Tag Archives: Romneycare

Mitt Romney’s next role: Health Care Advocate??

Though he may have tried to run from his record during the campaign, Mr. Romney does have a well-known, well-documented public record… he served four years as Governor of Massachusetts. And during that time, his single greatest legislative achievement was the passage of of universal health care reform.

As crazy as it sounds after 2012, historic health care reform is Mitt Romney’s legacy as a public servant. The state of Massachusetts still operates by the provisions he signed into law, and though not perfect, most Bay Staters would never go back to a time before universal coverage. Regardless of their opinion of Romney, they definitely like their Romneycare.

Of course we all know the next chapter of the story… President Obama, seeking to make significant progress for the nation, takes Romneycare as a blueprint to craft Obamacare. Though the bill passed without a single Republican vote (unless you count the “vote” of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts to uphold the law after its 2012 challenge), it is truly some of the most bi-partisan legislation we have in recent memory. The provisions of Obamacare were born, tested and tried via Romneycare.

Listen to him defend his universal health care plan with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. I Had to transcribe my favorite part here…

Cavuto: “Let me step back from this Governor, if you don’t mind. When people are polled on this issue of universal healthcare coverage, a Fox Poll that we did… 2 out of 3 folks say ‘don’t want it, don’t see the need for it.’ What do you say about that?

Romney: “Well what they don’t recognize is they’ve already got it, and that’s the big surprise. Everybody in this country does get free health care. If people get sick… they go to the hospital and they get treated. And everybody else pays the cost of those individuals if they don’t have health insurance… So we have universal health care. For people that can afford to pay, it’s time for them to step up to the plate.”

Now that it’s 2013 and the President is officially a 2nd termer, the opportunity has been born for us as a nation to have an adult conversation regarding national health care reform. Both the President and Governor Romney are men that now have more in common than they ever had during the campaign. They are both powerful, influential people, both public servants, and both concerned about their legacy. After any election, win or lose, there is a critical window of time that things can actually “get done”. As Steve Leblanc of the AP and Huffington Post wrote today, states are looking to Massachusetts for leadership on how to implement Obamacare. That leadership should include Mitt Romney.

Of course many Democrats will rightly point out that Romney signed the legislation, but then chose not to run for a second term. That left much of the shepherding of “Romneycare” to the states next Governor, Deval Patrick. As a faithful Democrat, he and the Massachusetts legislature have worked hard to ensure that the law lived up to its goals of providing access to insurance for all Bay-Staters. The Boston Globe did a comprehensive review of Romneycare in 2011, saying that it has been (and continues to be successful in achieving those goals. In 2006, some 500,000 Massachusetts residents did not have health insurance. Today, that number hovers around 120,000 and continues to drop as more tweaks are put in place. Romneycare, though not perfect, is an example of what government can actually DO to improve people’s lives.

As the nation begins a rapid implementation of Obamacare, we still remain deeply, (some might say tragically) divided on what health care reform means for the country. Democratic Governors and legislators are going full-steam ahead by embracing the new provisions, while Repbulican strongholds are building a fort against them even if it defies logic and reasoning to do so. As Texas Governor Rick Perry, Florida Governor Rick Scott, and others toy with the lives of millions in need of access to affordable care, it may be of benefit to have a prominent Republican voice that can attest to the good that health care reform can do. Sure, Mr. Romney’s status was lessened as being the losing candidate, but that doesn’t erase what he did for the Bay State. If anything, this could also be an opportunity for the former Governor to restore his reputation and find new purpose in the public debate.

The term “Obamacare” was originally drummed up by the Right-Wing media to distort and shame the President’s efforts for health reform. But in the 2012 campaign, President Obama turned around saying “I like Obamacare, because I actually DO care!”. Despite what he may have said in 2012, the same actually holds true for Mitt Romney. It’s why he chose to put the universal symbol for medicine into his official portrait as Governor of Massachusetts… the portrait that will align the walls of the Massachusetts State House for all forseen time. But now, in this time, our nation’s health care reform is in need of advocates from BOTH parties. We’ve got the Democrats, and now we are looking to Republican leaders who can break with the tight- lipped opposition, and defend the importance of health care. After all, our health can never truly be a party issue.

It’s called “Romneycare” because, at least this writer believes, Romney does care.

The ABCs of the GOP: K is for

Karma

When we take a moment to reflect on the past year in American Politics, it’s mostly been a time of focus on the GOP. After all, Democrats have had our 2012 Presidential candidate since the 2008 election. There’s not much of a need for controversy in that party. But relative quiet on one side of the political aisle does not mean we’ve been short of drama… the GOP has gotten VERY good at it all on it’s own. The drama of the Presidential Primaries was particularly intense. But you have to ask… After so many candidates, did the GOP really have to select Mitt Romney? How did this happen?

Sure most of the field was “weak”, and Mr. Romney was well organized and well funded. The few candidates that showed real promise at the start, like Jon Huntsman or Tim Pawlenty, were not able to get much traction out of the gate. Promising future prospects like Chris Christie decided to sit out the 2012 cycle (perhaps not wanting to be thrown to the wolf pack). But as the Republican Party continues to cleanse itself of moderates in favor of the Far-Right, why would they tolerate a “moderate” flip-flopper like Romney to be the leader of their party? The answer is simple: KARMA.

The GOP used to be a party that emphasized small government and fiscal responsibility. But today’s party doesn’t really have a central philosophy. Instead they are caught in a complex web of lies. How can you be for small government when you continue to overfund the Department of Defense… the world’s largest employer? How can you be for fiscal restraint, when you voted to fight two wars without raising even a penny of revenue to fund them? How can you be for further tax cuts for the wealthy, when their taxes are already at historic lows? This is the web that modern Republicans have woven for themselves. As opinion columnist Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast writes, the GOP now has to lie in order to win a major election. If Republicans told the truth about their real intentions for government, they would be rejected by all for their hypocrisy.

That’s where the karma comes in. Mitt Romney is the closest thing to a sole embodiment of the GOP’s hypocritical history. Romney’s business experience (and his wealth) is basically built from the destruction of thousands of American workers. He became rich because other companies took the advice of Bain Capital, laid off much of their work force, then paid Bain in consulting fees. There’s a big contradiction there considering he’s running for President on his ability to “create American jobs”.

Mr. Romney of course has a public record as well… four years as Governor of Massachusetts. And during that time, his single greatest legislative achievement was the passage of mandatory health care for all Massachusetts residents. Make no mistake, this was Governor Romney’s signature achievement in the Bay State. Listen to him defend his universal health care plan with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. I Had to transcribe my favorite part here…

Cavuto: “Let me step back from this Governor, if you don’t mind. When people are polled on this issue of universal healthcare coverage, a Fox Poll that we did… 2 out of 3 folks say ‘don’t want it, don’t see the need for it.’ What do you say about that?

Romney: “Well what they don’t recognize is they’ve already got it, and that’s the big surprise. Everybody in this country does get free health care. If people get sick… they go to the hospital and they get treated. And everybody else pays the cost of those individuals if they don’t have health insurance… So we have universal health care. For people that can afford to pay, it’s time for them to step up to the plate.”

The eloquence and conviction with which Mr. Romney defends his plan (to the Fox News audience, no less) is simply shocking. No wonder a symbol for health care is painted into Governor Romney’s official Massachusetts portrait.

Then there’s his time with the Salt Lake City Olympics. No one doubts that the games were a success, but Romney continues to forget HOW he funded those games… from over $1 Billion dollars in GOVERNMENT contracts. Yet today, he decries many public projects as “wasteful spending”. So it wasn’t a waste when he oversaw the funds?

Of course many Republicans are caught in this trap… the ones that publicly bashed the Obama Stimulus as wasteful, but then request portions of the funds for their district. Mr. Romney’s newly minted running mate Paul Ryan was caught red-handed lying about stimulus funds, saying that he never requested any of the money for his district, and even going so far to say “I’m not one who votes for something and then writes to the government to ask them to send us money,”. Actually, he did, so if it’s a test of character, Mr. Ryan would fail almost as quickly as Mr. Romney.

So as karma would have it, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have turned out to be quite the fitting match for their party’s national leadership. Romney is the embodiment of hypocrisy and convolution, While Ryan is the party’s ideology gone wrong. Karma is definitely at play in this year’s Republican Party.

The Trouble with Mitt: so many lies, so little time

The amazing team over at Buzzfeed has uncovered what is perhaps the most comprehensive (and potentially damaging) document on the GOP nominee yet… an entire record of Mitt Romney’s dealings. The 2008 Oppo File was compiled by the McCain campaign, and it leaves no stone unturned. It lists every controversial statement and questionable thing that has been said by, and could be used against Mr. Romney. This is really HUGE… every major story that is going to break about his past between now and November, this is likely to be a source.

It’s a 200 page document, but here are just a few tidbits that I’ve uncovered so far…

page 7— In October 2005, signed bill expanding family planning services, including abortion counseling and morning-after pill.

page 7— In December 2005, Romney abruptly reversed course and ordered Catholic hospitals to provide contraception emergency services to rape victims (That is even more strict than the national Affordable Care Act of 2010, which does not force Catholic hospitals to provide these services, but offers that the government will pay for them if they do).

page 8 Romney left his successor (as Governor of Massachusetts) to fill a budget deficit in excess of $1 Billion. That’s fiscal responsibility for you.

page 8— Romney refused to endorse the 2003 Bush tax cuts, saying he “wouldn’t be a cheerleader for the pain.”

page 11— Romney once called his state’s insurance law “a once in a generation achievement”. At least we agree on that.

page 11— At least two Bain Capital companies- Stream International and Modus Media– focused on outsourced technical support services, expanding facilities abroad while contracting operations in the United States.

page 133Romney proposed combining state Veterans Affairs with general welfare services. Apparently Veterans aren’t owed anything for fighting for our freedom??

And yes the current news of the day is in here.

page 136— Romney served as CEO of Bain Capital through August 2001, Even though he no longer ran daily operations.

This really is just the tip of the iceberg. Check it out for yourself. I’ll be doing some more in-depth research with this massive file soon.