Republicans have mainstreamed the term "ObamaCare" for health reform. Considering how much they just love saying it, it's no surprise that their aspiring White House residents are already targeting it in their burgeoning campaigns.
In advance of his Major Health Care Address® in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today, former Massachusetts Governor (that fact will be key in a bit) Mitt Romney offered a taste of his health reform haterade in this morning's USA TODAY:
Unfortunately, with the passage of ObamaCare last year, the president and the Congress took a wrong turn. ObamaCare will lead to more spending, greater federal involvement in health care and negative effects on U.S. economic activity. The president definitely forgot the admonition to "do no harm."
The first remedy for this national horror that Mr. Romney suggests is giving power to the states to determine their own plans. Of course, the dreaded "ObamaCare" already does this, as evidenced by efforts in Vermont to institute a single-payer health system. Of course, one could consider Mr. Romney one of Vermont's role models -- a fact he brushes past in his column on his way to more Republican boilerplate:
Some states might pass a plan like the one we did in Massachusetts, while others will choose an altogether different route.
It happened so fast that you might even miss it! In anticipation of just such a dodge, the Wall Street Journal (for whom, it seems, even Mr. Romney is too liberal) went on the attack last night in an op-ed, calling him "Obama's Running Mate":
More immediately for his Republican candidacy, the debate over ObamaCare and the larger entitlement state may be the central question of the 2012 election. On that question, Mr. Romney is compromised and not credible. If he does not change his message, he might as well try to knock off Joe Biden and get on the Obama ticket.
ONE MORE THING.
That's not to say that the Wall Street Journal op-ed is beyond reproach. Jonathan Cohn at the New Republic has his criticisms.
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RomneyCare!
Your show is one of my favorite one although sometimes it really frustrates me. One question I never hear. Every time when I hear you guys talking about GOP candidates all I hear what possible message or agenda they have and how many voter they can attract with that. My question is whatever they have, can they realize it? President Obama, who is probably one of if not the smartest president we ever elected and still many of his promises got unfulfilled the lack of cooperation, support.(both side!) What is the chance that we hear "some" wonderful promise that has no chance ever to become reality? We will end up again with an incompetent someone and bring this country even more down. It seems to me that almost any time a republican wins nowadays nothing else but service cutting happening for the people who are not fortunate anyway. Why no one talks about watch what you wishing for?! If anyone think let's get rid of the old broom because any new one can clean the house better can solve the problem they are in for a great surprise!!! See Wisconsin....
Romney is "compromised and not credible" on pretty much every issue. I've never seen a more full o' @!$%# politician in my life. When he flip-flops on an issue, ANY issue, he just ignores the fact that he ever said the opposite in the past. Whenever questioned on such a flip-flop, he just says of his current position, "Oh this has bee my position all along"...even if video evidence is presented to the contrary.
Rachel, you need to keep a dossier on every position Romney takes in the upcoming campaign and then vid-flashback to his opposite positions...over and over and over. It doomed him last time and we need to do it again and even more vigorously this time...because, after all, "he looks presidential" - but he's NOT.
Ron Paul might be the only Republican who doesn't bend over for every big donation. His son Rand scares the black off of me!
Ron Paul doesn't need to "bend over". He takes it standing up!
Great stuff!!!
I heard his plan is quite a bit like Obama's.
Mr. Romney isn't so much like the other guys. He just may work with Democrats if he thinks more people will like him for it. The real problem is some Democrats are really undercover Republicans, and want to privatize EVERYTHING! I just hope that Mr. Romney doesn't disown his greatest political attribute of his career. I feel he can support "Obama Care" and win over some of the more logical Independent voters, while also gaining ground with the disenfranchised Republican voters. He can really be a formidable opponent for President Obama in 2012, IF he can distance himself from the national Republican strategies, witch apparently only rich Republicans like. Many of the working class Republican voters just may vote Obama this time around, if they feel its in the better interest of them and their families.
Your first sentence "he just may work with Democrats if he thinks more people will like him for it" pretty much says it all about this phony. He will adopt any position as having "been my position all along" if he thinks it will gain electoral traction...that's why he has adopted the "say ObamaCare ObamaCare ObamaCare over and over and over again..." strategy right now, because he thinks it will be resonant with Repubs who maybe are not the overt racists but who still think anything Obama does or says, domestically, is "not of us". (Obama had to kill Bin Laden to get past that same classification internationally.)
"ObamaCare" is the latest Repub-speak for "the boogeyman, he's out to getcha!".
RomneyScare!
First of all, I think we on the left need simply to adopt "OBAMACARE" as the name of healthcare reform. There's nothing wrong with it. I think we should be proud our President made that first step. AND, it will tweak the hell out of the wingnuts if we start to use that name with pride.
Secondly, we need to adopt "MITTENSCARE" for Romney's little project. The beauty of that name is that it can be read as "Mittens Care" OR "Mitten Scare". Either way, we need to make it stick!
I love the idea, but it's too late: Per my other comment above, "ObamaCare" is the latest Repub-speak for "the boogeyman, he's out to getcha!"
But if we start to use it with pride, it will confuse the hell out of the right...not that it takes a lot to do that.
I'm game, sign me up!
Please remember who's playing book Romney was operating from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/12/newt-gingrich-individual-mandate-romney_n_861017.html
What's wrong with Obamacare, it means Obama cares. I wish more politicans cared!
Read Romney's 2008 concession speech here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/us/politics/08romney-transcript.html
What a stream of disgraceful lies.
"welfare programs that created a culture of poverty" Everyone knows welfare causes poverty. What a nutter.
"Conservatives here and conservatives across the country will always be honored to stand on principle and to stand for principles." Moral elitist POS poses on "values" to scam votes then rob the treasury. It's all they know.
"entitlements make up 60 percent of federal spending today." Just make it up, why not.
"Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror: They would retreat, declare defeat. And the consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America, launched from safe havens that would make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child's play. About this, I have no doubt." Filthy, lying scum!
Really, not what I saw on 60 mins about killing terrorists..keep your propaganda to yourself
I am continiously amazed that "conservatives" actually believe the garbage spouted by the Republican and Tea party leaders. Their goal is to destroy the American society while enriching their corporate masters, yet the simple voters think this is wonderful. Not one word spoken by Republican candidates (with the exception of Ron Paul) is in any way truthful. Rachel Maddow tells the reality behind the lies, just watch her show. This is not conservative garbage shown on FOX. The Republican party is the new American Taliban..destroy and control citizens in the name of religion for their benefit.
Mr. Romney should stand up for what he did as governor, but then he is a coward to the lunatic right.
"Their goal is to destroy the American society while enriching their corporate masters" is giving Republicans more credit than they deserve. "Their goal is to destroy America" is it. They could care less about American society which they say consists of only lazy bums and perverts. And no one dupes corporate masters like Republicans. Those corporate masters are the ones stuck with the 14 trillion debt. They are going to pay it one way or another.
Welfare doesn't cause poverty, welfare was created because of poverty. Don't get me wrong, they system is broken ~ and until we address the causes of poverty in the wealthiest country in the world welfare will be needed or people will starve/freeze to death and that will be our shame.
Is there any way we can avoid the Romney Huckabee Ticket?
Healthcare isn't going to be a millstone around Romney's neck. It's going to be cancelled out by the Paul Ryan Medicare-Killing Budget. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to run on it.
I think people who count Romney out are relying on Republican positions to be internally consistent. Republicans don't have the capacity to be ashamed of switching positions. Especially Republican Voters. They may have marched against healthcare reform in 2010, but they'll march for it in 2012 because it will be an alternative to Paul Ryan's Coupon system and because no matter how much it has in common with the affordable care act. It will be Republican Healthcare.
In the end, Romney has money and has appeal in the Northeast, while Huckabee has all the Fox News appeal and the South. Whichever way they run it, Romney/Huckabee or Huckabee/Romney (Ruckabney?) is they're strongest ticket, and that's what the Republicans will care about.
I just think it's silly that political commentators keep expected Romney to lose because the facts are against him and any stance he took on Healthcare would be hypocritical. Because as we all know, if there's one thing that the Republican voters value above all else, it's facts. And if there's one thing Republican voters won't tolerate, it's blatant hypocrisy.
LOL ROFL
And Republicans in Arizona have already passed 'Death Panels' by not paying the medical care funds for transplants. Republicans have already killed in the name of 'NO' and 'YES' for Business. Arizona transferred more money to Business Profits and willing and have killed people for it.
ObamaCare = Obama Cares! I don't get why the Dems and progressives just sit back and let the Teapublicans continue to make it a dirty word. It should be Obama's 2012 campaign slogan! Obama Cared enough to do something about it!
RepublicansCouldn'tCareLess about people's health, especially when it interferes with corporate profits and their Take-From-Hard-Working-People-To-Fatten-The-Filthy-Rich ideal of Corporate Government controlling everything.
The key point here is that the attack came from the WSJ. Which is to say, News Corp (Rupert Murdoch) -- the same "fair and balanced" people who bring us Fox Entertainment.
I'm inclined to doubt that Romney is going to be getting favored treatment on the Right's main communications system.
Mitts-care. (Mitt-scare?) That's good! Maybe the left and Dems should use the same strategy by terming Rand Paul's budget proposal Perhaps "Rand-sacking".
I see the entire Republican economic agenda like a ponzi scheme. They and all the wealthy people are trying to get us all to buy in by promising jobs, big returns and prosperity in the future. The Republicans don't want ANY of their rich base paying a dime more in taxes because that means they would not have earned their big campaign donations. So the only people who benefit are the people at the top that already have more money than they can possibly spend or use. Their vision of smaller government is to remove any regulation on business that actually keeps business from cheating the consumer, raping the environment and destroying our financial system. The poverty stricken and middle class need what help we can get. The rich can fend for themselves and step up to do their full part to help this country.