Romney Campaign, G.O.P. Disagree on Health Care ‘Tax’
03 July 2012 |permalink | email article
Mitt Romney’s campaign threw cold water on a central Republican attack line Monday, noting that President Obama’s health care mandate should be thought of as a penalty and not a tax. That message from Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney’s senior adviser, said the Massachusetts mandate was a penalty and that Romney agrees with Democrats that Obama’s health care mandate is not a tax, either. David Axelrod, Obama’s senior campaign adviser, said that Romney cannot agree with his fellow Republicans because to do so is “to condemn himself.” For much of Monday Republicans sought to minimize the differences between themselves and Romney. By insisting on calling the mandate a penalty, Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Romney, effectively endorsed the weekend’s Democratic talking points and added to the clash with the Republicans’ line. The disagreement between Romney and some of his Republican rivals has every indication of festering. Texas Gov. Rick Perry predicted that health care would be a major “anchor” around Romney’s neck. Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, called Romney “the weakest candidate” to prosecute” the case against Obama’s health care plan. The Obama-Romney debates this fall will be telling.
CNN Poll
Democrats show a solid uptick in enthusiasm. From 46 percent in late March the number has moved to 59 percent; Republicans dipped from 51 percent to 52 percent in March. Democrats lead by three points nationally.
Read ‘em and weep
“He does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning and having that title of American. He’d rather you be his slave.”—Rep. Allen West (R-FL), accusing President Obama of wanting to enslave America.
“We disagree with the notion that our rights come from government. Those are ours, and they come from nature and God, according to the Declaration of Independence.”—House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan bashing ‘Obamacare’ which raises a broader question for Ryan: would God deny health care to 30 million Americans who lack it?
“That is not the issue. We’re not going to turn the American health care system into a Western European system.”—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) telling Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that health care coverage is not a priority in GOP plans to address the issue.
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