Earlier today, I asked Tim Pawlenty to comment on likely 2012 rival Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts health care plan, but he declined to do so, citing Reagan’s 11th Commandment about not attacking fellow Republicans.
Yet it raised my eyebrows when Pawlenty, during his speech to the general CPAC audience, went out of his way early on to criticize not just the national health care law but the individual mandate in particular, describing it as an affront to liberty.
“The individual mandate in ObamaCare is right out of Jimmy Carter,” Pawlenty said.
The mandate, of course, was a central feature of RomneyCare (which Romney defended during his 2008 presidential bid) before being adopted by President Obama.
During his own speech, Romney steered clear of talking about health care.
