Mitt Shouldn't Run from Romneycare
An article in Politico reports that some conservatives are suggesting that Mitt Romney apologize for the Massachusetts healthcare plan he implemented as governor and in particular for the individual mandate.
From a constitutional standpoint, the Massachusetts statewide health insurance requirement no more infringes on a person’s rights than requiring drivers to purchase car insurance. The Massachusetts legislation was obviously flawed (something for which Romney’s Democratic successor and Democratic legislature deserve a significant share of blame, but for Romney to walk away from his greatest accomplishment would resuscitate the meme that hindered his candidacy in 2008: That his desire to get elected leads to vacillation and pandering.
Not all Republican voters are in search of a Glenn Beck proxy. A good number of us might appreciate a leader capable of articulating a position with specificity and nuance. The Massachusetts plan signed by Romney was never intended to serve as a blueprint for a nationalized healthcare system. Yet here we have Republicans demanding that a former governor apologize for solving a problem within his state, within the limits created by the political realities of a Democratic controlled legislature.
The claim that the current wave of conservative "leadership" is looking to return to the Republican Party's principles is false. Rather, it is looking to impose its own single unifying standard: If the Jim DeMints won’t support it, it isn’t acceptable. These conservatives aren't necessarily opposed to mandates—in issuing marching orders to the Republican Party, they’re perfectly fine with plenty of their own.