Saturday, October 9, 2010

MA Republicans to Mitt Romney: Don't Apologize for MA Health Care

There was an interesting article on Boston.Com Friday that points out that many Republicans on a national level are suggesting that Mitt Romney needs to disown Massachusetts Health care or it will be his undoing:

In a blog post entitled, “Say Goodbye to Mitt Romney,” Republican strategist Bill Pascoe encouraged Romney to “say six simple words” about Massachusetts health care reform: “‘I was wrong. I am sorry.’” L. Brent Bozell, president of the Conservative Victory Committee, said he “would advise [Romney] to acknowledge he made a mistake.” Penny Nance, chief executive officer of Concerned Women for America, said that “the [health care] failure in Massachusetts is going to be a huge hurdle to get over to win the support of conservatives,” and that to “get over that hurdle, [Romney] needs to acknowledge that failure.” And Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council, has knocked Romney as well: “He has defended the law and continues to defend it. And there are things in the law that are indefensible,” he said.

Several Massachusetts Republican lawmakers and spokespeople think otherwise.

Out-of-state critics are missing two key points.

First, Massachusetts Republicans argue that RomneyCare, as it was passed, was a solid bill that deserved Republican support. The problems came when Gov. Deval Patrick’s Democratic administration implemented it. The critics “don’t have a clear understanding of what RomneyCare was about,” said State Representative George N. Peterson Jr., a Republican from Grafton. Romney “needs to define the plan we supported out of the gate and compare that to what we have now. They really are worlds apart,” Peterson said.

“Most Republicans in Massachusetts understand what Romney was trying to accomplish, and even the people who don’t like the plan don’t hold him responsible for how it was implemented,” said Plymouth's Republican representative, Vinny deMacedo.

Second, Bay State Republicans point out that the out-of-state critics are unfairly conflating RomneyCare with ObamaCare. They note that while both plans share an “individual mandate” requiring people who can afford health care insurance to purchase a policy, the similarities end there. “[Critics] are trying to tie the plan Mitt supported with the one Obama passed. They’re really missing the mark on that one,” deMacedo said. “It’s like comparing apples to oranges.”

Jonathan Chait at the New Republic argues that when other presidential contenders begin to argue Obama's and Romney's plans similarities, that "Romney just has no convincing reply."

Vinny DeMacedo disagrees and reinforces Romney's argument that, "The Obama option is one-size-fits-all," he said. "The Massachusetts law is specific to Massachusetts. What works here won't necessarily work in Alabama or Arkansas."

Ron Kaufman, a GOP National Committeeman from Massachusetts has a different take on these out of state critics. “Everyone is focused on one thing right now” — winning enough Congressional races for Republicans to take over the legislative branch. “All of these people are nuts. Anyone who is thinking about 2012 already should be hooked up to a jumper cable.”

Full Article can be read HERE.

As a Life long Massachusetts resident, I DON'T want Romney apologizing either. I've said all along that the plan has changed under Governor Patrick.

The following are great summaries of the MA Health plan. I suggest people review these before commenting about specifics:

The Truth Behind The Costs Of  RomneyCare
Laboratories Of Democracy

5 comments:

Revolution 2012 said...

Romney has nothing to apologize for. He gave the citizens of Massachusetts what they wanted. Governor Patrick dropped the ball.

BOSMAN said...

Amen Nick.

As a lifelong MA resident and Businessman, I agree 110%

Anonymous said...

Mitt Romney should be commended for listening to his constituents. How refreshing.

MITT 12

Anonymous said...

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Revolution 2012 said...

Thanks Paulee. We can use all the help we can get.