Friday, May 6, 2011

Jim DeMint Slams RomneyCare

Fair or not, I've long suspected that Jim DeMint would be reluctant to support Mitt Romney in the upcoming campaign. About a month ago, one of DeMint's staffers indicated that an endorsement may not be in the cards for Mitt, unless he's willing to repudiate RomneyCare. Last night, DeMint confirmed it.
..."I got involved with him before that," DeMint explained, "and the concept that was presented to me was the idea of moving people from government plans to private plans. That's what the goal was. That's how my conversations went, and that's how it was presented. But the way it ended up…" he paused to think about about this. "I cannot accept all the mandates, all the government exchanges. And it hasn't worked. I think the goal of figuring out how you can move people from government policies to private insurance policies is a good goal. That's one of the things that attracted me to what he was trying to do. Frankly, with the Democratic legislature in control there, I just think the way it ended up, we wouldn't want it in our state or our country."

So did he think the original plan was workable but Democrats, who took control of the whole state government in 2007, wrecked it?

"I'll let [Romney] describe his old plan," said DeMint, "but the way it ended up was not acceptable. I think the more we learn about what Obamacare did with the individual mandates, we realize there are much better ways to do that. The goverment-centric approach is not one I support."...
Read the entire article HERE

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sort of a late realization, Jim. A few years too late. It's kind of hard to take you seriously.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

Spin away, Jim. Now saying that MassCare was misrepresented to you? HA HA!

Here's more of DeMint praising MassCare.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/demint-spins-past-support-for-romneycare-video.php

Thanks for posting this RW. DeMint is showing his true colors.

-Martha

Big Ben said...

by the time DeMint was backing Mitt in the last primaries MassCare was already in place and running. What is this CRAP about making it seem like he was supporting Mitt before MassCare was implemented?? My goodness. Do all of these about face phonies really trying to sell us on this point? It was there the entire time he was running last time. No change (other than what the dems in Mass have done to it since then).

Sheesh

Anonymous said...

well....reguardless of what we think think about it, rather we like it or don't...the statistics show that 84% of the citizens of mass. like it! that is all that matters! they are the ones living with it! it is a state's right and those who don't live there shouldn't have their panties in a wadd!!!! hello! if mass people want to repeal it they can, very easily!

Socrates said...

This is part of Romney's purification process.

Hasn't everyone noticed that Romney has stated there were things with his plan that didn't work out the way he hoped and things he would do differently. Have you also noticed he has not BEEN SPECIFIC on what those things are.

At an opportune moment (debate, speech, etc) once he officially declares his candidacy, these details will emerge.

Jim DeMint WILL PRAISE his explanation and by example absolve Romney of any wrong doing because his intent was noble and it was an experiment. Others will follow Demint's lead.

BTW, DeMint was at the NH summit on the 29th and was very cozy with his pal before and after his presentation.

Doug NYC GOP said...

Spot ob Scorates - I had a flash of the same thought myself...I think there is moregoing on behind the scenes than in front.

Spenza said...

Demint appears to be backpeddling perhaps because he doesn't want to be associate with anything that people might liken to what Obama did.

Pablo said...

Jim DeMint is a coward. He is acting like he got fooled or something back in 2006. The real reason, as Spenza said, is that individual mandates are no longer popular with Republicans so DeMint, who has no policy ideas or convictions of his own, must perform logical gymnastics in an effort to distance himself from what he used to wholeheartedly support. He is a coward.

Anonymous said...

DeMint has seen the light. Took him a while.

He's pretty old. About 70.

hamaca said...

DeMint was brainwashed on RomneyCare!

Or, perhaps he still has the same opinion as in 2008, but needs to give the appearance of questioning it so as to improve his street cred with his normal crowd. Then, if he comes out with another ringing endorsement of Mitt, it will appear all the more genuine and reasoned and, well, whatever.

BOSMAN said...

DeMint on Mitt Romney

Enjoy!

BOSMAN said...

Socrates & hamaca, BINGO!

Anonymous said...

I think what you see with DeMint is a realization. Romney was a very attractive candidate in 2008 because the field wasn't that attractive. Giuliani was the best candidate in the race but had no idea how to run a national campaign and unfortunately the people who were supposed to know...his staff...didn't have any more of a clue. What was left was a boring bunch that had no shot at beating the Democrat challenger after 8 years of Bush fatigue. Romney had a decent record in a liberal state...he had ficon credentials...perhaps the best ficon credentials in years, he's a religious man and he looks Presidential. He also succeeded with a healthcare plan in a liberal state. Who knows, perhaps DeMint even liked the concept behind mandates...Romney sells it pretty well...who likes paying for dead beats?

BUT then, unfortunately, ObamaCare was passed and the worst parts of the bill...mandates...were born from MassCare. Again, who knows, maybe DeMint thought that his constituents would have been a fan of mandates but they weren't...they aren't...so in all fairness...how could he be a fan of something that his constituents are against?

I was listening to Michael Medved(the reasoned, level-headed, centrist demi-god of conservative, talk-radio)the other day and he made the ultimate point about ObamaCare and MassCare...the worse parts of ObamaCare...the individual mandate was born from MassCare. It doesn't matter that the bills are otherwise different...the most objectionable part of the bill, that the public hates...the spine of the bill comes from MassCare. That's the scarlet letter that Romney will be wearing during this entire campaign. Like it or not...thems the facts.

jerseyrepublican

Ellie said...

Romney is the even more 'attractive' candidate in 2012, than he was in 2008, JR. Why? Because we now know more about him. We've watched him be the adult in the party. We've read the op eds he penned himself, we've heard him speak off the cuff to all and not just fox, (and speak for free, no less!). we've read the books he worte without benefit of ghost writers. We see him acting very responsible in his words and his actions. He is the one who can and will beat Obama. He can debate him on the issues, stay on message AND have solutions to problems our country is facing. He's not a bumpersticker bomb tosser.

He is the next President of the United States.

Anonymous said...

Ellie, why must you make every discussion about Sarah Palin? This article is about Mitt Romney, not Sarah Palin. Why bother wasting your time replying to me if you're not going to address one of the points I made? And if you disagree with my points, then why don't you explain why you disagree with me? In fact, come to think of it, I cannot remember one comment where you have discussed policy...I cannot even remember a comment where you have shown any interest in Romney's policies other than platitudes about him. Do you even know what he stands for or believes in?

jerseyrepublican