OFFICIAL SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY THREAD

[vikingd00d]

Today is the day.

[Antoninus]

It sounds like you believe that magic fairies pay for all the uninsured people that show up to be treated, then skip out on their bills.

People will STILL do this under RomneyCare. The people that get punished will be those who are young and don't feel the need to carry health coverage for doctor visits they never go to. And most of them will be smart enough to just leave the state and find a job somewhere else, exacerbating the brain-drain already afflicting MA.

Now be honest--do you think the illegals in MA will 1.) carry health insurance? 2.) pay the fine? 3.) still get treated anyway?

RomneyCare will make a bad situation even worse--particularly with the Democrats in control. You watch.

[athelass]

I'd take McCain in a serious nose-holder. At least he's honest when he disagrees with conservatives. Romney will stab us in the back while pretending to be our friend the entire time and make the GOP even more liberal on an institutional level--just like he did in Massachusetts.

That's funny. I see it exactly the opposite. McCain has already proven beyond a doubt that he agrees more with the Democrats. He votes with the Democrats, he talks like the Democrats, he's campaigning with Democrats, he hates us evangelicals, and he dismisses the folks as racists. He's out there with Joe Leiberman and Lindsay Graham! He's not even trying to get the conservative vote. I don't see anything in Romney's record or attitude that makes me worry he'll swerve left.

[STARWISE]

Looked very unseemly and dark. Strange.

[nicmarlo]

do you think the illegals in MA will 1.) carry health insurance? 2.) pay the fine? 3.) still get treated anyway?

No, No, and Yes...in that order.

[Antoninus]

Did you read what you just wrote? Do you WANT "republicans" to win because they are liberal? Don't you realise that the problem with "republicans" in Mass. is that they got too liberal? How was Romney going to help them with THAT?

Uh, the way a governor normally does (or should do)--appointing solid conservatives to party posts in the state and supporting them in local elections around the state. If Flip did that, he did it really, really poorly. He spent most of his time pandering to the liberal pressure groups. As a result, the GOP in MA is practically defunct.

Hey, I watched the same thing happen here in NJ, too, where the state GOP routinely cuts the legs out from conservative Republican candidates. It's the game plan, apparently, and now it's being taken national.

I urge you not to help them do it.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Mitt Romney is a conservative.

Oddly, Rush Limbaugh himself believes that Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are the two on OUR side of the chasm, with Huck and McCain completely unacceptable.

And I heard Levin put Thompson and Romney on this side of the chasm, and I believe he was willing to be stuck with Rudy, but again thought Huck and McCain were unacceptable.

And Ann Coulter thinks Mitt Romney is the best man we have for President, and she is not a fan of Huckabee or McCain.

I don’t think you’ll hear Laura Ingraham making any endorsements for McCain or Huckabee either.

At some point I hope that people will realise that their fear of a false conversion for Mitt is misplaced, or at least is less of a fear than the real danger of a democrat president replacing 2-3 supreme court justices with 50-year-olds that will be there for 30 years.

Because whatever FEAR you have about what Romney MIGHT do, I can GUARANTEE you that Hillary or Obama WILL do far worse.

As Ann said, even if the mitt-haters are completely right, at worst we get a moderate republican who understands economics and knows how to lead.

And that is loads better than a democrat in the race now.

[Shortstop7]

Thanks a bunch.

[Chuck54]

I'll take any Republican nominee, some in a very serious nose-holder position.

My one exception is The Huckster. I am so happy he lost tonight and was willing for any of the other 4 to beat him, yes even Crazy Mac.

The Huckster is the only guy who would make me write-in a candidate.

[La Enchiladita]

This was one....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1956204/posts?q=1&;page=1#1

And there is commentary all over the place...:)

[athelass]

I’m not nearly as worried about Romney’s plan for health care as I am about Hillary Care. If he is elected he won’t be able to get it through a Democratically controlled or 50/50 (if we’re really lucky) Congress. If she is elected, she will. For me it’s a non-issue, like Huckabee’s Fair Tax which would require a Constitutional Amendment. Not going to happen. Ever.

[Technocrat]

I agree that there will still be a problem, however, it will be at worst half the size of the previous problem. Now Romney wants to let all the states experiment - let’s see if anyone can come up with a better solution.

[rintense]

Maybe that’s the story the NYT killed- McCain’s cancer has returned.

[STARWISE]

If historians are honest 30 years from now,
they will write what I know now:

that we’ve been blessed to have his courage,
personal decency and integrity and conviction
in these dangerous and life-altering times.

He said he would bring honor and dignity back
to the White House, and he did.

How he endures the personal viciousness and
venom slung by so many is unbelievable. Yet,
he goes out with grace and optimism each day,
and he does that carrying the burden of knowing
every morning what the savage beasts are plotting
against us and our allies and trying to juggle
fending off terror and all the other presidential
duties and decisions.

God bless and protect him.

[TAdams8591]

"Of course you realize that this is just another stop on the express to full state-sponsored socialized medicine."

The plan Mass. HAD was full state sponsored socialized medicine that the taxpayers were FORCE/COERCED into paying. Romney's market based plan is steps away from the socialized medicine, the Mass. taxpayers were forced to fund, and a step toward the ultimate goal, private health insurance accounts.

[Chuck54]

Because whatever FEAR you have about what Romney MIGHT do, I can GUARANTEE you that Hillary or Obama WILL do far worse.

Amen!

[Antoninus]

As Ann said, even if the mitt-haters are completely right, at worst we get a moderate republican who understands economics and knows how to lead.

But she's wrong. The worst we get is the situation we have here in NJ after a Romney presidency--a Republican party that's not functionally conservative anymore, and that actually punishes conservative candidates. And 20+ solid years of uninterrupted Democrat rule.

Heck, based on how things are looking right now, we might get that after the Bush presidency. Bush's presidency has been murder on the GOP and on conservative Republicans in particular.

[exhaustedmomma]

Here is where I question Romney's walk: His great great-granddad left the USA with his 5 wives and herd of kids because polygamy was against the law. Somehow, his dad and mom relocated back in the states. Give me bonifide proof it wasn't an illegal crossing and I'll consider the talk as a walk. Otherwise, we have an anchor baby strongly running for POTUS. Yeah, pop was a Mexican. Not the "kind" we are "use" to saying are illegals here. But born in Mexico all the same.

Hell no. He isn't walking the talk.

[Chuck54]

Good post and I heartily agree.

[Antoninus]

Romney's market based plan is steps away from the socialized medicine, the Mass. taxpayers were forced to fund, and a step toward the ultimate goal, private health insurance accounts.

You keep believing that. I'll bookmark this post for the day when MA goes to full socialized medicine.

[nicmarlo]

I think I’ll hedge my bet on Antoninus’ predictions. It seems more accurate a scenario.