the show.

"If you don’t put out a unified message plan and all you're doing is beating up on the president, and the website begins to correct itself, over time, as you get into the Midterm," Rev. Al Sharpton added, "it will only fuel to the benefits of the Democrats."