Here is an analogy for those who continue to blame Obamacare and the current status of the Massachusetts Health Care system on Mitt Romney:
There was a woman named Massa Chu Setts. She had complained of chronic pain to several doctors over the years. No one seemed able to help her until Dr. X came along. After several meetings with Massa, Dr X took her medical history and specific symptoms and consulted with several specialists. Tests were recommended and performed. A plan to remedy this woman's suffering was developed and put into place specific to here particular needs and situation. With all this information in hand, Dr X proceeded with his treatment and the woman was finally relieved of her pain.
Well, hearing this news, Dr Y who had a patient that he felt had a similar problem, decided that he would treat his patient the same way. Why bother with the unnecessary tests and consultations Dr. Y thought. It was obvious to him that his patient suffered from the same ailment and required the same treatment as Massa. He proceeded and his patient died.
If he had only just consulted with Dr X, before he proceeded, he would have learned that Dr. X's patient Massa Chu Setts, had mixed results. The pain she was having was lessened, but she would require ongoing treatments and close supervision, for the rest of her life.
Dr. X, finally retired and left his patient in the hands of Dr Z with the recommendation to continue with his treatment of Massa under close supervision. Well Dr Z decided to put the woman on additional drugs because he felt they would help her. They didn't and Massa continues a downward spiral losing many of the gains she made under Dr. X..
I have 2 questions for you:
1. Is Dr X (Mitt Romney) in anyway responsible for Dr. Y's (Barack Obama) patient dying?
2. Is Dr. X responsible for his former patient's new health issues under Dr. Z (Governor Deval Patrick)?
If you have determined that Dr. X is not responsible for Dr. Y's patient's treatment and death or the current health of his former patient Massa, How then is Mitt Romney responsible for Obamacare and the current state of the Massachusetts Health Care system?
Please answer the 2 questions. I'm not interested in you changing the above scenario or someone else inserting their own.
15 comments:
Dr X is not responsible for the carelessness of Dr Y or the current condition of his old patient under Dr Z's supervision now.
Romney isn't responsible for Obama's carelessness in using a treatment prescribed to a states specific needs. Romney is also not responsible for the changes that the new Governor of MA put into place.
Ann
Great post Bosman.
I don't know how anyone could disagree with your reasoning.
It will be fun to see someone try.
zeke
Romney's problem is not convincing Republicans, his problem is the Democrats using Romneycare against him.
To answer your two questions, No and No.
@Zappo- He will have to convince the republicans if he is to win the nomination.
Please explain how the Democrats can use RomneyCare against him.
Obama is saying that he used Mass Care as his model and Romney will simply respond that what works in Mass will not necessarily work in the other 49 states.
WHEN Romney wins the nomination, The non-Romney primary supporters will have to stop talking out of both sides of their mouths and use a scenario similar to the above if Dems try to use MA Health Care against Mitt as he runs against Obama on issues that will include REPEALING and/or DEFUNDING Obamacare.
Doctor X -- I like that as a code name! The answers are No and No.
Great piece Bosman, as always. And I am diggin' your graphics, too!
No, Romney is not reponsible for ObamaCare. I've never made that argument, nor have I heard anyone make that argument. However, there's no denying the many similarities between the plans. Even Mitt has acknowledged that. Unfortunately, this gives a certain amount of cover to the Democrats.
Yes, Romney bears much of the responsiblity for creating the framework for the government run plan in the first place. What did he expect would happen in a liberal state? He knew in advance that his veto could get overridden. He knew in advance that the liklihood of being replaced by a liberal Democrat was high. But he went ahead with it anyway. By his own admission, Ted Kennedy was the first person he consulted. We all know that Kennedy was a proponent of a single payer system. I would imagine that many in the MA legislature were as well. Liberals like Kennedy and Obama see programs like ObamaCare and RomneyCare as stepping stones to single payer.
Your post, and my answer is based on the assuption that Romney's plan was devoid of flaws before the MA legislature and Patrick got ahold of it. Without delving into the scary details of the plan, I contend that his actions in MA are evidence that Romney believes that big government programs are often the solution to our problems.
Finally, I find it interesting that you are now acknowledging that the RomneyCare is a mess. You didn't come right out and say it, but the scenario laid out in your post leaves that impression. I'm still waiting to hear it from Mitt.
RWN- Mitt Romney has addressed this issue many times and you and yours are unwilling to listen to what he has to say.
GMR has not been Governor of Mass. for almost 4 years now. What people in Mass are suffering from is lack of leadership from the current Governor who obviously is failing to deal with the problems that have resulted from Mass Care.
Free health care existed prior to Mass Care. As of today, in our country anyone without insurance who has a cold can go to the emergency room and receive care. The cost of treating them is then passed a long to the rest of us, many of whom struggle to pay insurance premiums and get second jobs to pay off medical bills. The Governors throughout this country are scratching their heads trying to figure out what to do.
GMR accomplished something that other Governors are struggling with today. THOUGH MASS. CARE IS NOT PERFECT, I AM NOT CONVINCED IT IS A COMPLETE FAILURE. It merely is not working as efficiently as it could be and I believe that with the right leadership is could work a whole lot better. Meantime, other states of the red variety are struggling too and many could argue that their programs are not working.
You all act as if GMR created a hugh problem for the state of Mass. but that is not true. He merely attempted a possible solution. He has said that states are laboratories for programs like this. He has said that what works in Mass will not work in other states. He has said that states should have the right to choose their own solutions. He has said that he would work to repeal Obama Care.
I applaud GMR's bold effort to find a solution. He worked hard to keep it in the private sector. I believe that if GMR was still the Governor of Mass he would be addressing the problems with the program and I am certain that aspects of the program could serve as a model to the other states.
Just remember, something needs to be done. The high cost of health care continues to rise. Mass care may not be perfect but I would much rather a private sector solution like the one in GMR fought hard for in Mass. than a public option that Obama INTENDS to create.
I just find it ironic that the social conservatives are all up in arms over Mass Care when they obviously are not willing to give up their Entitlements. Entitlements are going to make our country go bankrupt and we need to find ways to deal with this impending problem and part of dealing with that problem is finding a way to deal with the rising health care cost in our country.
GMR knows first hand how to create and implement a FREE MARKET Health Care program. He knows that the states must find and implement their own solutions. He is the perfect candidate to go head to head with Obama on Health Care.
RWN- Mitt Romney has addressed this issue many times and you and yours are unwilling to listen to what he has to say.
GMR has not been Governor of Mass. for almost 4 years now. What people in Mass are suffering from is lack of leadership from the current Governor who obviously is failing to deal with the problems that have resulted from Mass Care.
Free health care existed prior to Mass Care. As of today, in our country anyone without insurance who has a cold can go to the emergency room and receive care. The cost of treating them is then passed a long to the rest of us, many of whom struggle to pay insurance premiums and get second jobs to pay off medical bills. The Governors throughout this country are scratching their heads trying to figure out what to do.
GMR accomplished something that other Governors are struggling with today. THOUGH MASS. CARE IS NOT PERFECT, I AM NOT CONVINCED IT IS A COMPLETE FAILURE. It merely is not working as efficiently as it could be and I believe that with the right leadership is could work a whole lot better. Meantime, other states of the red variety are struggling too and many could argue that their programs are not working.
You all act as if GMR created a hugh problem for the state of Mass. but that is not true. He merely attempted a possible solution. He has said that states are laboratories for programs like this. He has said that what works in Mass will not work in other states. He has said that states should have the right to choose their own solutions. He has said that he would work to repeal Obama Care.
I applaud GMR's bold effort to find a solution. He worked hard to keep it in the private sector. I believe that if GMR was still the Governor of Mass he would be addressing the problems with the program and I am certain that aspects of the program could serve as a model to the other states.
Just remember, something needs to be done. The high cost of health care continues to rise. Mass care may not be perfect but I would much rather a private sector solution like the one in GMR fought hard for in Mass. than a public option that Obama INTENDS to create.
I just find it ironic that the social conservatives are all up in arms over Mass Care when they obviously are not willing to give up their Entitlements. Entitlements are going to make our country go bankrupt and we need to find ways to deal with this impending problem and part of dealing with that problem is finding a way to deal with the rising health care cost in our country.
GMR knows first hand how to create and implement a FREE MARKET Health Care program. He knows that the states must find and implement their own solutions. He is the perfect candidate to go head to head with Obama on Health Care.
Here are a few things that I have learned about Mass Care from reading comments posted by people who live in Mass.
1. Mass insurers have some of the lowest administrative overhead in the country.
2. Mitt Romney fought for cost control measures but was over road by the legislature who wanted to address access first. The current Governor/ legislature both have plans to address the cost in the upcoming legislative session.
3. 97% of all Mass residents have health care coverage versus 85% in most other states.
I believe we could learn from the Mass. experiment. I am confident that with the right leadership Mass care could be a success. I am confident that other states could utilize some of the aspects of Mass Care to solve their health care problems.
"I like Mitt Romney. Don't get me wrong. He's a nice, smart fellow. He turned around the Olympics. He made more money off people doing sports that nobody's got interest in...if you ask him to make money and find an efficient way to devise a 2-man luge event, he can do it. But, when you ask a Massachusetts bureaucracy to run a 2-man luge event, it's a disaster. And that's what happened in Massachusetts."
"Mitt told me that Massachusetts needed to reform its health care system, because the uninsured were placing huge strains on the state's emergency rooms, and so the rest of the population had to pick up the tab for that--that was why Massachusetts health care costs had been driven up. So, now practically everyone in Massachusetts is insured, but emergency room use is as high as ever...70% of the newly insured are all but entirely subsidized by state tax payers...costs are 30% higher than the US average...they wait longer to find a new family doctor than anybody in the nation, because nobody wants to be a family doctor in Massachusetts--so poor people trying to find a doctor in Massachusetts have to go up to southern New Hampshire."
"Massachusetts is the perfect example. It never cures the problem it sets out to cure, but it does give you an exciting range of new ones." - Mark Steyn
I am not sure I believe what Steyn is sharing here. I hear other people say that Mass care is well within budget. I also understand that Mass Care needs work and the current leadership needs to do that work.
I don't think the whole program is a failure.
I think that Mass Care affects people in Mass and I believe that you and yours are just using this topic to advance your Queen Palin.
Three reasons why conservatives should embrace Obama Care.
1) Conservatives like the concept of states, not the federal government, experimenting with public policies to determine their relative merits. Have you ever seen the phrase, “states as laboratories of democracy?” Do you agree with the concept? If so, credit Mitt Romney with the leadership and skill to negotiate a thoughtful compromise with the Massachusetts state legislature to get uninsured citizens health care coverage.
2) Conservatives like the concept of tailoring solutions to the unique circumstances in states and localities. Has Romney ever endorsed every element of the Massachusetts legislation as a viable, nationwide solution? Of course he hasn’t. To the contrary, credit Romney with having the guts to step up and admit that certain elements of the plan didn’t work the way his team had anticipated, particularly in light of last minute changes by the state legislature.
3) Conservatives like the concept of utilizing input from private enterprise in building public solutions. During Mitt Romney’s planning and legislative negotiations in Massachusetts, he brought the Heritage Foundation into the process and gave their free-market geniuses a seat at the table. Let me repeat that: Romney gave the deep red Heritage Foundation a seat at the table in blue state Massachusetts to help craft the state’s health care reform.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_angle/2010/11/by_nick_tzitzon.html
This is really hilarious. So GMR's health plan was good, but it's only "poor" leadership from his successor that is causing the "problems"? And just because GMR's plan was good for Massachusettes, it does not mean that GMR's plan would be good for the rest of the USA?
Massachusettes is a relatively wealthy state. If any state could do better with the so-called market-based plans (like the BS health care saving accounts, etc.), it would be a wealthy state. It's the poor states like the Deep Red Deep South that would not be amenable to these types of plans, and be an even better fit for RomneyCare - or even Medicare for all.
I'm going to love one of two scenarios: GMR as the nominee at the 2012 POTUS debate doing the floppiest flip flop ever trying to say why RomneyCare, while a great success in MA, would be a disaster for the USA - or of course, The Palin being the nominee, reinforcing to Middle America all the things about the Republican Party that they hate!
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