Obamacare, Romneycare, Obamneycare -- Never Mind
January 8, 2012 | 10:29 AM
To think that Tim Pawlenty's campaign went into a death spiral because he refused to confront Mitt Romney on "Obamneycare."
Now that Michele Bachmann is gone, practically the only person who mentions Obamacare is Romney. And he doesn't do it much. He might not even need to do it at all.
Now that Michele Bachmann is gone, practically the only person who mentions Obamacare is Romney. And he doesn't do it much. He might not even need to do it at all.
There were plenty of TV ads denouncing Obamacare during Sunday's NBC News/Facebook debate, including one from 2008 contender Mike Huckabee. But it's not like Romney's five remaining rivals are jumping all over him for enacting the template for the Affordable Care Act so reviled by conservatives.
For all the problems it was expected to cause him, it is the least used line of attack against him. Newt Gingrich says Romney is timid and also mean. Santorum says he's got the wrong skill set to be commander in chief.
Everything but Romneycare. Nobody even raised a peep about it when Romney, asked in the debate how people can trust that he's a true conservative, replied: "They've got my record as governor."
Bachmann used to say that "as president, I will not rest until Obamacare is repealed." With her departure, it's left to Romney to talk about issuing waivers to every state on Day One of his presidency.
Maybe Romney's rivals are content to wait for the Supreme Court to deal with the issue in March. Maybe his federalist defense -- let Massachusetts be Massachusetts -- worked well enough to get it off the table.
And Pawlenty? After sailing through yet another debate Sunday, Romney headed for a noon rally in Manchester with ... Pawlenty.
The only suspense left is whether Romney will ever get into full-blown brag mode about having helped give Massachusetts the lowest rate of uninsured in the nation. That and, if he's the nominee, whether his achievement will make the case for Obamacare instead of against it.
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus