Finally had a chance to watch Mitt Romney’s big health care speech, and I will go on record as saying the moment he opened his mouth yesterday is the moment his presidential campaign ended.
First, there was the illogic of his argument. RomneyCare has worked in Massachusetts but its identical twin ObamaCare won’t work for the nation? Yikes. Also, RomneyCare hasn’t worked very well:
The law, however, has failed to curb rising costs. While implementation of the law itself didn’t put a major dent in the state’s budget — according to an analysis by independent group Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, the increase in net spending for the law was just 1 percent in fiscal year 2010 — it hasn’t reduced overall costs for policy holders.
Private spending per member grew by 15.5 percent on average between 2006 and 2008. Meanwhile, average premiums for full insurance increased 12.2 percent from 2006 to 2008, according to the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.
And:
Bankruptcy filings due to medical costs have also jumped, increasing by more than one-third between 2007 and 2009, according to analysis published in The American Journal of Medicine in March.
Rising costs continue to pose a challenge for the state. A survey published by Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts Foundation in April found that per capita health care spending in Massachusetts is projected to nearly double by 2020.
Mitt could easily have jumped to the lead if he’d made a different case. If he had used his speech to say, “We wanted to use government to expand coverage and reduce costs, but it just hasn’t worked. In fact, government intervention at that level just can’t work. We learned that lesson the hard way in my home state, and now we need to apply that lesson to the nation. And that’s why I’m asking for your support in my campaign to become your President.”
I might have even voted for him after a speech like that.
But no. Instead we have a man who’s either too egotistical to admit a mistake, or too RINOesque to understand that government is not a tool for decreasing costs. Or both. Who knows? Romney has played so many side of so many issues for so long, there’s no telling what — if anything — lies at his core.
Romney tested this exact same pitch on Fox News Sunday last year, and it was a flop then. What made him think it would work any better, pitched to an even bigger audience at a time when ObamaCare has become even less popular?
Mitt, is too slow a learner to be President, and too squishy a conservative to get past the Tea Party vote in the primaries. But I suspect the former will keep him from recognizing the latter until the bitter, bitter end.
As Romney is a squishy and beatable RINO I expect the MSM to pile on praise for him through the primaries and push for him to win as they did with McCain.
Then, on the off chance he wins the primaries (this could happen if the GOP powers that be figure its his “turn” a la Bob Dole and McCain), expect the MSM to replay September Dawn (Mountain Meadows massacre movie)on primetime TV. Then watch the MSM nail him for this Romneycare and other squishiness and then asail him for conservative views on other things and being out of touch etc.
Exactly Aaron. And his strategy is to stick around enough to be the last man standing? Um, how about having a platform and running on your record? Oh, wait, it is Mittens we’re talking about. If it’s him or the Huckster vs. Dear Liar, I’ll vote Libertarian.
From your lips to God’s ears!! I still cannot believe the GOP is even remotely serious about this guy. He’s a modern-day reincarnation of Bert Parks, although probably not quite as “smart.” He needs to go on the road as a pitchman for Grecian Formula and stop wasting everybody’s time!
Of course, my mantra has long been that Job One is to oust Obama, so if in the end he’s the only un-Obama we’ve got, then I’ll vote for him. But my fervent prayer is that it doesn’t come down to that.
“…there’s no telling what — if anything — lies at his core.”
Lies?
As long as there’s a threat of Romney getting the nod, I’ll never let anyone forget the dog story. When he was running for President, we were told of the time that he tied his dog to the top of the family’s luxury vehicle and set off down the open road for the family ski chalet or yacht mooring or some such. The dog, no doubt quaking with fear, defecated on the car and old dad Mitt had to get out to clean up the mess. Mitt thought we would have taken away the notion that he was just a down-to-earth family man like all of us. In fact, we all took away the fact that he’s the kind of heartless cold-fish who would STRAP HIS DOG TO THE ROOF OF A MOVING CAR!
I’ve never been inclined to support Romney in the primary, but there was a time he could have persuaded me to vote for him in the general election. No longer. Romney joins Huckabee on my list of absolutely unacceptable candidates. The GOP nominated one of those in 2008 and I left the presidential slot blank on my ballot. I can do that again in 2012 if they make it necessary.
I’d liked Romney until I found out about his health care debacle. I kinda always hoped he would “come correct” on it so I could at least hold my nose and vote for him… I guess that’s off the plate now.
Amen. He’s done. No way in hell will he pass the Tea Party muster and that is going to be impossible to avoid if you want the nomination. The question now is how much oxygen does he suck from the room running up to the nomination? Drop out Mitt and let the serious politicians run.
Oh and Aaron, you nailed it.
Here’s a thought, instead of making the Pavlovian choice of one of the well-prepped, well-researched and well-funded Republican contestants, May I suggest you actually listen to Herman Cain? The pundits and comedians who elected his majesty in 2008 are going to call us unsophisticated and ignorant, anyway so, why not, to quote the Bonnie Raitt song, “…give ‘em something to talk about?”
Romney’s own campaign manager quit recently, because… wait for it… Mitt is a flip-flopper! He is? Really? Whodathunkit?
MItt core values is that He must be president … period.