Romney Says He Will Not Repeal All of Obamacare

Shocked? You shouldn’t be. He did champion the same Obamacare remedies in Massachusetts, and his advisers have been pushing him this way for months. Redstate.com has been reporting this for some time, and he doubled down on the idea in his Meet the Press interview Sunday, saying he would keep parts of Obamacare. Here is the transcript:

“Interviewer: On healthcare, you say that you would rescind the president’s healthcare plan on day one.  Does that mean that you’re prepared to say to Americans, young adults and those with pre-existing conditions, that they would no longer be guaranteed healthcare?

Romney:  Well, of course not.  I say we’re going to replace Obamacare.  And I’m replacing it with my own plan.  And, you know, even in Massachusetts where I was governor, our plan there deals with pre-existing conditions and with young people.  Everybody…

Interviewer:  So you’d keep that part of the federal plan?

Romney:  Well, I’m not getting rid of all of healthcare reform.  Of course, there are a number of things that I like in healthcare reform that I’m going to put in place.  One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage.  Two is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their– their family up to whatever age they might like.  I also want individuals to be able to buy insurance, health insurance, on their own as opposed to only being able to get it on a tax advantage basis through their company.”

Shikha Dalmia of reason.com provided one of the best explanations of why this would be the case months ago:

“The question is, can the GOP replace ObamaCare with sensible market-based reforms?

No.

Republicans are as loath as Democrats to eliminate the other poison pill in ObamaCare: forcing insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, something that a majority of Americans support. Indeed, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has declared that, on this issue, “Republicans share some of the same goals as Democrats.” But the odds of Romney defying the party leadership and embracing a politically unpopular position are roughly the same as Hamas embracing Israel. Ronald Reagan might have. But Romney?

The most likely scenario is that President Romney and congressional Republicans will end up fighting with Democrats to wangle bigger subsidies for insurance companies to help them fulfill the mandate—not the mandate itself. A Republican administration will thus become complicit in turning insurance companies into regulated public utilities receiving government money and protection in exchange for providing a government-mandated service. This is halfway to socialized medicine—something conservatives are allegedly against, remember?”

So why am I writing this?

Does it mean I want Obama to stay in office? Of course not. Obama is one of the worst Presidents in American history, and I’d love to see him gone.

But, and this is a big BUT on which I cannot be more clear – Romney is not the answer to our long term problems. DC is not the answer to our long term problems. Putting your faith in the men who were the architects of the current debacle will not fix our long term problems. In fact, putting your faith in a system that rewards people for self-preservation, special favors and the all-powerful god of re-election is not going to work at all.

Either we will build local electoral impact outside of the current system, unite around policies – not politicians and political parties, use federalism and state sovereignty as the means to stop the unending tyranny from DC and change the entire way politics is done in this country or the Republic as we know it will fade away.

The future of the country will not be determined by this election. It will be determined by a small, tireless minority of liberty loving people who change the system from the ground up. Don’t put your faith in Romney or any other man to be your knight in shining armor.

Freedom loving people must stop outsourcing their personal responsibilities to DC, national politicians and talking heads. If you haven’t looked in the mirror and changed the way you engage the system, how can you expect the system to do anything but offer more of the same?

Regardless of who wins the election, what will you do differently over the coming months to facilitate the real change needed in our Republic – a focus on policies and outcomes consistent with the philosophy of liberty. Do not give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it.