Posted on 12/11/2011 12:55:16 PM PST by Sub-Driver
Gingrich: Health Insurance Mandate 'Started As Conservative Effort to Stop Hillarycare' By Terence P. Jeffrey December 11, 2011
(CNSNews.com) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Saturday defended his previous support of a federal mandate requiring people to buy health insurance by saying that "virtually every conservative saw the mandate as a less dangerous future" than the health-care plan being advanced by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1993 and that the idea of mandating that people buy health insurance "started as a conservative effort to stop Hillarycare in the 1990s."
As recently as this May, Gingrich defended what he called a "variation" on the insurance mandate.
On Saturday, however, said: “It’s now clear that the mandate, I think, is clearly unconstitutional.”
Gingrich explained the evolution of his view on the individual mandate in a Republican presidential debate from Des Moines, Iowa, that was broadcast Saturday night on ABC.
"I just wanted to make one point that is historical,” Gingrich said in the debate. “In 1993, in fighting Hillarycare, virtually every conservative saw the mandate as a less dangerous future than what Hillary was trying to do. The Heritage Foundation was a major advocate of it. After Hillarycare disappeared, it became more and more obvious that mandates had all sorts of problems built in to them. People gradually tried to find other techniques. I frankly was floundering trying to find a way to make sure that people who could afford it were paying their hospital bills, while still leaving an out for libertarians to not buy insurance. And that’s what we were wrestling with. It’s now clear that the mandate, I think, is clearly unconstitutional. But is]t started as conservative effort to stop Hillarycare in the 1990s.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
The Obamacare mandate is a hybrid between the more-market-oriented sort of mandate that Heritage floated as an alternative to Hillarycare, and full-on socialized medicine. Call Obamacare “fascist medicine”: state-designed and regulated everything, still provided by a vestigial market.
The several states might well try various and sundry types of health-insurance mandates and some variant might “work”, though it is hardly a small-government classically liberal idea. A Federal mandate is unconstitutional on the face of it (and if SCOTUS finds otherwise, that’s an argument for a Constitutional amendment to force a strict construction of the commerce clause and all other enumerated powers provisions).
He offered a conservative solution to a liberal problem.
I’d like to see him offer a conservative solution to a conservative problem. Like the deficit for instance.
He will be soon for the mandate to defeat Paul Ryan reforms.
I don’t care where the idea came from, it’s still a horrible plan that will ruin healthcare.
Thankfully, Heritage has changed it’s position.
All of us, including conservative organizations, will make mistakes, but let’s stay away from the ones who make too many mistakes.
imo, Newt has made too many mistakes, but he is better than Romney, Paul or Huntsman.
I agree that many conservatives were in favor of a mandate in the early nineties, but there was nothing in Newt's proposal that limited the role of government. It expanded it to include policing the purchase of insurance or establishment of a bond.
Any attempts at either necessarily accuse everyone of being deadbeats who cannot be trusted to pay their debts.
HEY YOU! YEAH, Nanny-State Newt, YOU IDIOT!
A “Conservative” CONSERVES! What is being “conserved” when your jack-booted, Nanny-Government forces us at the point of the Federal Gun to buy some Medical Insurance, or anything else that you “mandate”, that we do not want!
Apologize for calling yourself a “Conservative” or drop out of this Primary Race!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW Newt, we simply can’t afford you, as we are TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY.
Well, the Left certainly took that and ran with it; didn’t they all the way to the bottom, of course, with their own little touches.
NAFTA was suppose to be a good idea too.
And did anyone notice how he tweaked his amnesty position? Now, he's for a "guest worker program." How original.
Thank You. Putting things into context makes a world of difference. :)
Gingrich stopped Hillarycare, how did the current pubbie leadership do with Obamacare.....?
Your memory is faulty. The mandate concept started at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. It’s well documented. Obama’s Justice Dept has even tried to use their past support to defend ObamaCare in court. In response, Heritage filed brief that the Justice Dept was misrepresenting its current viewpoint.
Gingrich already saying there are parts of ObamaCare he wants to keep.
Hillarycare was defused, no “Conservative” mandate ensued.
Seems like it was more a device than a goal
>> Gingrich already saying there are parts of ObamaCare he wants to keep
The index, cover pages, Medicare cuts? There are no specifics as far as I know.
“Fueled by the support from conservatives and the Tea Party, Gingrich is ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by nearly 20 points in South Carolina. The winner of that state’s primary has gone on to capture each GOP nomination since 1980.”
Read the entire post... it’s even worse than you think!!!!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2818986/posts
Come on folks, you need to work harder and faster, if you’re going to bring down Newt before the nomination votes begin in only 24 more days. To help Romney win the nomination, you’re going to have to push and push even harder.
>> “Gingrich is ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney”
>> Come on folks, you need to work harder and faster, if you’re going to bring down Newt before the nomination
Are you a Romney guy?
Very good point. Some folks here have a problem w/ reality. The fact is that Clinton was pretty popular, & even more convincing at the time. Ultimately, the individual mandate, as proposed by The Heritage Foundation, was never implemented, but it did serve it’s purpose in at least being a part of the defeat of Hillarycare.
The Heritage Foundation has long had some very, very bright CONSERVATIVE minds within it’s confines. They’re not RINO’s! They were looking for solutions just as Newt & others were. It turns out their ideas were off. They scrapped them & went a different direction. Bright minds do that, even Reagan.
With that being said, Newt has promised to repeal Obamacare & to not introduce an individual mandate. Does anything else really matter?
This made me laugh. Gingrich's defense is all smoke and mirrors. Appeal to authority, everybody was doing it. The FACT is he's no less flawed on this issue than Romney.
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