U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite today joined a stampede of Republican critics of the health care reform bill. But the Brooksville lawmaker may have drawn more notice than others with this zinger delivered on the House floor as CSPAN cameras rolled:

“Last week, Democrats released a health care bill which essentially said to America’s seniors: ‘Drop dead.' Despite their promise to care for our seniors, Democrats have decided that it's too expensive to care for my senior constituents and everyone else's constituents." (watch video here.)

That brought this response from Jessica Santillo, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

“Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite’s reckless accusation that Democrats are deliberately trying to kill seniors by reforming the health care system shows she will say almost anything to protect the status quo of skyrocketing health care that is hurting so many Floridians.”

Brown-Waite's comments were part of a coordinated GOP effort to link the economy with the health care plan, suggesting it will only worsen the current situation. Dozens of Republican lawmakers took to the floor Tuesday to offer one-minute attacks, drawing an eventual rebuke from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

In an interview, Brown-Waite said she was glad she got Democrats' attention but laughed at the suggestion that she was implying that Democrats wanted to kill off seniors. "Drop dead," she said, was akin to being pushed aside. She cited fears that the Democratic proposal will result in diminished Medicare Advantage plans.

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