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Mitt Romney’s Achilles’ Heel
January 6, 2012 | 204 comments
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Obama’s Strategy of Silence
September 12, 2011 | 90 comments
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Jagged Little Pills
October 28, 2008 | 1 comment
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Devilish Details
June 17, 2008 | 1 comment
The Right Prescription
Romney’s Best Defense: The Truth About Romneycare
Voters need to hear it from him — and he has to be straight with them.
Even though Mitt Romney has had a string of primary wins, support for his presidential bid still is tepid among Republican voters nervous about Romneycare. He could calm them if he were to more fully explain the difference between his vision for reform and the law that ultimately was enacted in Massachusetts.
Gov. Romney gets big applause when he pledges to repeal Obamacare, but he faces silence when he tries to defend Romneycare. He insists, for example, that his individual mandate only impacted the 8 percent of residents who were uninsured (the mandate covers everyone), that he didn’t cut Medicare (states have no authority over Medicare), and that he would issue a waiver to the states to implement Obamacare their way (a president can’t undo an Act of Congress with a waiver).
The voters are not reassured. Gov. Romney can get off the defensive and change the subject by explaining that the Massachusetts law which was passed by the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature diverged significantly from his vision for reform, and then describe what his reform plan would be as president.
During the presidential debate in Jacksonville, Florida, in late January, Romney took a small step in this direction when he acknowledged that his successor, Gov. Deval Patrick, has taken a much more liberal track in implementing Romneycare. “If I were governor,” Romney said, “it would work a heck of a lot better.” Indeed, when it passed the law, the legislature was counting on a Democrat governor to succeed Romney to put the real regulatory thumb screws in place.
The Massachusetts law is different in important ways from the plan that Romney pushed as governor. Few voters know, for example, that Romney strongly opposed the employer mandate and wanted an escape from the individual mandate — allowing people to instead be able to post a bond if they were uninsured and had big medical bills. When Romney signed the law, he believed it contained the escape hatch, but legislators removed it before final passage.
Romney vetoed eight provisions of the Massachusetts bill, and every one of his vetoes was overridden by the legislature. Should Romney have known this was likely? Yes. Should he have known exactly what he was signing? Absolutely. But voters may be more forgiving if he tells them he wanted to give citizens and employers a way out.
Why did he push Romneycare? The state was at risk of losing $385 million in federal Medicaid money, and the Bush administration insisted Massachusetts make changes to get more residents covered and keep the money flowing.
Romney also wanted to find a way to make it easier for small businesses and individuals to get insurance that would be portable from job to job. To get around federal tax law restrictions and to make health insurance portable, he adopted the Heritage Foundation’s proposal to create exchanges that would allow individuals to have portable insurance and pay premiums with pre-tax dollars.
TODAY ROMNEY SAYS, “The market can work to solve our health care needs.” The policy recommendations on his campaign website back up his perspective on patient-centered reform. But primary voters aren’t. He needs to get off the defensive and take charge of this issue.
Here’s a three-step plan:
Step 1: Focus on Repeal of Obamacare.
Gov. Romney needs to get his message straight, or he will be hammered in the general election over false promises. He calls for repeal of Obamacare while saying he would immediately issue an executive order to give flexibility to the states to implement the law their way. That sets the stage to massively confuse the political agenda: He would be sending the states off to begin to implement Obamacare while Congress works in Washington to repeal it.
Further, the Congressional Research Service issued a report that said Obamacare’s major provisions are Acts of Congress, and they simply cannot be changed through an executive order.
His focus should be on repeal. Waivers to the states from Obamacare are not a solution and, in fact, might well detract from the ultimate goal of repealing the law and replacing it with a genuine free market alternative. If Gov. Romney is serious about repealing Obamacare, he will have to devote all of his energies to doing that as soon as possible.
The House of Representatives passed a repeal bill a few weeks after Republicans took control last year. In the Senate, many parts of Obamacare could be repealed through reconciliation with only 51 votes should Republicans take control there, allowing them to enact legislation repealing the spending provisions that are the biggest threat to the economy and to the federal deficit.
About the Author
Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute and a co-author of Why ObamaCare Is Wrong for America (Broadside/HarperCollins, 2011).
Letter to the Editor View all comments (44) | Leave a comment
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Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 3.6.12 @ 6:32AM
I personally believe that the government is the least efficient market of any type of market force.
However, it will be difficult for any politician to eschew the individual mandate since both parties have done everything possible to institute individual mandates in everything from Medicare to illegal immigration to EPA rules. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of federal individual mandates in our society.
Romneycare is probably the least onerous of many.
Jack in Wi.| 3.6.12 @ 6:47AM
How can Romney attack Obama on this issue? His Romneycare is the same thing as Obamacare. I expect Romney to be resoundingly defeated, if he is the nominee. He makes Bush look articulate. The Republicans are going with another old hack like the Bush's, Dole, and McCain. No thank you.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 3.6.12 @ 6:51AM
Ironically, you make Bush look articulate. According to Biden, that's why Obama won, he's a clean black man who is articulate. You and Biden appear to have a lot in common.
Jack in Wi.| 3.6.12 @ 11:53AM
Hussain: No matter how hard you flack Romney, you are never going to make him a conservative. Romney is just Obama with a white face.
Ted| 3.6.12 @ 1:35PM
For once, Jack and I agree....
Tommy Frisco| 3.6.12 @ 4:13PM
Scary, isn't it, Ted?
Alan Brooks| 3.6.12 @ 6:09PM
"Scary, isn't it, Ted?"
for you cowards, it is.
SUBVET| 3.6.12 @ 6:33PM
GEORGE SOROS......"We think either obama or romney's fine but Gingrich, he would change things"
Dan C.| 3.7.12 @ 6:40AM
Not only is this bordering on racism it's also untrue. Which leads me to believe you're either an Obama plant or a partisan supporter of Santorum or the Gingrich, both of whom liked the Massachusetts result (until they ran against a guy they could pin it on). This Romneycare clause came out of the Heritage Foundation and was liked by conservatives until the Dems took a variant approach and applied it unconstitutionally. Romney is going to repeal Obamacare, and if I were him I would then have the insurance companies roll back their rates to 2008 levels. I would examine why our prices are so much higher than elsewhere in the world for even simple things like x-rays. But I would really push for insurance companies to able to sell health insurance across multiple borders (perhaps all of them). And limit court bounties. But electing House and Senate majorities is critical. That's where we must be working asap.
StainlessCoder| 4.13.12 @ 2:34PM
A huge number of conservative members of the Heritage Foundation quit when the cowards published their plan for an insurance mandate in 1989 or 1990, including me. It was so unpopular that they eventually apologized for it, though the fact that the founder of the foundation pushed it and is still there is enough to keep me out. Only non-conservatives like Gingrich and Dole supported the craven idea as a way to block the socialist scheme Democrats have been pushing for 80 years.
All mandates violate the 13th amendment, among other parts of the Constitution (4th and 5th amendments especially). There is no reason to cower before the slavers, especially when all of the facts are on the side of liberty's supporters. American health care costs first began increasing in 1966, the year Medicare/Medicaid began operating. They increased at double digit rates. The few reforms Republicans were able to enact have helped, though, and the 2003 change made the price increases slow enough that it panicked the Democrats, so they committed political suicide and passed their socialized medicine scheme to save their disappearing party from extinction. Vote fraud (1993 Motor Voter law) has saved them seats and got them the 2008 presidency, but they know they're not reproducing and are continually losing members.
Repeal of Democrat laws is the way to make the country succeed again, to prosper again, and to show people that they themselves are the ones who should be trusted, not parasites in Washington, D.C.
Alan Brooks| 3.6.12 @ 6:07PM
" [Romney] has to be straight with them"?
Why don't you be straight with them: he is a thorough statist and you are stringing us along.
BTW, most of you-- no matter what you say-- are opposed to biotech and much scientific progress not because of serious and justified ethical concerns, but out of ideology disguised as religion.
TrueBlue | 3.6.12 @ 7:10PM
Which scientific progress and biotech are we talking about? Doesn't exactly narrow the field down. Maybe you could be more specific with your accusations instead of trying the old "lump everyone into a single category with a broad topic" scheme.
Steve| 3.6.12 @ 6:39AM
Still not going to vote for him.
Alan Brooks| 3.6.12 @ 6:11PM
Obama is better than anyone you've got save for George Washington- and George has been dead for 212 years.
Chuck| 3.6.12 @ 7:25AM
If you think a "President" Romney or a "Republican" Congress will repeal Obamacare you're smoking something. Romney will say we can't totally repeal Obamacare but we can tweak here and there and improve on it, besides we Republicans can manage it better. Count on it.
Indy| 3.6.12 @ 7:34AM
I share your concern, we need a full repeal there is no way to get rid of all the infrastructure with tweaks. Romney has never given voters a reason to trust him, quite the opposite. Congress needs to stop trying to repeal parts of it such as the "death panel" by playing that game they are already teeing up the "improvement" model. The nose of the camel is under the tent...
TrueBlue | 3.6.12 @ 7:12PM
That's my exact problem with Romney. He has supporters trying to vouch for his character, saying he could do this, or say that better. Yet he DOESN'T DO IT. Either he can't because he's inept, or he can't because it'd be a bald-faced lie and he's TERRIBLE at lying.
Tommy Frisco| 3.6.12 @ 8:34AM
Yes, Romney has been saying that this is a state's rights issue and that RomneyCare (ObamaCare) should not be implemented at the federal level. RedState started reporting over the weekend that Romney wrote an article in USA Today and went on Meet The Press, as ObamaCare was being debated in the summer of 2009, saying that Obama should use RomneyCare as a model for a federal level health care plan.
Secondly, anytime a Republican creates a new governement program, albeit for seemingly good reasons, the next Democrat administration will come along and use it to advance their agenda. The Dept. of Homeland Security is a good example and the Dept. of Education is another. No matter what Romney's intentions were for RomneyCare, he should have expected the Democrats to turn it into a socialist, wealth-distribution program.
Moderates win elections ocassionally, but nothing changes when they do. Do not vote for Mitt Romney in this primary. He is just another bald-faced lying politician who wants to control us.
Health care issues should be handled at the local level, like it used to be...between a patient, a doctor, our community hospital, and our private insurance company.. Get the government and our employers out of our personal business.
TrueBlue | 3.6.12 @ 7:13PM
Don't forget the EPA.
John - TMF| 3.6.12 @ 8:50AM
1. If you're "explaining" you're losing.
2. You cannot put right by increments what was put wrong in the first place. All of those vetoes were meaningless, since the only "meaningful" action was to have passed the monstrosity to begin with.
3. If you aren't happy with something, don't brag about it, and make it a signature part of your administration. The fact remains that Romney knew the score, and was there smiling and signing away while mugging for the cameras with Teddy Kennedy and the Communists who run Taxechusetts.
4. A man who will not admit his mistakes, even when those mistakes are about to eat him for lunch is either a pathological narcissist or just plain stupid.
What is absolutely true:
Willard Milton Romney is a Limousine Liberal Democrat masquerading as a Republican; therefore I WILL NOT vote for him, EVER!
Today is the Virginia Republican Presidential Primary, it should have been postponed since the congressional districts have not been settled, and the remainder of the primary might not be conducted until August. It was because the RPV is evidently a wholly owned subsidiary of Bane Capital.
The primary is being conducted under the radar, there are no campaign volunteers, no signs, no posters, no commercials, no robo-calls, nothing. It is an inexcusable sham. Virginia's vote has been rendered meaningless by big money politics.
Romney is buying this race, and smearing his way to an uninspiring nomination; unwanted by the rank and file of the party. I am staying home, and so are the other three voters in my family.
Shameful... shameful... shameful.
r/John - TMF
sjccoach| 3.6.12 @ 9:06AM
Romney is a liberal loser who refuses to back off of his losing program in Massachussetts. Romneycare is the model for Obamacare. Romney is a liberal Republican who will lose in landslide to Obama. All the explaining in the world will not change this fact. Look at the picture above the column, Romney and Ted Kennedy. That tells you all you need to know about the liberal Romney. If Romney is the nominee I'll sit out this election or vote third party.
Jill Johnson| 3.6.12 @ 9:17AM
". "If I were governor," Romney said, "it would work a heck of a lot better."
Blast it all folks -- that's the point! If a law needs a strongman to operate effectively, it's a BAD LAW!! A wise politician would have known what was going to happen.
Notary Sojac| 3.6.12 @ 9:26AM
"If I were governor," Romney said, "it would work a heck of a lot better."
"I can manage the leviathan state much better than the Democrats" has been the between-the-lines theme of the Romney campaign all along. No thanks. I'm not buying.
Alieta Eck, MD | 3.6.12 @ 11:00AM
Great summary, Grace-Marie.
I just wish Romney would simply renounce RomneyCare as something that has morphed into a program he did not envision. He needs to state that government ought to have a minimal role in the delivery of medical care. Tweaking these monstrosity programs around the edges will simply not work.
Bob| 3.6.12 @ 11:13AM
I see that Mrs. Romney is starting to make dumb remarks...I don't even consider myself wealthy, etc. Now she is not in the same GOP idiot league as Michele Bachmann but keep it up Ann I'm taking notes.
Bob| 3.6.12 @ 11:15AM
I see that Mrs. Romney is starting to make dumb remarks...I don't even consider myself wealthy, etc. Now she is not in the same GOP idiot league as Michele Bachmann but keep it up Ann I'm taking notes.
David| 3.6.12 @ 1:36PM
Santorum will provide the greatest contrast with Bam Bam.
I am pissed about some of his recent comments: on contraception, the Kennedy speech, and what was the other one? Sure I am. I happen to agree with him on what he said, but he did not need to get bogged down in details.
He simply should have said that his faith will inform his decisions - not that Kennedy's speech made him puke.
He simply should have said that he and his wife follow the church's teaching on contraception and not commented on the fact that it is harmful to women. It is, and studies show that young women, who use it, greatly increase their risk of breast cancer. But this is not an issue that has been debated in the public square, like global warming has, and Santorum should not have mentioned it while running for prez. As prez, he could have commissioned medical professionals to study and address the issue if he wanted.
He should have simply said that the vast majority of colleges and universities are bastions of liberalism. He did not have to come across as being against a college education. We conservative know what he meant, but most people don't, and when the media can twist and distort what he said...................well.
Those 3 comments are what is slowing him down, and republicans need to forget about them and start voting for him again.
Romney cannot beat Obama for many reasons with the main on being Romneycare!!!
Newt has too much political and personal baggage.
They would be great in high level positions in a Santorum administration.
SUBVET| 3.6.12 @ 6:40PM
David...........your comment on Newt shows that you are part of the problem why don't you just grazzze over to some more green grass.
SCPOret| 3.6.12 @ 1:53PM
"When Romney signed the law, he believed it contained the escape hatch, but legislators removed it before final passage."
Only to prove his ineptitude that he signed a bill not knowing what was in it. Shades of Pelosi "Wehave to pass this bill to find out whats in it".
He passed the bill and Pelosi rammed it down our throats. Both RomneyCare and Obamacare are an invasion of individual liberties.
The Smallest Minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. - Ayn Rand
Scorpio51| 3.6.12 @ 2:23PM
Don't people realize when you put a moderate up as the nominee, you lose?
Romney has NO business being in this race. We will lose to Obama and can kiss this nation goodbye.
john dubose| 3.6.12 @ 3:32PM
Romney should point out that he was faceing a legislature with an overwhelming number of Democrats. He could say that he just took the best deal he could get. That is probably the real truth.
Tommy Frisco| 3.6.12 @ 4:23PM
John,
I would accept that argument if Romney had tried to veto RomneyCare and other legislation. He didn't , and in fact, still thinks RomneyCare was a good plan. Of course, he complains that the Dems have mess it up since he left, but that's what Dems do. Romney should have never signed off on it.
Now, we learn that he tried to convince Obama to copy RomneyCare to use nationwide. The man is a liar and I'm disgusted by the sight of him.
Brooklyn| 3.6.12 @ 8:56PM
Romneycare required that the federal government spend $530 million of our money for the healthcare of MA. That's in addition to medicaid payments. Is that a good thing? How much of our money will President Romney send to MA? What if some bigger states adopted their version of Romneycare? How many billions of dollars of our money will President Romney send to NY and CA? Why should we believe Romney would repeal Obamacare instead of tinkering with it? He's too smart not to know how the healthcare bill would shake out in MA. I'm still pulling for Santorum, but its likely Romney will win. He'll be good on defense and international trade but don't expect too much on cutting regulations including health care.
POST American| 3.6.12 @ 10:24PM
----------------------FINAL WORD----------------------
"Notice, AGAIN, that as the REAL campaign
approaches, the REAL issues 'disappear'."
---Gingrich
-------'SUB-Mitt ROME--knee'
-----------and 'TTT-Rick Sanitarium'
are vetted. authorized, funded and
approved 'on board, Goldman Sacks
Globalists.
As we attempt to pull out of the reign of the
3 Caligulas (Clinton/ Bush Jr and
'BAR--Rockefeller' Obama) ---there's
no time left for squeamishness.
The corrupt mafia establishment
has engaged in MASSIVE voter fraud
in Iowa, Nevada, Florida, Maine etc.
"RON PAUL --is-- the minister in the
whorehouse."
-Lew Rockwell
And, far as we can tell, a minister from
a NON-'Counts--ill of Churches', NON
Arminian Heresy front church.
OVER 70% of ALLLL donations from
our serving military ar going to RON PAUL.
SO---Just days after the 'uncanny' timeliness
of the death of Andrew Breitbart
(already BURIED by the Globalist mafia
media)
-----WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?----
shox pas cher | 3.7.12 @ 5:06AM
Nice!
shox pas cher | 3.7.12 @ 5:07AM
Good!
Dan C.| 3.7.12 @ 6:29AM
The author misunderstands Romney's comments and has a solution to sell. Okay, sell the solution without suggesting Romney has misled. Romney has said that on his first day he would grant all 50 states the same kind of waiver the current President is bestowing on selective companies -- but this is just an interim measure until Obamacare is repealed. Yes, repealed. It's in his platform, he says it daily in every speech. What is not known about his intent? That's why we need to elect solid majorities in the House and Senate. Because if we don't have those majorities Romney will have to use all kinds of stealth maneuvers and delays to thwart its implementation. He doesn't want that, he wants repeal. Want to give him post-repeal advice? Knock yourself out.
Jennifer| 3.7.12 @ 11:23AM
"He could calm them if he were to more fully explain the difference between his vision for reform and the law that ultimately was enacted in Massachusetts."
If this is true, then why doesn't he?
Elaine Hill| 3.7.12 @ 12:00PM
I sat at the table with Grace-Marie while at CPAC and I find her to be a very intelligent person who knows her subject well, as in Obamacare. I have also followed Romney for over 4 years with concern. Grace-Marie has hit the nail on the head with this one. Romney isn't articulating this issue well at all. If he can just follow her "perscription" here, conservatives would be able to get behind Romney and have a united front and win back the White House from the far left. That's what is important here and it's shaping up to be Romney who has to do it. Romney... pay attention here.
MissouriConservative| 3.7.12 @ 2:38PM
This is well written with a comprehension level above most voters. Health care reform is imminent if we continue to give ER care away free to irresponsibles and illegals. Right now is not the time to propose anything even bipartisan to the masses already worked up over Obamacare.
Good job of helping define the differences between what Romney proposed and Obamacare. Hereis the most telling for those who say Romneycare=Obamacare. If they are the same, why oh why did Mass. elect a Republican Brown for the Kennedy vacancy in order to have him vote against it. As Spock would say "it is not logical."
INC| 3.7.12 @ 7:46PM
Gov. Romney can get off the defensive and change the subject by explaining that the "Massachusetts law which was passed by the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature diverged significantly from his vision for reform, and then describe what his reform plan would be as president."
Then why did he say RomneyCare incorporated 95% of his proposal?
“The final legislation incorporates about 95 percent of my original proposal. So I think, overall, it is a major step forward. We will have health insurance for all our citizens without a government takeover and without new taxes required.”
(Jennifer Barrett, “Person Of Faith,” Newsweek.com, 6/7/06)
See p. 102: http://www.scribd.com/doc/7858.....Oppo-File#
gafas de sol | 4.16.12 @ 5:28AM
good!