Massachusetts: the laboratory for ObamaCare
posted at 4:30 pm on August 29, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Earlier this month, we used DirigoChoice in Maine as an example of the disaster a public-plan health-care reform can generate. Cato Institute looks a little farther down the coast to Massachusetts, where the state began its own health-care reform complete with individual mandates and a government plan. Cato calls it an “almost perfect” mirror of ObamaCare, complete with promises of reducing cost and extending care — that failed in both respects:
Massachusetts reduced its uninsured population by two-thirds — yet the cost would be considered staggering, had state officials not done such a good job of hiding it. Finally, Massachusetts shows where “ObamaCare” would ultimately lead: Officials are already laying the groundwork for government rationing.
The most sweeping provision in the Massachusetts reforms — and the legislation before Congress — is an “individual mandate” that makes health insurance compulsory. Massachusetts shows that such a mandate would oust millions from their low-cost health plans and force them to pay higher premiums. …
In the three years since Massachusetts enacted its individual mandate, providers successfully lobbied to require 16 specific types of coverage under the mandate: prescription drugs, preventive care, diabetes self-management, drug-abuse treatment, early intervention for autism, hospice care, hormone replacement therapy, non-in-vitro fertility services, orthotics, prosthetics, telemedicine, testicular cancer, lay midwives, nurses, nurse practitioners and pediatric specialists.
The Massachusetts Legislature is considering more than 70 additional requirements.
This might be a good point to revisit another example of government-run care, in Oregon, where the government has a nifty way of determining medical priorities — it has politicians decide them. The Independence Institute had some fun with this:
Let’s get back to Massachusetts, though. What was the net result of government control and individual mandates? An explosion in costs:
“The effect,” writes the Boston Globe, “has been to provide more comprehensive insurance than in most other states but also to raise costs.” Premiums are growing 21 to 46 percent faster than the national average, in part because Massachusetts’ individual mandate has effectively outlawed affordable health plans.
In part, that comes from the same reason it costs more than three times as much for a healthy, 30-year-old single male in Maine to get insurance than it would if he crossed the border into New Hampshire. Massachusetts also imposed must-insure and community-ratings laws on insurers, which means that premiums skyrocketed to cover the risks in the pool:
Massachusetts long ago adopted another feature of the Obama plan: price controls that prohibit insurers from varying premiums based on a purchaser’s health status. Those price controls further increase premiums for the young and healthy.
They also eliminate comprehensive health plans. Obama adviser David Cutler found that in Harvard University’s price-controlled health insurance exchange, “adverse selection” or the attraction of the sickest patients caused premiums for the most comprehensive plan to rise until insurers eventually canceled it. Those price controls also encourage insurers to avoid the sick. And who can blame them, considering that the government is forcing them to sell a $50,000 policy for just $10,000?
One way insurers can avoid the $50,000 patients is to drop benefits those customers find attractive. Shelby Rogers is a 12-year-old girl with spinal muscular atrophy, whose parents chose an Aetna plan through the price-controlled health insurance exchange for federal workers. Last year, Aetna announced it would drop coverage for Shelby’s 12-hour-a-day nurse, who, among other things, helps Shelby avoid bedsores by turning her over at night. An Aetna spokesman explained the reason was to avoid offering a benefit that causes the sickest patients to flock to the plan.
ObamaCare advocates scoff at the notion that public plans and mandates will drive private insurers out of business, but that’s the direction Massachusetts has taken. The rapidly rising costs have prompted the commonwealth to begin considering care rationing. The state legislature has begun working on a policy of “evidence-based purchasing strategies” to keep costs down, but which will allow Massachusetts to deny care based on bureaucratic decisions of comparative effectiveness. Politicians will start making life-and-death decisions instead of patients and doctors.
And for all of that, what has been the fiscal cost? Massachusetts now spends $2.1 billion a year (and rising) – but you won’t find the state acknowledging that number. They claim it to be $88 million, as they shunt off most of the costs into budgetary devices intended to hide the true costs of its program.
It’s a disaster that even Massachusetts voters have begun to recognize. Hopefully, so will the rest of the nation.
Blowback
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Why would Obama LIE to the American people ED?
originalpechanga on August 29, 2009 at 4:35 PM
b..b..b..but, but they’re so smart up there in Massachusetts. John Kerry said so and harvard is there so they MUST know what they’re doing….right?…
ted c on August 29, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Romney is done.
promachus on August 29, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Our Tribe, the Pechanga Band Of Luiseno Mission Indians in CA promised the people of California, that if they got casinos, the tribe would take care of us, including medical.
Well, they did give us medical, and then, when the money started rolling in, the ELIMINATED 25% of the tribe, thus cutting medical benefits.
The tribal leader was one of Obama’s people. That’s what we have to look forward to. Now, many of the tribe are back on government assistance and health care. Primarily elders.
originalpechanga on August 29, 2009 at 4:38 PM
You know who this benefits?
Mitt Romney…………..oh wait.
Techie on August 29, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Makes sense to me that they’d name this monstrosity after Ted Kennedy.
Dee2008 on August 29, 2009 at 4:40 PM
I heard Romney pimping the success of this program on Hannitys radio show. He stands by the 88 million number and scoffs at the 2.1 billion. Hannity didn’t challenge him at all.
It looks like they’re going to leave it up to Palin to take him down.
Lonetown on August 29, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Maybe Romney SHOULD run for Ted Kennedy’s seat after all.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on August 29, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Mitt’s theory of a government compelling “subjects” to insure themselves failed to consider the inherent inefficiencies and corruption of political systems (including the constant push for new mandated coverage, recognition of new professions, union protections, limits on approved treatments and worse). He missed a big issue: freedom. Big whoops.
clorensen on August 29, 2009 at 4:53 PM
OK, the left has had their day and paid tribute to their icon. Now, work must resume with even greater vigor and resolve to stop Obama’s socialist healthcare manifesto and move it forever to the legislative garbage pile. If Ted Kennedy had been under the Obama plan he would have been given his “end of life counseling” and sent home to die months ago. Liberal Democrats are unbelievable hypocrites.
rplat on August 29, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Perfect case for federalism. If one or two of the states want to experiment with something new, that’s cool because when they bung it up they don’t drag the whole nation down. Too bad Obama doesn’t realize that the nation is too big to be his laboratory.
Dead Hand Control on August 29, 2009 at 4:55 PM
It just shows that even rino lite healthcare reform doesnt work. If anyone running in 2012 doesnt slam Mitt’s Mistake then the GOP will deserve Romnebama.
William Amos on August 29, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Ah, the success of another 5 year plan! Sure, it’s early, but you just KNOW every 5 year plan is ultimately successful.
Just a few more comrades. Just a few…
karl9000 on August 29, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Aside from the primary (but trivial to Democrats) issues — Constitutionality, for example — has anyone ever heard of a single government-run program of any kind that is more efficient and cost-effective than a private-sector equivalent?
There’s no doubt in my mind that healthcare providers, like banks and investment firms, need to be regulated. But that assumes a government not bent on establishing a totalitarian state run by (who else?) those currently in power.
Slightly O/T but relevant, I think: I see daily news stories about banks being seized and handed over to other banks. I’ve never heard of most of the banks taking over the “failed” banks’ assets.
I’m not well-educated in the world of banking, but I have to wonder, and would like to know, what sort of public oversight ensures that the upheavals in the banking system are legitimate, honest, and not designed to benefit political cronies.
A very suspicious mind wants to know….
MrScribbler on August 29, 2009 at 5:02 PM
All those criticisms in the Boston Globe and elsewhere on the Left are purely racist. The Left is co-opted by the vast right-wing conspiracy!
Political purity has been sullied!
/sarc
Liam on August 29, 2009 at 5:03 PM
You sir, shall have “head of the line” priveledges at the re-education camps.
BobMbx on August 29, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Yes, I have been writing about this:
I think Mitt Romney needs a brain scan
http://www.redstate.com/izoneguy/2009/07/31/i-think-mitt-romney-needs-a-brain-scan/
izoneguy on August 29, 2009 at 5:07 PM
My biggest complaint during this debate, and the issue fueling the town hall outrage, is the fact that the people pushing for state seizure of the healthcare system refuse to be honest about what the consequences are. Yes, people will be paying more for inadequate services and there isn’t a chance in hell that private insurance can compete effectively when the state-sponsored competition has unlimited funds and no-interest/no-term borrowing capacity.
And yet through it all the filthy liar in the White House and his corrupt party are more full of lies than the way Teddy Kennedy has been passed off as a decent human being this week.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:07 PM
And state run healthcare did not work in Tessessee, Maine, or Hawaii (children)….
Here is what does work:
Tort Reform Spurs Economic Growth; Aids Access to Healthcare
http://www.redstate.com/izoneguy/2009/08/27/tort-reform-spurs-economic-growth-aids-access-to-healthcare/
izoneguy on August 29, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Come on Mitt, man up to the lousy crap you forced on the Peoples Republic of Taxachusetts.
Wade on August 29, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Romney is finished.
Also, Romneycare is the guinea pig that proves Obamacare would be a national disaster.
You can’t legislate utopia, and yet the Left still thinks you can.
Sapwolf on August 29, 2009 at 5:10 PM
It’s classic strategy. Take over the banking system, the healthcare system (20% of the economy), and as much other stuff as you can. Institute laws that squelches the media from dissenting………
It worked for Hilter and it will work for the filthy liar in the White House if Americans remain passive and think that the rat bastard traitor couldn’t possibly be that “ambitious.”
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:11 PM
I don’t care what the Polls predict or currently say – Romney is dead in the water after RomneyCare flopped. The only strong ones out there are Sarah and Rick Perry (Texas) – with Liz Cheney as top advisor. Wow what a team that would be!
Cinday Blackburn on August 29, 2009 at 5:12 PM
Okay, allow me to join the Romney pile-on.
After promoting and signing this travesty as governor, I’m still amazed he pulls out a lead in staw polling at conservative organizations. A true Wiskey-Tango-Foxtrot for me. I hear plenty of conservatives bagging on Huckabee for some of his foolishness as governor, but he never did anything as whacky as that.
Machete_Bug on August 29, 2009 at 5:12 PM
…which is why, as a resident of the Bay State, I pay my $1068 annual fine for not having “adequate” Massachusetts insurance and drive to Rhode Island for my health care.
Oh, and if you EVER think of voting for Mitt Romney for ANY office, please hit yourself in the head with a hammer until that thought goes away. Thanks.
DarthBrooks on August 29, 2009 at 5:13 PM
I like Mitt, but b/c this became such a huge issue, he just can’t be the 2012 candidate. As much as I hate to give any praise to Democrats, Howard Dean did put his party first when he let go of his own presidential dreams to try and make the Democrats competitive in all 50 states – and he was for the most part successful. Mitt would do well to consider whether God sometimes says no, and the country needs him badly, just not in the way he had in mind.
Simona on August 29, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Hmm.
Ed wrote this story, not Allah….
Hmmm…
Hmmmm….
Lanceman on August 29, 2009 at 5:16 PM
What about Jim DeMint? I’m always impressed with him and he seems to always be on the right side of the issues. Seriously what do yall think, why is he not being talked about on the short list?
Simona on August 29, 2009 at 5:17 PM
testing
Dr Evil on August 29, 2009 at 5:18 PM
Since 2005, New York’s Rep. Charlie Rangel has tacked $2 million dollars per year onto Darpa’s budget for the Museum’s Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics. It’s one of three projects Rangel sponsors at the landmark museum on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The Institute isn’t known for its military expertise; instead, it studies the history of evolutionary biology and genetic adaptation. But with Rangel’s backing, the Institute has been working to create a predictive algorithm for modern pandemics, using data on how viral influenzas morph and spread. Last year, the researchers there published a Google Maps-like tool to visualize how Bird Flu became a worldwide terror. Institute Director George Amato says the organization applied for federal dollars because the project “can be applied to society as a whole, unlike other research we do.”
nondhimmie on August 29, 2009 at 5:20 PM
“Gentleman,” (raises glass)”To Evil..”
Lanceman on August 29, 2009 at 5:21 PM
And YET people wonder where MITT is on the healthcare debate and why he is AWOL
can you hear us now Mitt?
unseen on August 29, 2009 at 5:23 PM
So true. All my relatives in Tennessee can fill your ear with a whole bunch of how bad TennCare is. Whew. What a disaster!
marybel on August 29, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Romney does a good job of explaining what the legislature did to the bill. It doesn’t earn him a complete pass but I’m sick of Romney-haters use this as the sole reason to attack him. On balance, Huckabee has much more to answer for and I’d rather have somebody with business experience in the Presidency than the effing street thug we’ve got or the cranky old liberal that the GOP elite engineered to run in 2008.
In short, for all his flaws I still support Romney over the other supposed short listers. I really support Bobby Jindal but there are too many closed minds in the GOP to make him a viable candidate.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:25 PM
Rush and company have been kicking this around on talk radio, that the high cost of insurance has do to the governements, both state and federal, mandates on what has to be covered in the policies. Another topic they discussed is the current convoluted idea of health insurance which should really be simple ‘risk’ insurance, insurance against catastrophic loss do to critical health problems. You remove all the common office visit stuff that most people can afford and the government mandates from insurance policy requirements and one would anticipate more insurance choices with smaller premiums.
Hannity pointed out that ‘health’ insurance should be no different that auto insurance where the insured can determine how much and what coverage they want.
docdave on August 29, 2009 at 5:25 PM
White Southern male. Like Jindal (for other reasons) the GOP elite is myopic.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:27 PM
But that isn’t the way Obamacare works. To use the auto insurance analogy, it is like mandating coverage for your car that includes oil changes, wiper replacement, and regular washes. All paid for by eliminating “inefficiencies” in the auto insurance industry with a state-run option to get those oil changes paid for cheaper.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Come on people, next time the roar will be for a true black, meaning a black with slave blood.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Sarah maybe
Rick Perry? Not a chance.
Upstater85 on August 29, 2009 at 5:34 PM
I disagree. The next roar will be for a gal’s chance to run the country. Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Although needed in the Senate, it would be interesting to see him on a ticket of some sort.
Upstater85 on August 29, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Don’t expect Hannity to be hard-hitting. I heard the interview too and I had to laugh. I don’t know how Hannity or anyone who is a so called “conservative” can support Romney.
I would love to hear Glenn Beck interview Romney on his health care debacle in Massachusetts. Of course, I don’t expect Mitt to be on Beck’s show since Glenn did not mince words on how idiotic Mitt’s plan is.
cubachi on August 29, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Bachman and Pawlenty are definite dark horses.
docdave on August 29, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Or a real communist.
ROCnPhilly on August 29, 2009 at 5:37 PM
No way that’s gonna happen. Lots of the older,
male Democrats in places like NC will NEVER
vote for a woman.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 5:38 PM
I can’t tell you the who at this point but one thing is certain. It will be a Washington outsider. There is good and bad that comes from that. The biggest asset is to find somebody who can build a team that includes those who know the workings inside the Beltway. GWB did a pretty good job. The filthy liar in the White House who brought his entire team from Chicago- not so much.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:38 PM
At one time, I thought such statements were over-inflated. That was until the year I lived in Alabama and found my decidedly right-of-center views deemed liberal.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:41 PM
Check out the Boston Herald. It may have been Howie Carr, the political columnist there. The bureaucracy at the new dept administering the medical plan is insane. The PR dept has at least 10 people with various titles each making 100k+.
Rich on August 29, 2009 at 5:42 PM
Eh, well this sounds familiar…
Upstater85 on August 29, 2009 at 5:42 PM
Pelosi comes pretty damned close but I hear ya. I’m curious if the filthy liar in the White House and his spouse have the same understanding as Bill and Hillary Clinton. The filthy liar does eight years and hands over power to the first whore. She’s even more of a white-hating racist than the rat bastard traitor in office.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Apparently that is money well spent.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Many of the older ones in my home state have it so backwards in their beliefs about D’s and R’s.
My 81 father who is basically bedridden told me just recently that if he could walk he would switch to R.
Told him how I could make it happen, but he is not quite ready I suppose. Still working on him and getting close.
My mother-in-law comes next. If OCare passes with abortion
rights, she will switch I’m sure. Then I have to work on
my brother and sister-in-law who believe in the union way. Much harder job but, they’re getting older and older by the day.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Call the MA plan what is it: Romneycare.
Between the enormous cost of Romneycare, and the 40% tax shortfall this year, MA is just behind CA in the bankruptcy parade. Everywhere you go, you see empty storefronts and “for sale” signs on the houses.
Including mine. Is there still room in Texas?
Rebar on August 29, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Well, not so long ago it would have been said they would NEVER vote for a black man, either.
ddrintn on August 29, 2009 at 5:51 PM
He probably did make such a contract, but it’s just a contract, right? I mean, we’ve seen how he treats contracts…
Besides, he’s looking to be a single-termer.
ROCnPhilly on August 29, 2009 at 5:53 PM
I know, but a man was better that a woman. Actually,
my mother-in-law said many of them said they would not vote at all given the choices.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Like TennCare.
ddrintn on August 29, 2009 at 5:57 PM
^ But for different reasons, of course. The programs were different.
ddrintn on August 29, 2009 at 5:59 PM
Why not write in or vote third party?
Upstater85 on August 29, 2009 at 6:00 PM
“Cause their daddy would roll over in his grave if they didn’t vote Democrat.”
Haha hehe…BUT a real quote.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 6:03 PM
Their loss.
Upstater85 on August 29, 2009 at 6:06 PM
He may become a single-termer but that isn’t his intent and until the moving van is sending the street thug back to Chicago, we can’t let our guard down.
I want the President to fail. I’m unashamed to say so despite the fools on this sight who attacked me to the point I sarted calling the President a filthy liar. Wonder if these morons are still so dogmatic in ensuring the rat bastard traitor succeeds.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 6:06 PM
Bawwwaaahaaaahaaaahaaa! Thanks for that. I needed to get it in perspective.
MikeA on August 29, 2009 at 6:07 PM
Yes, there is much to be done on so many levels and
the hits keep coming daily.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 6:08 PM
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20090806health_care_agencys_payroll_bloated_staff_salary_has_ballooned_since_inception/srvc=home&position=0
One of the best things I ever did was leave that state.
venividivici on August 29, 2009 at 6:08 PM
“When former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin whipped people into a frenzy over “death panels,” she was warning not only against a proposal for end-of-life counseling but plans that would make it easier for Medicare to use its existing power to try to ration care to the elderly and disabled.”
Housewife extraordinaire.
the_nile on August 29, 2009 at 6:08 PM
Oh please, no more experimenting, let’s get back to what works, white guys.
Jeff from WI on August 29, 2009 at 6:09 PM
Not worth the effort. I know perfectly wonderful union people who have all the same views as I do but they will not vote against the way they’ve been told by the union. They don’t like doing it but they won’t be disobedient. My only hope is that this is their public persona and when they actually get into the voting booth they vote the way they want to.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Jeff from WI on August 29, 2009 at 6:09 PM
I so want to make a childish smiley face as a reply.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 6:11 PM
I’m from Mass. and watched as Romney “worked with” the Legislature to pass this Rube Goldberg, statist plan, I wasn’t very keen on Mitt to start, but in MA, you take what you can get. However, I knew he offered nothing for national leadership. Mitt was keen for something to run for President on, and this monstrosity was his big item. He tried to cover himself, by spreading the wealth around to groups like Heritage, but this is his ugly stepchild. A disaster and he can’t run away from it.
wraithby on August 29, 2009 at 6:13 PM
And there it is..
Jeff, this one may be your best one yet. Topped only by “what do women know about the oil industry besides filling their gas tanks up”. (I paraphrase, but give you the gist).
I shall affectionately refer to you as Archie Bunker from here on out. :) You do make me laugh!
sherry on August 29, 2009 at 6:15 PM
Not worth the effort is probably right because this guy loves Al Gore. Yet, I still want to send them Tea Party
info in their home town of Spokane. Building my courage
to totally tick them off.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 6:15 PM
Oh no , it’s perfect for the new more moderate and inclusive GOP…
the_nile on August 29, 2009 at 6:16 PM
Because that’s a wasted vote. We are fundamentally a two party system and I like that. Far better than coalition governments that gain power by making deals with many different interests. It is far better to force the politicians to define themselves as Republican or Democrat and deal with the specifics of those terms than to have Presidential candidates have to amass the support of the green/vegan/eco-friendly parties.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 6:18 PM
OK we are told that Romney is fatally flawed. We have been told how Huckabee is fatally flawed and the Left and Moderates constantly prate on about how Palin is fatally flawed. Remember how in 2007 we heard over and over how Obama could not win? How could you be more flawed than a guy with no executive experience who was wrong on the surge and whose pals were not just communists but actual terrorists? Yet he won. No one is fatally flawed at this point, three years ahead of the election.
(Now for you guys who say Rudy’s personal life is a fatal flaw, read the paragraph above.)
KW64 on August 29, 2009 at 6:18 PM
I’m not seeing it. Mrs. Dear Leader has no heart or need for public service, it was a convenient political platform. After they drag her kicking and screaming from the WH back to Chicago and she tones down her bitterness, I am sure she will be booked for high-dollar speeches domestically and internationally as the First African American First Lady. There will be book deals and anything else she can squeeze out of our capitalist system. Plus she has a very poor work ethic, couldn’t even show up two days in a row for her job here in Chicago.
sherry on August 29, 2009 at 6:20 PM
Helping people , and their health, by bankrupting them, their states, and country. Gotta love the government! NOT!!!
capejasmine on August 29, 2009 at 6:21 PM
I like your style and admire your efforts.
I can also relate. My youngest brother lives in NYC. Despite his upbringing he is a complete liberal to the point that he defends the filthy liar in the White House when it comes to Obamacare. I slayed him in debate a couple of weeks ago at a family event but it didn’t matter. He’s adopted a completely different agenda than I have (and most of the family). The only thing to do is to keep challenging even though most of it is probably wasted effort.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 6:30 PM
B-b-but… lil’ Max Allen Kennedy prayed for it!
Jim Treacher on August 29, 2009 at 6:31 PM
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 6:37 PM
ROFLMAO!!!
capejasmine on August 29, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Many people on this site, Hannity, Rush, Laura all endorsed Romney and dissed people like Huckabee and McCain. What Romney did and what Obama wants are not exactly the same, but this should be a wake up call to all the people who for some reason supported the suddenly conservative Romney.
arizonateacher on August 29, 2009 at 6:44 PM
I am glad that HotAir readers are quick to point out Romney’s role in Messachussets health care “reform” – it is amazing that Ed does not even mention his role in this fiasco.
Here’s a thought experiment – if you are a conservative and dont follow Massachussetts politics at all and were told that a MA Governor mandated health insurance on every individual, you would most probably shudder at the Dirty Socialist Democrat Governor who did this… until you realize that it was a so called conservative Republican who allowed for this nonsense to happen.. and worse went on to run for Prez !
I have no respect for Huckabee and yet Romney turns out to be EVEN WORSE.
I dont hate Romney and he is not without talent/experience – but the health insurance mandate that he was a willinng accomplice to shows that he is no different than any MA Democrat.
Not to mention his sudden and transparent flip flop on abortion and suddenly becoming an NRA member… who is he trying to fool ?
nagee76 on August 29, 2009 at 6:48 PM
What? As opposed to the socialism of Huckabee or the Democrat-lite agenda of John Macain?
There is no such thing as a zero sum candidate.
highhopes on August 29, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Dr. Charles G. Waugh on August 29, 2009 at 6:52 PM
Many people on this site, Hannity, Rush, Laura all endorsed Romney and dissed people like Huckabee and McCain.
Romney was the establishment candidate approved by DC and Beltway Republicans… so he got the support from the usual partisans… and of course every one hated McCain..
But with McCain out of the way, it will not be easy to blindly support Romney this time. Palin is not going to rin IMHO. Ditto Jindal.. Sanford effectively killed his chances with the affair.
This leaves us with Huckabee , Pawlenty and possibly Rick Perry.. but a Texan Republican will be a toxic label for quite some time to middle of the road voters..
So, its going to be Tim Pawlenty, who i might add is not a bad choice and if necessary can be the fall guy in 2012 if a majority of people in this Republic are dumb enough to give a socialist like Obama a second chance.
nagee76 on August 29, 2009 at 6:53 PM
Are you a ‘government school’ teacher?
‘Cause I don’t remember Rush endorsing anyone.
Lanceman on August 29, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Rush didn’t endorse anyone.
Huck is getting heavier by the week.
He must be stressed-out about someone/something.
spacewife on August 29, 2009 at 6:58 PM
William Amos on August 29, 2009 at 7:12 PM
What you people are attacking is DevalCare. It is a total perversion of the concept of people should be required to carry health insurance so that the cost of caring for them is not dumped onto others. However, it does point out the danger of any concept evolving (devolving) into a monster, courtesy of government ( especially a lefty state legislature like Massachusetts) involvement. Romney may be criticized for opening a Pandora Box in a state where there is one party control of the legislature. But the problem of how people and the nation as a whole will pay for health care ultimately has to to addressed at some point. It is easy to attack everything, does anyone here actually has any inkling of how this looming problem will be solved? There is an aging population. Employment based system is not available to people working in small businesses, and it had bankrupted the Auto companies.
bayview on August 29, 2009 at 7:14 PM
And your solution is?? Admit it, there is no perfect solution at least in the real world. However, giving government absolute control is the worse possible solution. The best solutions always come from the free market with minimal government interference. If government has a role it should be to provide incentives to help encourage free market solutions.
docdave on August 29, 2009 at 7:31 PM
Put a fork in Romney, he is done.
The disaster AKA “RomneyCare” will only get worse. What supposedly is Romney’s signature achievement as governor is turning out to be a socialist hellhole.
Norwegian on August 29, 2009 at 7:38 PM
Romney’s done as far as I’m concerned. Too bad, I really like him, but his covering for this is, for me, fatal.
You know, if he’d said “Jeez, that health care thing I did as Guv, well, it stinks, and I now know that all the government can do is fork things up, so I would roll federal government back to the barest essentials”, I may be OK.
mr.blacksheep on August 29, 2009 at 7:53 PM
According to PPP Romney’s numbers among Republicans across-the-board have plateaued or cratered in the past 2 months. Could Romneycare be a factor is his drop?
Perhaps the better question his how resilient is Romney and can he rebound?
I would not say this early out that Romney is toast but I will reiterate I cannot see a scenario where Romney could win a one-on-one matchup with Sarah Palin. Because of past animosity I can’t see the majority of Huckabee’s supporters going over to Romney if Huck drops out.
technopeasant on August 29, 2009 at 7:53 PM
I have no solution of my own. I am only a working stiff who pay my tax, my share of the health care cost and the health care, housing, food of a growing number of people, I do think how to provide for health care for the nation and the people need to be addressed. I believe in free market, but has it offered up a solution for this problem ? If it had, there would be no need and no pressure to bring forth any change. My health insurance I got through my job is good, but the premium is VERY expensive. If one lost his/her job, they would be hard pressed to up with the money to pay. Does the present health insurance plans have a solution for the like of Sheila Rogers?
I do fear government involvement, especially those monstrosity the would have been brought about by the Democrat politicians like Barry, Pelosi, Barney Frank and Harry Reid. But I think some of the attacks here on Romney had been unfair. The present debacle in Massachusetts rests squarely on Devolve and the out of control state legislature.
bayview on August 29, 2009 at 7:55 PM
Not sure I agree with many of your premises. For example, the UAW sucked enough dough out of the auto makers that they could have provided for a reasonable selection of medical benefits for their members/retirees had they been prudent. But they weren’t, so they get what they got. I feel no pity for them, and I’d be pretty cheesed off if I ended up paying for their malfeasance.
People have to wise up and make provision for their own care, and not think they’re entitled to have others pay for them. I point to the well-known examples of laser eye surgery and cosmetic surgery: prices keep dropping and the product just keeps getting better. Wny? No government involvement, and no “insurance”. You pay for it yourself. I have yet to hear a rational argument why the same principles wouldn’t apply to, for example, heart surgery.
Buy coverage for catastrophic illnesses, accidents etc., and pay for everything else yourself on a high-deductible plan. It’s affordable, and you end up being careful about the cost.
mr.blacksheep on August 29, 2009 at 8:02 PM
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