The final passage of President Obama’s landmark health care bill is sure to have a huge impact on the 2012 elections. And it could particularly present some pitfalls for Mitt Romney, who appears to be setting up a run for the nomination of a Republican Party that is dead-set against the idea of universal health care — and who in fact passed a universal health care bill himself in Massachusetts.
Romney is taking a hard line against Obama’s health care bill, and calling for repeal. “America has just witnessed an unconscionable abuse of power,” Romney said in a post at National Review. “President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation — rather than bringing us together, ushering in a new kind of politics, and rising above raw partisanship, he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends.”
But it should be noted that there are some obvious similarities between Obama’s health bill and Romney’s in Massachusetts, such as the individual mandate requiring people to buy insurance, with government subsidies for lower-income people. There are also some differences between the two, in terms of cost controls and how the programs are paid for. But the problem for Romney is he is running against a reform measure that bears a strong resemblance to the one he enacted in Massachusetts and that is very unpopular with the conservative base he’s trying to win over.
Back in 2006, at the time when Romney enacted the Massachusetts health care program, he wrote a guest column in the Wall Street Journal, in which he laid out the nature of the program and defended the individual mandate: “Some of my libertarian friends balk at what looks like an individual mandate. But remember, someone has to pay for the health care that must, by law, be provided: Either the individual pays or the taxpayers pay. A free ride on government is not libertarian.”
As for right now, however, he is arguing that the federal bill is unconstitutional.
Club For Growth spokesman Mike Connolly told TPMDC that the Club has “a lot of problems” with Massachusetts health care, and Romney will have to defend his policies if he runs for president again. “I think RomneyCare is a big enough problem that irrespective of what Congress did on Sunday night, it was going to be a problem for Gov. Romney,” said Connolly. “He is going to have to explain, he is going to have to reconcile, what he says are his conservative credentials, which he may espouse very sincerely, with this government health care plan that he put in place in Massachusetts.”
FreedomWorks spokesman Adam Brandon pointed out that the federal bill’s gradual implementation over a span of years means that it will continue to be a huge issue. “So it’s not like this bill is signed and we move on. This bill is going to be debated for years to come,” said Brandon. “Romney is going to have to explain how his individual mandate is different from this individual mandate. Can he do it? Possibly. But if he is going to be running for president, I can only imagine what his opponents are going to say about this. He’s going to have to come up with some very good responses, because wherever he goes, he will be asked.”
Brandon also added: “This issue is gonna dog him the entire political cycle. And he’s probably gonna get so damn sick of that question.”
Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told TPMDC that the programs are not the same: “The two plans are as different as Jekyll and Hyde. Mitt Romney’s plan did not include higher taxes, or Medicare cuts, or insurance price controls, and it was designed for Massachusetts and not the entire country. Critics gloss over the differences, but they are profound.”
How would Romney respond, we asked, to questions about similar aspects such as the individual mandate? Is he prepared to answer such criticisms from his fellow Republicans? “Governor Romney will continue to make the case that we can get more of our citizens insured without resorting to higher taxes, price controls, cuts in Medicare or an expanded federal role in our healthcare system,” Fehrnstrom responded.
Professor Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia predicted that Romney could have a tough time ahead of him in making that distinction.
“Romney can expect his Republican rivals to use the ‘morphing ad’ first made famous in 1994 when the NRCC put out many ads with local congressman morphing into Bill Clinton as the narrator described their similar positions,” Sabato told TPMDC in an e-mail. “Obama’s face morphs into Romney’s as ObamaCare becomes RomneyCare in the ad. Expect Press Secretary Gibbs to make a guest appearance or two in these ads, citing Romney’s Massachusetts work as a precedent for ObamaCare. Gee, do you think Gibbs thought of this when he said all those good things about Romney? (Gibbs may want to demand royalties, so he should look into trademarking himself.) It’s obvious that the GOP base will not react well to the thought they might nominate an Obama-lite. If Romney’s opponents have the money and skill, this could be a devastating hit.
“The best defense is a good offense. Romney had better step up his efforts to distinguish his plan from Obama’s–which won’t be easy since there is considerable overlap. You can tell he knows this is a vulnerability since he is attacking ObamaCare intensely already. But Romney’s rivals will say he doth protest too much.”
Late Update: As Greg Sargent points out, Romney was on Larry King Live just last night, continuing to defend his health care plan in Massachusetts.
“I know some people say, gee, your Massachusetts health care plan isn’t conservative. I say oh, yes it is,” said Romney. “Because right now in this country, people that don’t have health insurance go to the hospital if they get a serious illness, and they get treated for free by government. My plan says no, they can’t do that. No more free riders. People have to take personal responsibility. I consider it a conservative plan.”
