Romney is not going to get any traction whatsoever by arguing that the problem with the government-control of healthcare legislation before Congress is simply one of scale. It’s pretty clear to me that the real issue in the minds of the public is whether or not government should command such control at all over its citizens. When there is a revolt against one extreme, the shift is inevitably a dramatic one toward the opposite extreme, not baby-steps of retreat toward the middle, which is where Romney is unwisely seeking to position himself.
Romney certainly has the money and organizational acumen to make a legitimate presidential run, but he suffers from a distinctly tin ear when it comes to judging public sentiment. IMO, his only possible hope is to boldly come out and deem his MA healthcare program to have been a failed experiment. However, I doubt that he will do so - which is probably a good thing, because he is not the right man for either the times or the task at hand.
“Romney is not going to get any traction whatsoever by arguing that the problem with the government-control of healthcare legislation before Congress is simply one of scale. It’s pretty clear to me that the real issue in the minds of the public is whether or not government should command such control at all over its citizens. When there is a revolt against one extreme, the shift is inevitably a dramatic one toward the opposite extreme, not baby-steps of retreat toward the middle, which is where Romney is unwisely seeking to position himself”
This is true. But to be fair to Romney, most of the opposition has focussed on Public Option aka single-payer Trojan Horse, not on the mandates aspect of it.
RomneyCare in Mass is built around an insurance mandate. McCain if you recall in 2008 went after Romney on mandates. Are people revolting against mandates as well? Will they oppose that part of ObamaCare as strongly as the public option?
“IMO, his only possible hope is to boldly come out and deem his MA healthcare program to have been a failed experiment.” Perhaps but it may be a flip-flop too far. He can certainly point out how ObamaCare is different from what he did in Mass.
The bottom-line is this though: We should oppose mandates. Mandates force people into insurance and set up a system tailor-made for bureaucratic control. Romney’s support for mandates needs to change or he needs to be put on the discard pile for 2012.