Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Romney in 2007: RomneyCare 'will be a model for the nation'


It remains to be seen whether Mitt Romney will attempt to distance himself from his disastrous health care legislation in the upcoming presidential campaign. However, from his previous statements, it is clear that he once envisioned RomneyCare as a national model.

Here is what he said leading up to his failed presidential campaign
...During a speech in Baltimore on Feb. 2, 2007, Romney outlined his ambitions for the Massachusetts plan. "I'm proud of what we've done," he said. "If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation." Last month Romney's dream came true. If Republicans knew what was good for them, they would stop treating it as a nightmare...
As ObamaCare was being debated in 2009, he repeated his preference for a national plan similar to the one he authored. His main beef with ObamaCare? The public option in Obama's original plan.

From CNN's Political Ticker:
In an interview with CNN in 2009, as Washington was debating President Barack Obama’s health care proposal, Romney said portions of the Massachusetts law could serve as a model for the country.

“I think there are a number of features in the Massachusetts plan that could inform Washington on ways to improve health care for all Americans,” Romney told CNN. “The fact that we were able to get people insured without a government option is a model I think they can learn from.”

[...]

Should Romney get the GOP nomination, Democrats hope “Romneycare” will soften opposition among independents and moderate Republicans to the president’s health care law. How can you be mad at the president, Democrats will ask, when Romney did the same thing?

President Obama previewed the line of attack in a recent speech to the nation’s governors who’d like to see some flexibility in implementing health care reform.

“In fact, I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he’s proud of what he accomplished on health care in Massachusetts and supports giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions,” Obama said.
These statements are certain to come back to haunt Romney in the weeks and months to come. The campaign ads write themselves.

Cross posted at Why Not Romney

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your obsession with what opponents might write in campaign ads does not necessarily expose the TRUTH. The "nation" is made up of states, is it not? States have different constitutional rights than the federal government. Although, the general thought among conservatives is that there are things the federal government can (and probably should) do to help reduce health care costs. Show me where Romney said that the federal government should "mandate" people to buy health insurance, and I will be inclined to believe you. I bet you can't find it, because he knows as well as anyone that the feds DON'T HAVE THAT CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY!

AZ

Anonymous said...

No sale.

Model for the nation meaning a model for other states to try. Romney has been consistent on this, every time he's been asked, going back years.

His statements have been taken out of context, as you did here, to falsely paint him as wanting national health care. He does not, and never, ever has said so.

He has said repeatedly that every state should come up with their own plan, and that the MassCare plan can be resource for other states.

-Martha

Noelle said...

What Romney did in Massachusetts can and should be a model for the nation, as in, the other states should, as Romney did, work to find a way to address health care in their own states that meet the needs and unique situations of their own states.

Massachusetts is a relatively wealthy state, and even prior to the passage of the MA health care reform, it had comparably few uninsured people. It also had a very democrat-leaning legislature that had to have a say in the health care reform. Other states are (thankfully) more conservative, and could therefore put in place some of the ideas that Romney tried to put in place but was unable to.

OhioJOE said...

great post RW, way to put them on the defensive. Most of the other 49 states do not want their non-sense.

Anonymous said...

OJ, Does a 'great post' in your mind at least need to be honest?

It does in mine~

-Martha

OhioJOE said...

What is so dishonest about this post?

CraigS said...

Since an overwhelming number of Massachusetts citizens approve of "RomneyCare" and
Since Romney was Governor and not President, and
Since the Costitution requires Governors to act for their states citizens only, and
Since RomneyCare was in place for 2 year when Romney ran in 2008 and gained the support of DeMint, Santorum, et al

Exactly what seems to be the great problem. He was actually trying to solve a state problem. Perhaps other Governors had less interest in actual solutions and real governing

CraigS

Rob said...

I wouldn't say the post is dishonest. However, if the purpose of the post is to say that Romney supported an individual mandate at the national level, it obviously fails to do so at an epic level as it provides absolutely no evidence whatsoever to prove that point. It's one thing to say MassCare is a model, and another to say the Feds should copy it, which was never said.

If the subject is attack ads, I think this attack sits a lot better than, "She couldn't even fulfill a full term as the Governor of one of the least populous states" or "If his cancer-stricken wife couldn't trust him, can you?" or "Can you trust a man who pardoned criminals based on their religious affiliations, only to have one of them murder four policemen upon release."

I'm not saying I agree with those attack ads, but each candidate is susceptible to them. In Romney's case, the reply is at least he made an effort to work with those across the aisle to get everyone insured.

Oh wait, he wanted to insure people? Oh, the horror. Can you believe that Romney wanted to help people get insured. Why, he's practically Hitler. If there's one thing Americans won't stand for, it's an effort to help poor people get health insurance. Romney is clearly DOOOOOOOOOMED!

OhioJOE said...

"Since an overwhelming number of Massachusetts citizens approve of "RomneyCare" and" There are a lot of things that the people of MA want, but most other Americans do not want. Unfortunately, we are getting stuck with what they want.

ellie said...

...a model for the Nation. As in 'states get to choose for themselves what heathcare they want and don't want?"

that model? You mean... shock and horror. The Constitution?

By the way, I find your posts humors and entertaining, RWN. Not offensive in the least.

Anonymous said...

OJ, I will disagree with you. I don't think personal healthcare is really a liberal/conservative issue when the rubber meets the road. I wonder if there is any evidence that it's only liberals in Mass who like the plan. I'm willing to bet conservatives like it as well.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

Martha - For OJ, a great post is one of two things. Either a 'Palin is Queen Ester reincarnate, and is chosen by God' or, Romney is a goofball. Both, in OJ's book, is da bom.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing dishonest about this post. Romney said a "model for the nation." You can argue that he meant for other states, except for the fact that he later said that there were things in MassCare that could help Obama's plan. If he was referring to mandate's...who knows...ask Romney what he meant.

jerseyrepublican

marK said...

I am reminded of that line from Kipling's poem, If

"If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,"

Right Wingnut said...

This comment from Free Republic sums it up perfectly.

LOL, Obama killed Romney's sales pitch when he passed Romney-care nation-wide.
Now Romney has to sell: “It was great for MA, just bad for the USA”.

Anonymous said...

marK, with all due respect, you're often reminded of that line from Kipling's poem.

jerseyrepublican

marK said...

JR,

You are correct. If there is one thing that saddens me, it is when the opponents of one candidate take his/her comments out of context and tries to twist them to mean differently from what they said. I don't like it when it is done to Romney. I don't like it when they do it to Palin. I don't like it when they do it to Huckabee. I don't even like it when they do it to Obama.

I don't care how much you disagree with someone or even despise them, nothing gives you the right to drag their name through the mud by spreading lies, half-truths, and distortions. People who do that should be ashamed of themselves. Those who engage in it lose my respect very quickly.

But about the only thing I can do is try not to fall into the same trap myself. I don't always succeed, but I do try.

OhioJOE said...

Anon is full of @#$%! But, hey I do not expect different from a Romneyite.

Right Wingnut said...

Mark, I'm not sure what your beef is. The posted quotes are his. We can speculate all day long as to his intentions, but it's hard to dispute that difficulties those words may cause for a Romney candidacy.

marK said...

RWN,

"I'm not sure what your beef is. The posted quotes are his."

Spoken like a true rationalizer. I should know. I'm an expert at it. I can rationalize with the best of them.

I have a simple rhetorical question for you. There is no need to answer it. I only ask that you be totally and completely honest with yourself. Here it is. "Would you like to see your words treated in the same manner as you are treating Romney's?"

Can you answer that question to yourself honestly, or do you find yourself making excuses to yourself in order to justify what you are doing?

"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Right Wingnut said...

Mark, that's fine. And, if I ever run for president, I expect my comments to be scrutinized. You don't dispute that he said it. Our only disagreement is on what he meant. He did not renounce federal mandates when he got brushed back by Fred Thompson in a debate in 2008. You can go to Whynotromney.com and view it yourself if you don't believe me. I posted it this morning (Romney loves mandates).

Right Wingnut said...

Correction

Whynotromney.blogspot.com

Doug NYC GOP said...

What sparked this latest round of anti-Romney vitriol? (Stronger polling among conservatives perhaps?)

I've been busy lately, but I check in every day. I guess I missed the argument which inspired this lunacy.

Good Luck with your new blog, RWN.

I think I'll paraphrase the old "If a tree falls in the forest..." adage, in assessing it's effectiveness and the merit of it's editorial content:

"If a bear sh!#ts in the woods, does any one smell it?

hamaca said...

Doug,

"What sparked this latest round of anti-Romney vitriol?"

I think someone's upset at Martha's and Ellie's comments and decided to take it out on Mitt and the rest of his supporters.

Anonymous said...

So, let me get this clear...if Romney says something, then we're supposed to know what he meant...even if it goes against the context in which he said it? But if Palin or Huckabee says something, we have to take every word literal...are those the rules in Romneyland? No one can dispute what he said...it's quoted in full...we can debate his intentions(as RW said) but not what he said.

jerseyrepublican

J said...

Mitt Romney has always made it clear about what aspect of his health care plan that he would like to see implemented at the national level.

Here's a hint. It wasn't the individual mandate: http://conservativesamizdat.blogspot.com/2011/05/mitt-romney-to-unveil-his-new-health.html