Note the Romneycare law on the desk.
The evolution of conservative attitudes on Mitt Romney and health care has been fascinating to watch from a distance. It's also become principle-free, as became evident this week.
It seems like ancient history now, but a year ago, prominent Republicans said Romney would have no choice but to apologize for his Massachusetts health care reform law, which ultimately served as a blueprint for President Obama's Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). Sen. John Thune (R-S.C.), Mike Huckabee, Karl Rove, and prominent conservative activists throughout the party demanded that he "acknowledge he made a mistake."
Romney, at the time building his campaign around an anti-apology attack, refused, and in time, a subtle detente emerged -- the right would put its apoplexy aside, and the candidate just wouldn't talk about his only meaningful accomplishment in public office.
The arrangement, however, has been fragile. In early August, Romney's chief spokesperson, Andrea Saul, gave the right a heart attack when she suggested on Fox News that struggling families nationwide would benefit greatly if only they lived under Romneycare at the national level -- implicitly endorsing the implementation of Obamacare. Conservatives were livid, and the campaign was left battered and confused.
But with 39 days to go, both Romney's and conservatives' standards have changed.
A little more than 24 hours have passed since Mitt Romney took the base-alienating step of touting the health care law he signed while governor of Massachusetts in an interview with NBC. Unlike the last time his campaign heralded his signature achievement, however, the conservative grumbling was relatively muted.
Why? Because, Republicans say, things are so bad for Romney that they'll even let him talk up his health care law.
It would be an exaggeration to say the right let this go unnoticed entirely, but the reaction was muted, at best. After Saul's comments in August, for example, RedState's Erick Erickson said, "This might just be the moment Mitt Romney lost the election." After Romney's even more direct comments on Wednesday, there was no meaningful outrage.
"Conservatives have bigger fish to fry than worry about doctrine right now," conservative Rick Wilson said.
The "Romney better apologize for Romneycare" line from 12 months ago is but a distant memory.
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If Romney care was so good and compassionate for MA, why would he deny it to those who live in the other 49 states?
Because Obama decided it would be good for the other 49 states. And in Bizarro-world Republican politics, anything the Democrats favor must be dealt with harshly and opposed by the Right regardless if it's for the good of the country - it's not good for the Party. Compromise, one of our Founding Father's core beliefs, is no longer an option in today's Republican Party which is why Jefferson, Adams, et al are rolling in their graves with today's Reich Wing politics.
Amen
If I were the DNC/DNCC, I would do nothing but run the 2009 Willard interview, where Willard offered, begged, to help O with the ACA drafting! How can the Heritage foundation run away from what they wanted to do for all of america. There is so much good footage on youtube that they have not even started to run yet.
Because Romney is a selfish self centered rich guy. Oh, and there are no 47%ers in his great state.
Buahahahahahahaha.
I bet the Teapers who have been counting on Mr. Romney to repeal each and every aspect of the eeeeeevil socialist Obamacare are feeling mighty disappointed about now.
Keep it on, Mr. Romney. Keep on disappointing your base and you can be totally assured they'll vote for you alright- with their feet as they walk away.
That "base" is largely an uninformed group that has core beliefs that cannot be challenged. They will NOT "look the other way".
Romney has just told them to stay home, and they will.
Day, exactly! Romney, or his campaign, just told the Republican "base" to "STFU, I'm running for President, for pete's sake!"
Can you say, 1936?
I knew you could...
You know candidate Robme isn't' the only one standing on shaky ground, the GOTP is desperate and looking for any life-raft that will help them out with voters.
Romney is an amazing Spiritual Leader. Romney’s idea of being a good leader is to have factories packed full of locked -in slave labor and fires anybody that may have higher wages. Has Romney led his congregation to follow these same spiritual principles? And has Romney also told his congregation to tattoo 666 on their foreheads. Romney, Ryan, and the Republicans can sit there and complain about some football game because it suits their interests. But when it comes to the welfare of other people, they have nothing but to put those people into misery, despair, and death. When everybody finally comes to realize what these Republicans real message is, will the American people finally realize such people as these Republicans, extremists of hatred, and extreme wealthy cannot be tolerated. What would this world really become, if they had total power, control, and greed over everybody? We are already seeing the beginnings of these results and this dark agenda left to continue its path would spell the utter destruction of our very planet. We have been lucky to receive a warning message about these destructive things and now we must be choosing very wisely.
"Conservatives have bigger fish to fry than worry about doctrine right now," conservative Rick Wilson said.
Soooooooo....The GOP isn't worried about a cohesive doctrine at this time.
And they don't want to run on their record.
And they won't pony up the least detail to flesh out what has been, to date, specious, fact-free "plans" on the budget, health care, etc etc.
WTF are they running on? Empty hope and spare change.
And, as Ayn Lyin' Ryan says, "Don't feed fish!"
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
Essentially the GOP is now a "Stalinist" organization, which is what happens to most totalitarian movements. Whatever "Dear Leader" says is now The Official Line.
"Conservatives have bigger fish to fry than worry about doctrine right now!' Well, THAT'S the quote of the day...so we are supposed to BELIEVE anything that comes out of they lying mouths?
Conservatives: "We are opposed to Romneycare/Obamacare because of our strong conservative principles, but we'll forget about those principles because we want to win."
Another in a long list of examples of why modern conservatism is a joke.
See : Akin Todd
here's the thing.....nobody believes him.
Trespassers do not apologize they trespass. And contrary to what the Republicans' believe, we are not big fish to fry or according to Ryan fish to be fed.
Etch-A-Sketch rules!
Romneycare has been one of the most entertaining features of the campaign. Unfortunately for the Republicans, it was very successful and has accomplished exactly what was intended. If Romney argues that Romneycare was a big mistake then he is admitting that he was an inept governor who signed off on a terrible program. If he takes credit for it, his party base goes nuts because he is endorsing a program that is almost identical to the one the Democrats passed. This leaves him with the ludicrous argument that what was great for Massachusetts is terrible for the country. I have never heard him come anywhere close to providing a rational explanation for that position.
I do not mean to suggest that he has rational explanations for any other of his positions, but this is one where lies, flip flops, saying it was taken out of context, having his staff come out later to deny what he says or being fuzzy about details does not get him out of it. This subject practically leaves him speechless when it comes up.
The right has learned to look the other way about Romney on just about all their signature election year issues, they can't talk about abortion because he profited off Stericycle, they can't wave the usual Christian banner because he's not one, they can't make any of the usual noises about truth or transparency in government since Mitt refuses to demonstrate either, and they can't talk down China, or sending money offshore, or keeping jobs in America since Mitt's had his hand in all these.
They pretty much have to look the other way about Romney being a "conservative" at all, what with the noticable absence of Republican planks in his empty platform. I'd say Mitt is less GOP than he is WWG, the party of wealthy white guys.
This is actually kind of OT, but man, that is just a really, really, bad portrait.
The Mass. health care document in the picture looks really good! The rest of the portrait looks like 'Dorian Gray!'
I don't see my blog!!! Mitt Romney's 1.5 billion dollar tax shake down during olympics in 2002, SLC. UT.
I'm sorry. I am lost as to if he is on the 'flip,' or the 'flop' right now. They must have to hire a lone aide to do nothing but tell Willard which way the wind is blowing today! I can't keep track of any of their positions, and I see that Willard flubs a lot because he is obviously lost at sea..........
That painting is terrible.
Wonder how much he shelled out for it.
can't say how bad the actual painting is, but the image on the web site is a .gif file and it should be a .jpg or png. Whoever does the image compression is more of a writer than a designer (at a guess). Anyways, that's why it looks so bad.