Romney, Outsmarted: ObamaCare dashed Romney's presidential hopes before he's even announced

The Wall Street Journal ^ | March 31, 2010 | Allysia Finley

[2ndDivisionVet]

Mitt Romney may end up being the biggest GOP casualty of ObamaCare -- his 2012 presidential hopes dashed before he's even announced a bid.

Mr. Romney has continued vociferously campaigning against ObamaCare even while defending a very similar universal health-care plan he signed into law as Massachusetts's governor in 2006. Last week, he inveighed on the National Review blog that "President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation . . . . he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends."

Critically, Republicans need to win the presidency in order to have any shot at repealing ObamaCare, as many GOPers insist should be the goal. Imagine Mr. Romney trying to carry this banner in 2012 in a debate with fellow GOP primary opponents. His Republican rivals would get plenty of mileage from a quote by MIT's Jonathan Gruber, a former Romney adviser who bragged that ObamaCare would never have happened if Mr. Romney hadn't made "the decision in 2005 to go for it. He is in many ways the intellectual father of national health reform."

Mr. Romney has been frantically trying to distinguish the bills to conservatives. At Iowa State on Monday he claimed: "We solved our problem at the state level. Like it or not, it was a state solution." In Chicago last week, he said: "Our bill was carried out in a bipartisan basis." Judging by the questions he gets from audiences, voters aren't buying it. The Club for Growth has gone so far as to say that Mr. Romney's "in the wrong party."(continued)

[Kartographer]

So his defense will be “I was against it before I was for it and now I am against it”?

[SoConPubbie]

I am convinced that many of you anti-Romney people are MoveOn / Huffington Post posters pretending to care about the USA.

There goes that Hate Card again.

Generally, when someone pulls out the hate-card, they've run out of ammunition on the subject and are left with deceitful debate tactics.

Furthermore, Myth Romney is just the 2012 version of John McCain, the worst possible candidate the GOP could put up to alienate their base.

[Uncle Miltie]

Romney should stop spending his money on his own campaign. It will never exceed 20% within the Republican Party. He cannot win.

RomneyCare = 0bummerCare.

There is no difference worth mentioning. And the results are disastrous.

[jimbo123]

Scott Brown. Sarah Palin.

[Diogenesis]

RomneyCARE-creator and carpetbagging, fascist imposer Mitt Romney:
”Now that my Romneycare is national, ready to hurt hundreds of millions,
a little self examination may be in order for you conservative FReepers.
You may want to ask yourself “if I had spent my time promoting
RomneyCare and Mitt Romney, could not I have garnered more support
of both Mr. Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney?“

---

“Romney praises Obama again
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney praised President Obama
at a GOP fundraising dinner Wednesday ..
"I also think it's important for us to nod to the president when he's right," Romney said....
Romney, who spoke at a dinner for the National Republican Senatorial Committee,
said he's pleased with the president's plans to "finish the job" in Iraq and Afghanistan
-- lines that drew applause from the partisan audience. He also applauded the president
for standing up to the auto industry.
"I hope he continues to be tough ....The former businessman even offered faint praise for
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, saying that after a series of initial missteps,
"I think he's finally getting close to the right answer."

[LibLieSlayer]

I am not picking a fight but I must tell you... I worked for Reagan's campaign twice in my State... I have been a Conservative activist since 1970. I am a life long member of the NRA. I am a Christian who has been active in the pro life movement... and I drove to Florida to help fight Gore's stealing of the election in 2000... and I will NEVER vote for romney for any office ever. If he is what the republicans want to put forward for their candidate... or huckster for that matter... they will do it without my labor, my money or my vote. The rnc will not see a penny until steele is gone. These points are nonnegotiable. I am NOT alone. I am NOT liberal and I have never been to any left-wing evilcrat site... ever!

LLS

[Diogenesis]

Do you think ROMNEY cares about America?

While Gov.Palin was working against ObamaCARE
where was the most-RINO backstabber-in-chief Mitt Romney?

Hiding, sending out his manipulators,
selling his ghostwritten book,
helping Gore push the fraud of climate change,
and actually (true to form) attacking the "tea party".

[Diogenesis]

BREAKING: ROMNEY REMOVED HIS STAFFERS
WHO ATTACKED Gov. PALIN and her CHILDREN on the EVE
of ELECTION 2008, throwing the Election to Obama.

"Never mind."

[GovernmentShrinker]

I don’t like the Massachusetts socialized mediciine scheme any more than Obamacare, but the *big* difference is that the people of the *state* of Massachusetts overwhelmingly wanted something very much like what they got. Romney wasn’t ramming it down their throats (though he didn’t exactly knock himself out trying to help them understand why it would be a bad thing). Obamacare has been rammed down the throats of the entire country. Politicians who give the sheeple what they stupidly clamor for shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush as those who force thinking and unthinking people alike to take something neither group wants.

[diverteach]

Easy there buddy.

I voted for Romney in the primaries. He was the best candidate going at the time.

Given the same scenario I’d do it again. I hope that’s not the case next time around. We can do much much better.

[Diogenesis]

No. Romney RAMMMED RomneyCARE and ROMNEY-Marriage down
the throats of voters without their vote.

Got that, Mr. Pennsylvania, who is pro-ROMNEY?

Romney is a Carpetbagger. So why don’t you two adopt
ROMNEYCARE in Pennsylvania instead of forcing it on
others, so selfishly?

[darth]

I would bet good money that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas will be running for President with the theme, “Look how strong the Texas economy is. I can bring back growth.”

The dude is a VERY good politician who says all the right things. I’m betting he is tight with the Republican Party’s inner circle and power brokers. He was W’s protege.

Sarah may get another shot at VP.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I’m not interested in forcing any kind of health care scheme on anyone. Just pointing out that Massachusetts is an overwhelmingly leftist state, and there was very strong support there for a scheme of this sort when Romney was governor and engineered its passage. On the other hand, there was very strong nationwide opposition to Obamacare, and Obama knocked himself out to ram it through anyway. These are not comparable political acts.

I have no idea who the viable candidates for the 2012 Republican nomination will be, and therefore no idea if Romney would be my first choice among them. I do know, however, that if Romney ends up as the Republican nominee, I’d vote for him over Obama without a nanosecond’s hesitation. I’d pick him over McCain too, but thankfully I’m sure McCain is out of the Presidential picture. If there’s going to be a better nominee than Romney, that has a real chance to win the Presidency, the focus of those who want Obama out needs to be on building up alternative candidates, not attacking Romney 24/7.

Much of the work that needs to be done is one-on-one educating of voters who really don’t get why the slide towards socialism is so evil and dangerous. As it stands now, I have serious doubts as to whether anyone with a stronger commitment to a Constitutional Republic than Romney is electable, because so much of the voting public just doesn’t get it. I’d love to see a President who is fervently committed to getting the federal government 100% out of medical care, education, social security, and all the other socialist programs, as well as out of the UN. Obviously that President wouldn’t be Romney, but just as obviously, that President would never get elected by the current population of voting Americans. I’m not willing to help hand President Obama another term on a silver platter, by stubbornly to refusing to back any candidate who isn’t trumpeting the massive slashing of the federal government that I’d really like to see.

[jedi150]

well at least a small bit of good came from the implamentation of Obammycare.

[Diogenesis]

Imposition by fascism is not democracy, even if
your pro-Romney cult in Pennsylvania thinks so.

FASCIST ROMNEY DOES NOT ALLOW CITIZENS TO VOTE

Second, no one will ever vote for Romney again.
Team ROMNEY attacked the GOP VP candidate in the last election.
Such treachery is rewarded where? In Pennsylvania?

[EternalVigilance]

Much of the work that needs to be done is one-on-one educating of voters who really don’t get why the slide towards socialism is so evil and dangerous.

I'd no more trust someone who thinks Romney (the most successfully leftist Governor in the history of the republic) is acceptable to "educate" anyone I cared about than I would trust Bill Clinton to educate them about marital fidelity and chastity.

[Finny]

In the comments section online there's a fantastic post where somebody crunches some numbers and figures that per person spending on private health care was about $3,000, while per person spending in government health care was more than $12,800! Private is much more efficient.

He wants to know why, if he can crunch the numbers, can't Romney?

I welcome this development. The quicker Romney's outta here, the sooner.

[Waryone]

Stick a fork in him, Romney is done. 0bama neutered him with one bill. That’s what happens when you work for one side and pretend to be on the other. Sooner or later one or both sides will trump you.

[PGalt]

A lightweight-socialist can outsmart ANY statist wannabee at his own game. Mitt doesn’t have enough Moscow street-cred to match wealth-redistribution with Barry.

[Luke21]

Romney blows. You’re the liberal. Not us.