In a sign Republicans may be worried that health reform is more popular than they’re willing to admit, the GOP senator famed for saying the health overhaul will “pull the plug on grandma” is now taking credit for some of its elements.

In a press release put out this past weekend, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said he “worked successfully to improve Medicare payments to doctors in rural states like Iowa and, in turn, access for beneficiaries, as part of the health care reform enacted this year.”

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That got the attention of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who reported on Grassley’s new argument on Tuesday night.

“I voted against it, and it’ll kill your grandma, but if there’s any chance you like it, would you mind giving me credit for it?” Maddow mocked.

Grassley made waves last summer when he told an Iowa crowd, Ã¢â‚¬Å“You have every right to fear. You shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have counseling at the end of life, you should have done that 20 years before. Should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Maddow also noted that Grassley has been criticizing the health care law’s individual mandate requiring people to buy health insurance as “unconstitutional,” even though he “himself proposed a health insurance mandate back when Republicans were opposed to President Clinton’s health reform ideas.”

This is not the first time Grassley has tried to associate himself with the health care law he voted against. A day after President Obama signed health reform into law, Grassley sent out a press release to reporters which stated that “health care legislation signed into law yesterday includes provisions Grassley co-authored to impose standards for the tax exemption of charitable hospitals for the first time.”

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The press release added: “The provisions enacted in the new health care law are the result of Grassley’s leadership on tax-exempt organizations’ accountability and transparency, including hospitals.”

“Senator Grassley is up for re-election in November, needless to say,” Maddow said.

This video is from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast April 26, 2010.

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