Shortly before departing the governor's office, Mitt Romney oversaw the purchase of 17 state-issued hard drives, and wiped clean computers and servers that contained electronic copies of emails in the governor's office. Why? For one reason: to purge his administration's email records.
Romney later admitted the move was intended to hide official correspondence from the public and keep potentially-embarrassing information under wraps in advance of his presidential campaign. (Yes, this is the same Romney who often speaks about "transparency" in government.)
The email purge was largely successful, but not completely -- some of the emails from one member of Romney's cabinet survived, and the Wall Street Journal used a public-records request to obtain the correspondence between the cabinet secretary and other top Romney officials.
The most interesting revelations relate to Romney's efforts to pass his health care reform law.
[A] small cache of emails survived, including some that have never publicly surfaced surrounding Mr. Romney's efforts to pass his now-controversial health-care law. The emails show the Republican governor was closely engaged in negotiating details of the bill, working with top Democratic state leaders and drafting early copies of opinion articles backing it.
Mr. Romney and his aides, meanwhile, strongly defended the so-called individual mandate, a requirement that everyone in Massachusetts have or buy health insurance. And they privately discussed ideas that might be anathema to today's GOP -- including publicly shaming companies that didn't provide enough health insurance to employees.
At the time, it turns out, Democrats weren't on board with an individual mandate, but Romney and his aides championed the provision. His health secretary wrote in early 2006, "We must have an individual mandate for any plan to work."
In fact, Romney personally drafted an op-ed making the case for a mandate. "Either the individual pays or the taxpayers pay. A free ride on government is not libertarian," the governor wrote, adding, "An uninsured libertarian might counter that he could refuse the free care, but under law, that is impossible -- and inhumane."
This from a GOP presidential candidate who now pretends to believe the mandate is an authoritarian, unconstitutional nightmare.
This was pretty amusing, too.
The idea to publicly name companies apparently came as aides were trying to find other ways to motivate employers to give insurance.
"I know the dems hate this, but we can also [throw] back in the Gov's original notion of having some sort of 'public disclosure' of employers who promote a culture of uninsurance," wrote Cindy Gillespie, a top Romney adviser, to other officials Feb. 13, 2006.
Ms. Gillespie suggested asking companies to provide quarterly reports on their number of uninsured workers and publishing the list as an ad in the Boston Globe. "The Globe would love it and it would keep the issue of the uninsured front and center," she wrote.
As Jonathan Cohn joked this morning, "Wow. A Republican administration urging corporate disclosure and public brow-beating by the liberal media. No way this guy is going to get the support of a national business lobby sharply opposed to universal health coverage and the individual insurance mandate, right? Oh, wait..."
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States are allowed to have mandates, the Federal Government isn't. Which part of that are you having difficulty with?
Is that what McCain the the gop told you when they purposed it? : )
The part that says "the Federal Government isn't." I'm led to understand that it is popularly contested, but not constitutionally settled. If I'm mistaken, please provide me updated citations that lead you to a different conclusion.
That's the question before the Supreme Court, yes? We'll get a definitive answer shortly. Meanwhile, if the commerce clause is that inclusive, Congress will be able to regulate every and any thing they choose.
Imagine an unfettered Republican Congress and Presidency. What is your worst fear?
Answer: an unfettered Republican Congress and Presidency (in its current bipartisan mindset, dysfunctional ideology, narrow vision, and dishonest leadership capabilities).
My worst fear is more morons like you, Shooter. This must be the only discussion group you haven't been thrown off of (yet).
No Federal Government mandates? Uh-oh. http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/102620/individual-mandate-history-affordable-care-act
Insurance mandates unConstitutional? The Framers of the Constitution certainly didn't think so!
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1113618
If only I felt confident that the "strict constructionists" in SCROTUS (pardon me for a moment while I try to stop laughing) understood our Constitution as well as the generation of great minds who wrote it...
Now, be it known by one and all that "Shooter" is an identified TROLL (and repeat offender) and... DNFT! Thank you.
The part that is a blatant lie.
If you are an employer, then just stop paying your unemployment insurance.
Stir, simmer for several years, then give me a call after some clown carries one of your pay stubs into the state labor board.
Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to jail we go ...
States can override any federal mandate, but only if they establish their own "state mandate" in accordance with the 10th amendment. States can't just refuse to obey federal law without violating the constitution. That is called secession. This constitutional issue was settled by the civil war.
Labor law and unemployment are a good example of a mandate.
Right-to-work states have no labor board. States can do this by over-riding federal law by establishing their own mandate. Right-to-work states establish a framework that requires the employee to consult a private labor lawyer instead of the state labor board when there is a labor dispute. Union officials are often prohibited in some ways. Instead of paying UI to the state, you pay UI directly to the federal government in right-to-work states.
Environmental law works like this.
Health care law works like this.
And so on.
Pretzel - I recognize "Shooter" and frequently disagree vigorously with what he/she posts. However,in a different thread today, when convinced of the error in thinking, he/she did actually apologize.
It would be boring and unproductive to only have posters who I agree with.
"I can't be shown to have been in favor of a fair health care system. I'm running for President, for Pete's sake!"
Hahah!!
I had forgotten about the missing hard drives . In Florida he would not have been able to do it because of sunshine laws . He would be guilty of a felony here. I am in government and every email that passes through my computer is archived. He is a sleazy weasel without comparison . The only thing missing is a Snydley Whiplash mustache.
One of my specialties is computer forensics.
Wouldn't it be nice if someone ghosted the hard drive image to the Internet?
People only destroy executive correspondence when someone has violated public trust or law.
The Freedom of Information Act is one of the most valuable pieces of legislation ever created.
You only need to know a couple of things about Republicans to understand everything:
1) They are members of Team Republican. There is no Team America in wingnut world. They are fans, loyalists, team players. They are not patriots.
2) They aim to wipe out the 20th century -- kill Social Security, Medicare, the EPA, the New Deal, the Great Society, ..., because they hate the government with the heat of a thousand suns. It doesn't matter if that is bad for the nation, the nation's future, the nation's people, born or unborn, the world. The goal is to destroy the government and return to 1789. Everything they do is with respect and regard to these goals, and the means (lies, misrepresentation of their and Democratic policies, etc.) justifies the means.
That explains everything the Republicans are and do.
Good- hang the individual mandate around Romney's neck! it belongs there, and gives the GOP very little to stand on in their desire to appeal to the public to repeal Obamacare
So if he wins, it's a win for Obama!!!
The Republicans and rich peoples plans to crush the unions and drive people’s wages to oblivion would be utter doom for America plus themselves. Because when they do these things it is going to create a situation of extreme poverty for everyone just as we have started to see, except the extreme rich that of course will control everything. Take for example the Oil Industry, the cost of employee wages is really nothing in comparison to the cost of a barrel of oil thus gasoline prices will not change much in comparison to the cost at the pump. These costs will be so extreme that people will not be able to even afford to go to work, while of course the extreme rich continue to rake in billions of dollars a year. In the end, it would be just one of the reasons for the collapse of America as we know it. People will be much more unemployed and bread lines will develop. And most people who would be employed will be just that much more at the edge of extreme poverty than they are today. But the one other thing about this is how really disgusting the Oil Industry is in trying to get people to do nothing about Global Warming and are a major contributor to these bad times. Of course, out of all this will people finally learn that you cannot trust a rich person, unless they proven themselves to be worthy of that trust. And the way it is looking already, Romney would be one to take us all again down that same destructive path.
And the thing about Romney's so called emails that is bs and I say he wanted that leaked out to show as if he was a nice guy. But no, he is deceptive just like the rest of the GOP/Republicans have been.
hey Disgusted I did 2 tours, my father died for our country and I am a staunch republican and so was my father you peice of garbage. Obama is a disgrace i have yet to meet one of my brothers in arms that thinks Obama is doing a good job. The goverment is not the answer so put down your goverment cheese and get out and get a job. you know the ole saying, "aggrevate a liberal support yourself" Did you know fox has 4 times the veiwers, really did you liberals ever say maybe we are not getting the right information or better yet maybe we need read some more information before we spew such an uneducated comment such as yours. I am glad to see Barrack has that Horse face Sarah Jessica parker on his side, oh please can i come to your house and see the commander and thief, maybe pelosi will be there, ok everyone just order your food and will read the menu later, Harry damnit are you awake???
Romney once again demonstrates political cowardice. He runs political ads featuring his wife touting how much he cares about his family. That's great, but John Dillinger cared about his family too; he just wasn't nice to anyone else. That brings me back to Romney, the sociopath; it is his caring for others that concerns me. Does this guy give one hoot about my family; the answer is no, a thousand time no!
I have lots of company. His wife told the nation of his unequivocal support as she battled severe medical issues. Romney told the wives of the rest of the nation up yours when he said, "Planned Parenthood, we'll get rid of that!" Mitt has told so many groups up yours; Latinos-self deport no method to citizenship. A purported bully of a gay man. Equal pay rights for women, up theirs. College tuition for our kids- up theirs, while he gives his own kids ten million big ones each. Romney has told so many of our wives and children up yours, that as President he would be known as the Proctologist and Chief of the United States!
It has been rumored that the artificial rigid smile on his face is a direct result of botox injections.
LOL. My dear fellow citizen President Clinton is absolutely right Romney is a calamitous not only to our country but to the whole world.We witness the disaster he made to our state of Massachusetts (laid off too many uniform employees, including unaccounted public teachers,increased middle class tax rate and hardworking people while the very rich and very high income bracket were paying much less tax) that is why over 1/4 million people left our state. The citizen of Massachusetts including me was dismayed after we realized how manipulative,hypocrite, and liar he is that when he talked people were like being mesmerized by him. We hope and pray that what he did in the state of Massachusetts will never happen to our whole country. We hope that Americans will not be insane to choose Romney. This is purely common sense that if he cant govern and a disaster to one state that he previously governed, what would you think will happen to our country and him as our representative to the rest of the world? Holy crap! It will be Doom.
Rachel, I think that Romney's favored quote "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander" is the closest he will ever get to gender equity.
Romney is a puppet who has been bought by the huge World Trade Organizations.
He has been right in the middle of our business's being moved overseas since the 1990's. Cheap labor means big profits.
Tarp and Free Trade will be able to step from behind their pretentious lies and control our economy..
When you control the bread on a man's table you can control the man.
Mitt Romney is one of the most cowardly and spineless men to ever run for office.
Romney said this about a healthcare mandate on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Dec. 16, 2007: “I think it’s a good model for other states.” Moderator Tim Russert responded: “So if a state chose a mandate, it wouldn’t bother you?” “I think it’s a terrific idea,”
Now Romney the coward hates that RomneyCare turned into ObamaCare? Figures..eh?
How about fighting in the Vietnam War? In 2007, Romney — a supporter of the war in Vietnam said: “I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there, and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam.”
Opps! That this isn’t what Romney said back in 1994 during his campaign to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate: “I was not planning on signing up for the military.It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam, but nor did I take any actions to remove myself from the pool of young men who were eligible for the draft,”
Liar!
Mitt Romney sought and was granted 4 deferments to remove himself from the draft. Really, something only rich people were granted. That figures eh?
Romney is a coward and I don’t vote for cowards.
Yup. The difference is that it was a state thing. He wasn't taking over healthcare for the entire nation. That goes back to the feds can't make you buy things and the states can. My question is, why not decrease the cost of healthcare instead of starting a new entitlement system when we are 15 trillion in debt? Find a way to get rid of HMO's, cap lawsuits. There are probably other ways too. But they would rather take over health care and redistribute wealth. These people want to give everyone free healthcare and buy votes and power. That's what politics is. And they will keep going untill we have a debt crisis and our standard of living is cut by 40% with inflation and austerity. They do not care.
It's disgusting and detestable, What has Romney done in past life, He lied, A bunch of violations in office!! It is a crying shame!! You have broke the Laws and Amendments, Romney, You Sleazerattybag, Of Immoral Bonehead!!!
You have broke everyones hearts and dreams!!!
You are a Bad Presidential Liar, And Bloodsuckers, GOPutz, Go home!!! Think what you have become in bad taste, Mitt!!!!
He is a @!$%#, To socialism and beyond everywhere else, And amongst other things, Too much, Mitt!!! You are a Boneheaded Ego-maniac!!!!
For all of us, To know, You will lose!! Big time!!
Ann, You have skunked, So low, You mean dingle-Berry-Bat!!!
I want to support, The President, Never You, Meanie Mitt!!!!