Romney Campaign Says It’s Not Declaring A “Cease Fire” On Health Care

July 3, 2012

Comments

Shooting back on a story I wrote about earlier, the Romney campaign is telling Byron York that it has no intention of backing down on the pledge to repeal ObamaCare:

No, no, no, says Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. “From our perspective, Obamacare has been and will continue to be a central issue in the campaign,” says Williams. “It presents voters with a bright line that divides the two candidates. Gov. Romney is going to repeal Obamacare and President Obama is going to keep it. There is a clear choice in November.”

“It is something that [Romney] has been discussing on the campaign trail for the past year and that he will continue to discuss,” Williams adds. “It is bad law, it is bad policy, and it’s something that Gov. Romney is going to address on his first day in office. His commitment to repealing Obamacare is as strong as it was on the day Congress jammed it down the throat of the American public.”

Williams says Romney agrees with the conservative dissent — signed jointly by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito — which declares Obamacare an unconstitutional federal mandate. Williams notes that Romney made a public statement, shortly after the Supreme Court decision was announced, pledging his continued determination to repeal the health care law. In addition, Romney’s “Day One” commercials, which prominently feature the promise to repeal Obamacare, are still playing in several states. The campaign also released a web ad after the Supreme Court decision, promising to keep up the Obamacare fight. It also made regular announcements on the amount of money the campaign raised from supporters who oppose the Supreme Court ruling. And Romney’s campaign website, MittRomney.com, is filled with emphatic promises to repeal Obamacare.

We’ll see, I suppose, based on how the campaign goes. Also, if the polls continue to show the public divided on the Supreme Court ruling and not entirely thrilled with the idea of refighting the health care battles, one has to wonder how big a part of the campaign “Repeal and Replace” will actually be.

26 responses to “Romney Campaign Says It’s Not Declaring A “Cease Fire” On Health Care”

michael reynolds

July 3, 2012 at 2:57 pm

Commenting on Romney is a play-by-play gig.
C. Clavin

July 3, 2012 at 3:07 pm

They flip-flopped on this already?
No wonder he doesn’t want to talk about any issues…the poor sap can’t make up his friggin’ mind.

“I want to cut that little faggots hair — no I don’t — yes, I do”

Given flight time…can they recall the nukes after he orders a strike on Iran? Or are they commited once he hits the button?
C. Clavin

July 3, 2012 at 3:10 pm

I’m trying to imagine him telling Seal Team 6 to stand down just as they are closing on Abbottabad.
Ron Beasley

July 3, 2012 at 3:24 pm

Let’s see, in 2008 we had the straight talk express and in 2012 we have the flip flop express.
Herb

July 3, 2012 at 3:26 pm

No doubt Romney wants to highlight the “bright dividing line” between the two candidates, but it must be said that he’s got a big job ahead of him if he wants to play the “repeal and replace” game. One assumes the endeavor won’t be effortless, despite the “Elect me and the dominoes will fall into place” sales pitch.

Asked what Obama will do to accomplish his healthcare plan, the answer will be, “Already done it.”

I fully expect most current Republicans and right-leaning voters to buy into the Romney pitch, if for no reason than brand loyalty, but certainly not because it’s the more persuasive argument.
Dazedandconfused

July 3, 2012 at 3:45 pm

The “D” on Obamney Care is what must be repealed. A new plan, which will be essentially the same thing, must replace it.
anjin-san

July 3, 2012 at 4:19 pm

My guess is that in light of the Supreme Court decision, people outside of the 27% are ready to accept HCR as part of the status quo and move one. This process will accelerate as people become better informed about what the law actually entails, and nonsense about death panels and socialism fades further into the background.

That being said, if Romney wants to keep the debate front and center, thats fine with me. Let him be seduced by cheers from the base – they are not the ones who will decide the election.
Tsar Nicholas

July 3, 2012 at 4:29 pm

The election is about the idiocracy, economy.

As far as Obamacare is concerned, there’s a difference between the zombiebots who tend to show up in media polling and the 40-70 year-old working and middle class adults who by far make up the majority of the voting electorate.

Concering “repeal and replace,” the former is necessary, the latter is not. We have a cost control crisis, not a coverage crisis. To the extent we want a higher percentage of the populace possessing health insurance coverage, without breaking the bank and ending up smelling like PIIGS, the answer is to implement policies that create more jobs, not to attempt to manipulate the health insurance markets.
anjin-san

July 3, 2012 at 4:32 pm

@ Tsar

zombiebots

You use these sort of expressions a lot. I am curious, how old are you? This sort of thinking is the hallmark of someone around 20 who has an inflated opinion of himself. Maybe you should party with Jenos.
An Interested Party

July 3, 2012 at 4:44 pm

We have a cost control crisis, not a coverage crisis.

I’m sure those words are just so soothing to the 40+ million people in this country who don’t have health insurance, not to mention people with preexisting conditions…

…without breaking the bank and ending up smelling like PIIGS…

Umm, for someone who acts like he is so knowledgeable and so intelligent, you do realize that our country has options when it comes to government budgetary matters that aren’t available to Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain, don’t you?
C. Clavin

July 3, 2012 at 4:50 pm

“…the answer is to implement policies that create more jobs, not to attempt to manipulate the health insurance markets…”

I have never seen a causual link between un-employment and insurance coverage. Can you provide a link? Of course the economy contracting at 9% in the last quarter of the Bush Presidency had an impact…but the un-insured have been a problem for a long time. For instance in 2010 about 52M people were without health insurance…but there were still 38M un-insured in 2001 during the good times. Tons of jobs didn’t automatically mean insurance for them. Why would it now?
In addition, I would like to see insurance de-coupled from employers. That would provide many benefits…including allowing entreprenuers to start their own businesses while being exposed to far less risk.
john personna

July 3, 2012 at 4:51 pm

It presents voters with a bright line that divides the two candidates.

Such a funny line from the Romney campaign. If there is a bright line that divides RomneyCare and ObamaCare, it’s a party line. Nothing more.
Dazedandconfused

July 3, 2012 at 4:53 pm

Romney is getting a lot of Koch (Objectivist) money. He can’t wave the white flag.

What a “tangled web” this man is in. I almost feel sorry for the guy.
al-Ameda

July 3, 2012 at 5:22 pm

Good, I hope he hasn’t given up the fight … against himself.

Everything he professes to hate about ACA is, in some manner and to large degree, lifted from his RomneyCare program in Massachusetts. I look forward to those debates.
New Romney? {{{slap}}} … Old Romney? {{{slap}}}
al-Ameda

July 3, 2012 at 5:25 pm

@Tsar Nicholas:

The election is about the idiocracy

The 2010 mid-term elections turned the House of Representative over to the idiocracy.
sam

July 3, 2012 at 5:53 pm

@michael reynolds:

Commenting on Romney is a play-by-play gig.

An Etch-A-Sketch is real handy for that.
Herb

July 3, 2012 at 5:55 pm

@Tsar Nicholas:

“the answer is to implement policies that create more jobs, not to attempt to manipulate the health insurance markets. “

Giving 30 million people access to healthcare they wouldn’t have otherwise would create some jobs, no? Possibly a lot of jobs.
anjin-san

July 3, 2012 at 7:27 pm

I would like to see insurance de-coupled from employers. That would provide many benefits…including allowing entreprenuers to start their own businesses while being exposed to far less risk.

There are other benefits. Having one’s employer control both a worker’s income and health care is simply too much power on the side of the employer. And I know my recent transition from corporate employee to contractor would have been smoother had not my out of pocket health care costs gone up 5K a year.
al-Ameda

July 3, 2012 at 8:07 pm

@anjin-san:

There are other benefits. Having one’s employer control both a worker’s income and health care is simply too much power on the side of the employer. And I know my recent transition from corporate employee to contractor would have been smoother had not my out of pocket health care costs gone up 5K a year.

Exactly, it (de-coupling health insurance benefits from the employer) would be a factor in increasing labor mobility. Salary is always the primary factor, however, each time I’ve made an employment change health insurance benefits have been a wild card factor – stuff like, will my new employer offer the same plan that I currently have my family on and/or will I be able to maintain our doctor/family relationship. It’s never the same and I both gained and lost ground alternatively over the past 25 years.

We do not have an efficient or rational health insurance system. Plus, I’m in finance and I’m usually the point person in analysis of plan offerings and budgetary effects resulting from the annual 10%+ increases in premium costs. In my last job we had to switch over to HSA based plans in order to save money and we agreed to pay half the annual deductible for our employees. It is a stressful situation for many employers.
Jack Moss

July 3, 2012 at 9:12 pm

The only poll showing that people want to end the heathcare debate is a leftwing PAC. In other words worthless. No other poll says that. Quite the contrary, the majority of polls tell us that the majority want Obamacare repealed.
Clanton

July 3, 2012 at 9:16 pm

Ok, here are some questions I have that maybe some of you have the answers to:
If I have to pay a tax/penalty/fine whatever for not having health insurance, is that deductible?
How about someone who pays as they go? Certainly they would not have to get insurance! (My father did that – even wrote out a check when he left the hospital for his heart by-pass surgery).
Are these items covered: orthodontics, laser eye surgery, dentistry, glasses/contacts?
Will I be free to choose my own doctors?
Will there be a choice of deductibles and copayments?
How about smokers?
john personna

July 3, 2012 at 9:36 pm

@Clanton:

The simplest and best plan for someone who wanted to pay as they go would be to get a “catastrophic” policy or one with a huge deductible, five or ten grand. Then they wouldn’t be in trouble with the law, and they’d be covered if a kidney suddenly went bad.
john personna

July 3, 2012 at 9:39 pm

(If you are rich enough to self-insure for things like kidney disease, the penalty is chicken feed, pay it and forget it.)
Scott O

July 3, 2012 at 10:57 pm

@Clanton: Your coverage will depend on what kind of plan you buy. Here’s a site where you can see what’s available in a state that now has a mandatory health care law in effect, Massachusetts. You can find out what insurance would cost you, what subsidies you may be eligible for if you are low income and what the different plans cover.

https://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector

I’m guessing the plans under the PPACA will be similar. I doubt that the penalty will be deductible.
OzarkHillbilly

July 4, 2012 at 8:02 am

We have a cost control crisis, not a coverage crisis.

@Tsar Nicholas:

Coverage is only a crisis if you don’t have any, right Tsar? Or in other words,

“I got mine, fwck you.”
James in LA

July 4, 2012 at 11:21 am

@anjin-san: “@ Tsar… zombiebots… You use these sort of expressions a lot…”

Add home-schooling. It really shows. If one is not regularly exposed to those with whom one does not always agree, one has next to zero chance of developing any empathy for anyone, including one’s self. Hence, the god-like emperor complex of Tsar’s speech. One predicts one would also find “Dungeon Master” on his resume.

@OH “I got mine, fwck you.”

This assumes Tsar had anything of value to begin with. Clearly, he did not. So all we really have from him is the “fwck you.”