Romney’s Spokesperson Praises Massachusetts Romneycare
First we have an ad by Priorities USA Action featuring a steelworker from Indiana who was (allegedly) laid off from a factory owned by Romney-founded Bain Capital, blaming his wife’s death — caused by cancer — to his family losing health insurance after he was laid off and, consequently, on the presumptive GOP nominee.
I have seen the ad and have mixed feelings about its accuracy and its appropriateness. But then, in a stunning gaffe or in a rare moment of honesty, Andrea Saul, Romney’s campaign press secretary, offered what probably was supposed to be a rebuttal or counterattack but turned out to be an admission of how well Romney’s Massachusetts health care plan — one from which Romney is desperately trying to distance himself — would have helped the steelworker’s wife: “To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care.”
Perhaps as an afterthought, or in remorse, she added: “There are a lot of people losing their jobs and losing their health care in President Obama’s economy.”
Well, that should make everything OK for the Romney campaign, or is it a sign of more confusion and controversy to come on this issue?
The health care law Romney helped to craft and signed in 2006 is often described as a forerunner to Obama’s own health care overhaul, which passed Congress four years later without a single Republican vote.
Romney has said his law worked for Massachusetts but wouldn’t necessarily work in other states. He has pledged to grant every state a waiver from Obama’s law on his first day in office and said he would work to repeal the legislation in its entirety.
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LOL, man its getting hard to keep all the BS straight isn’t guys? Romney also wants credit for the auto industry bounce back and frankly I’m shocked he hasn’t made a play to get some cred for taking out Osama too. Eventually when he gets around to telling us what he is specifically going to do to fix things I’m sure it will make up for all the other stuff. And of course after he releases years worth of taxes showing that no only did he not cheat on any of them, he paid a respectable rate in line with most other Americans.
Possible political example of ‘falling on your sword’?
I’m not seeing the gaffe here. It’s true that Romney doesn’t often talk about Romneycare anymore, but when he has he hasn’t said it didn’t work. He said it’s different than Obamacare, mainly because it was implemented as the state level and for a few other technical details. That’s an arguable and nuanced position, but it’s not the same as saying Romneycare didn’t work. Can you point to something Romney or his campaign has said that Saul contradicted?
AD If you don’t see, or don’t want to see the irony,the doubletalk, the flip-flopping and the hypocrisy in Romney’s team and the GOP now trying to distance themselves as much as they can from the concept of a state-level or national-level health care system, then I can’t help you and I am, not going to spend time on it. I’ll let you do your own “fact-checking” on this one.
Dorian,
I’ll ignore your unfounded and frankly offensive assertion about my integrity, other than to say that if you disagree with my view, I prefer you pay me the same respect I paid you and explain why I’m wrong.
As for fact checking (yes, I remain committed to the controversial policy of checking facts, whether in quotes or not):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz0oMYofLyE&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7BHYpHGAeM
Both show Romney defending Romneycare from last year and the beginning of this year. He tries to draw a distinction between Romneycare and Obamacare, but that’s not the same as saying Romneycare didn’t work. He emphasizes that Romneycare’s goal was to cover more people, which is consistent with what Saul said.
I haven’t found any more recent statements directly addressing Romneycare from the campaign. Clearly they want to avoid the issue. But talking about something that they haven’t talked about in a while is not a gaffe.
AD,
First, I do not believe that I was attacking your integrity. If somehow I did, I apologize.
Second, I will do the fact checking (no quotes) of my entire post myself.
I believe that my description of the ad is accurate.
My opinion by which I stand.
Re: “stunning gaffe” Just read — long list at Memeorandum — how Andrea Saul is being pilloried by her own Party for what they consider a monumental gaffe.
Re: “a rare moment of honesty” My opinion, by which I stand. You also appear to believe that what Saul said is correct: “…but that’s not the same as saying Romneycare didn’t work. He emphasizes that Romneycare’s goal was to cover more people, which is consistent with what Saul said.”
Re: “Andrea Saul, Romney’s campaign press secretary, offered what probably was supposed to be a rebuttal or counterattack …” I have no doubt that as a campaign press secretary that was her mission.
We are back to the “rare moment of honesty” [See above]
“one from which Romney is desperately trying to distance himself” An opinion by which I stand, something that his Party also desperately wants him to do — not only separate himself but totally disassociate himself from — and where the degree and distance of separation will continue to increase as the campaign proceeds.
“To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care.” That’s exactly what she said.
“Perhaps as an afterthought, or in remorse, she added:” My opinion and I stand by it.
“There are a lot of people losing their jobs and losing their health care in President Obama’s economy.” That’s exactly what she said.
My (sarcastic) opinion/prediction by which I stand and hope I am right — yes, I hope Romney does not become our next president, but that is also my personal opinion and I hope it is OK to express such an opinion without any further documentary support.
That is exactly what Politico said/wrote and contains some of what you yourself claim: “Romney has said his law worked for Massachusetts but wouldn’t necessarily work in other states.”
In conclusion, I did not claim anywhere that Romneycare “did not work” in Massachusetts — because, in fact, it did work –and I continue to maintain that Romney would like to get as far away from Romneycare as possible, but that is also an opinion.
Edited to correct two (2) typos
The Romney campaign has shifted into general election mode which will allow him to tout the good things he did at Bain and in Mass. including the health care plan. Ms. Saul got the memo, the right-wing of the party did not. Ms. Coulter has called for Ms. Saul’s resignation (in typical Coulter hyperbolic rhetoric) and Rush was rendered (almost) speechless. But they are not running for President and Mr. Romney is. Why he is doing it before he has actually secured the nomination is curious, but then lots of things are curious about Mr. Romney.
As far as recent statements, Mr. Romney gave a typically throw-away line about his connection to health plans (quickly moved on from) in a speech just yesterday, but I can’t find a link.
I knew I’d seen it. From WaPO:
[Similarly, at an event in Iowa today (Aug 8), Romney seemed to suggest his bill qualifies him to tackle reforming Obama’s bill: “We’ve got to do some reforms in health care, and I have some experience doing that as you know, and I know how to make a better setting than the one we have in health care.”]
Note the change from repeal to reform. No wonder the righties are having a collective hissy fit.
TO:
Also from the same WaPo, referring to Saul’s comments:
And, yes, earlier in his campaign he has taken some credit for it
Dorian,
Implying that I’m ignoring or spinning evidence to comply my political views (I’m not a Romney supporter, by the way, but I suppose you have no way to verify that) has implications on my integrity, but I accept your apology and appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Obviously I don’t object to every sentence in your post. Here are the parts I’m objecting to:
“…a stunning gaffe or in a rare moment of honesty…”
“…an admission…”
“…one from which Romney is desperately trying to distance himself…”
“…or in remorse…”
Each of these, and especially in combination and in context, strongly suggest that Romney had previously disowned Romneycare or said that it didn’t work and that Ms. Saul was contradicting that campaign strategy. This is false. As the Politico piece you quoted shows, as my links show, and as TO’s find shows him saying as recently as yesterday, Romney has not disowned Romneycare and has brought it up on occasion to argue both that it worked and that it is evidence of his experience on health care.
I think that objectively shows that Romney has not distanced himself and continues to own Romneycare and point out its success at covering the previously uninsured (while also arguing that it is different than Obamacare). Saul did not say anything that contradicts that or that Romney himself has not said repeatedly.
I think that’s a rather open-and-shut case, but I’ll address some of your counter-arguments:
“Re: “stunning gaffe” Just read — long list at Memeorandum — how Andrea Saul is being pilloried by her own Party for what they consider a monumental gaffe.”
A campaign saying something that is unpopular with the base is not a gaffe, especially when it is consistent with what they’ve been saying. And (to account for maybe you having a different definition of “gaffe” than I do) it certainly isn’t “stunning” or an “admission” or a “rare moment.”
“In conclusion, I did not claim anywhere that Romneycare “did not work” in Massachusetts — because, in fact, it did work”
Right, but by claiming that Saul’s statement that it did work was an “admission”, you are saying that Romney’s campaign has said it didn’t work, and they have said the opposite.
“And I continue to maintain that Romney would like to get as far away from Romneycare as possible, but that is also an opinion.”
I understand it’s your opinion, but your justification for it doesn’t square with the facts: Romney has voluntarily talked about it, said it worked, and took credit for it over the past two years and as recently as yesterday.
To be clear on the last point: Yes, as I’ve conceded, Romney has not talked about it much recently, indicating they didn’t want it to be a focus. The two statements from yesterday (from Saul and Romney) may signal a change in strategy. But, the content of what was said is not different than what they previously said. In my view, the content is what makes the gaffe. Again, our definitions of “gaffe” might be different, but the definitions of “admission”, “stunning”, and “honesty” are fairly well established.
Thanks for your views on this issue and your understanding of the words “gaffe”, “admission,” and “stunning.”
I disagree with your views, but respect them. I may have a different understanding — perception — of words and I hope you’ll manage to forgive me for straying from the “well-established” definitions of “gaffe”, “admission,” and “stunning.”
As to “honesty” I believe that we both agree that Ms. Saul was being honest. As to “a rare moment” of such, of course we can and will disagree on that.
Thanks again for your opinions.
Joe G has recently been writing about the R’s coming together behind Romney and how the predeicted split between Romney and the party’s right wing was not materializing. This dust up over Saul’s comments seems to reopen the wound.
From the perspective of the party’s right wing, it is not acceptable to say anything good about “Romneycare”, and anyone who does deserves to be ousted from her position.
My problem is not so much with Romney as it is with the ultra right wingers who insist on their my-way-or-the-highway approach to ideological purity.
Apparently it is not only Democrats who view this as a gaffe-prominent conservatives are likewise up in arms about Saul’s statement, and are calling for her dismissal.
It reminds them of their worst fears- that Romney is, in truth, a moderate who can’t be counted on to pursue the party’s ultra right ambitions.
Maybe Rick Santorum was right when he said that Romney was the wrong person to go up against Obama on universal healthcare.