Romney's Obamacare Ruse

Originally Posted on Justin.fm  Follow him on twitter: @DryCnty

Back in the 1990’s I remember thinking, “President Clinton is the best liar I have ever seen.” Old ‘Slick Willy’ could stare right into a camera and lie as if he believed it was the truth. The real problem Mitt Romney has is the real Romney is elusive. In a deeper sense it is Mr. Romney’s seeming inability to tell the truth that is most troublesome. Like Clinton before him Governor Romney is a very talented liar. Nowhere has this been more glaring than the Obamacare / Romneycare discussion. Mitt Romney in the 12/11/11 GOP debate:

Speaker Gingrich said that he was for a federal individual mandate. That’s something I’ve always opposed. What we did in our state was designed by the people in our state for the needs of our state. You believe in the 10th Amendment. I believe in the 10th Amendment. The people of Massachusetts favor our plan three to one. They don’t like it, they can get rid of it. That’s the great thing about a democracy, where individuals under the 10th Amendment have the power to craft their own solutions.

Romney in the 1/23/12 GOP debate:

My health care plan, by the way, is one that under our Constitution we’re allowed to have. The people in our state chose a plan which I think is working for our state.  

At the time we crafted it, I was asked time and again, “Is this something that you would have the federal government do?” I said absolutely not. I do not support a federal mandate. 

I do not support a federal one-size-fits-all plan. I believe in the Constitution.

There you have it. Mr. Romney stands behind Romneycare but would never have supported it for the whole nation. After all Romney is standing on the 10th Amendment - it’s a matter of Federalism. In nearly every stump speech Gov. Romney states: “Obamacare is unconstitutional and as President I’ll repeal it.” However, knowing that Mr. Romney has changed his positions on abortion, the Second Amendment, and even party affiliation one must ask: “Is his rhetoric on Obamacare credible? Will he in fact repeal Obamacare as he has pledged?” Due almost solely to the investigative work of Andrew Kaczynki from BuzzFeed we now know the truth. Unfortunately the answer is: no, Romney will not repeal Obamacare. In fact Gov. Romney on at least four occasions advised President Obama to model Obamacare after Romneycare. In the end that is exactly what happened.


The Undeniable Evidence

First, we have an op-ed Mr. Romney penned July, 2009 in USA Today urging President Obama to look at the Romneycare model. Here are the relevant excerpts:

No other state has made as much progress in covering their uninsured as Massachusetts.    

For health care reform to succeed in Washington, the president must finally do what he promised during the campaign: Work with Republicans as well as Democrats. 

First, we established incentives for those who were uninsured to buy insurance. Using tax penalties, as we did, or tax credits, as others have proposed, encourages “free riders” to take responsibility for themselves rather than pass their medical costs on to others.

In the three videos below you’ll hear Romney reiterate his call for President Obama to model what became Obamacare on Romneycare. This is totally at odds with everything Gov. Romney has said on the campaign trail and in the debates. These statements genuinely call into question Mr. Romney’s pledge to repeal Obamacare. More troubling is that yet again Governor Romney has been thoroughly dishonest with the American people. And he seems to do so with impunity.

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