Fueling speculation that she is actively courting a vice presidential nomination from the perceived 2012 GOP frontrunner, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley gave former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a wide berth when discussing his version of socialized medicine.
In an interview on Tuesday with Talking Points Memo – one of the nation’s most prominent left-leaning new media outlets – Haley said that Romney showed “courage” in pushing his state’s plan, which has ballooned Massachusetts’ Medicaid rolls and dramatically increased the cost of private insurance.
“I think what we don’t want is for states to have mandates on them like what President (Barack) Obama’s done,” Haley told TPM. “Massachusetts made a decision within their state and they decided that was right for them. It certainly is not right for South Carolina, it’s not something I want to see, so what we want to hear from him is that this isn’t something he’s going to impose as President across all states in the country.”
Wait … what? What kind of a “position” is that?
The debate over Romneycare has taken center stage in the 2012 election. Specifically, Republican primary voters are awaiting an address from Romney on Thursday that will outline his plan “to repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that lower costs and empower states to craft their own health care solutions.”
This could be a political two-step for the ages, as both “Romneycare” and “Obamcare” feature individual mandates that require private citizens to purchase health coverage. Both laws also impose draconian new requirements on insurance companies while creating government-run exchanges to further regulate the health care marketplace.
Want more on the similarities between the two bills? Check out this video released last week by the Cato Institute …
What do Obamacare and Romneycare have to do with Haley?
Well, South Carolina’s new governor won a narrower-than-expected victory in 2010 – an election in which she benefited from $900,000 worth of ads paid for by the Republican Governors’ Association. Those ads specifically attacked her opponent Vincent Sheheen as a supporter of Obamacare – a criticism Haley echoed herself.
“The last thing we can afford is a governor who supports ObamaCare like Vince Sheheen,” Haley said just weeks before South Carolina voters went to the polls.
Apparently one politician’s albatross is another candidate’s courageousness.
“(Romney) made it very clear then that this was a state decision and he actually showed a lot of courage to say ‘I’m going to get out there and try and see if this is going to work,’” Haley told TPM. “I think there’s mixed reviews on whether it worked or not. What I can tell you is we don’t want to try it in South Carolina and so our main concern, or our main thought, from him is to make sure that he says this is not going to (go) national. This may have been something we did in our state, we tried it, but we’re going to leave states to make those decisions for themselves.”
Haley’s comments parroted remarks made by Romney over a year ago when Obamacare was rammed through the U.S. Congress on a party-line vote.
“We solved our problem at the state level,” said Romney. “Why is it that President Obama is stepping in and saying ‘one size fits all?’”
Wait … Romneycare’s reviews are “mixed?” And it “solved” Massachusetts health care problem?
Last time we checked the program had been an unmitigated disaster – raising health care costs and sticking Massachusetts taxpayers with a massive new entitlement burden.
“Romneycare expanded coverage simply by putting more people on the dole,” a recent Forbes column noted. “Since 2006, 440,000 people have been added to state-funded insurance rolls. Medicaid enrollment alone is up nearly 25 percent, and Massachusetts is struggling to cover the cost.”
That doesn’t sound like much of a solution to us. Nonetheless Romney has called his health care proposal “the ultimate conservative plan” while decrying Obama’s new law as “an unconstitutional power grab.”
Also, if Haley is such a die-hard opponent of Obamacare, why did she sign an executive order authorizing the establishment of the new law’s controversial government-run exchanges? And if government-run health care is so bad – why has Haley authorized a pair of $100 million Medicaid bailouts since taking office?
Haley endorsed Romney in 2008 – a favor he returned in the 2010 gubernatorial election.
“She has a proven conservative record of fighting wasteful spending and advocating for smaller, more efficient government,” Romney said of Haley. “I’m honored to call her my friend and prouder still to endorse her campaign for governor.”
Haley has been playing the field so far as the 2012 race shapes up, but these recent pro-Romney comments are the clearest indications yet that she is actively jockeying for a spot on his vice-presidential shortlist.
HALEY TALKING POINTS MEMO INTERVIEW
***
By Chris May 10, 2011 at 3:26 pm
This is trashy journalism, Sic. It’s also an outright lie for you to say that “Romney’s plan has ballooned Massachusetts’ Medicaid rolls and dramatically increased the cost of private insurance.” It wasn’t Romney’s plan that did that. And you know it. It was Romney’s uber liberal successor, Governor Devall Patrick, along with his democratically controlled legislature that implemented Governor Romney’s plan in such a manner that people like you can now trash Governor Romney and make fools believe it was indeed his plan that is responsible for MassCare. Your readers deserve better, Sic. Governor Haley is correct.
By Mohanna May 10, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Nikki + Mitt, what a cute couple. Aren’t they just perfect together?
By PetigruWasRight May 10, 2011 at 3:43 pm
I prefer a threesome, Jim “I was duped” DeMint, Nikki, and Mitt who all LOVED RomneyCare in 2007, before that nigra president of ours was in favor of it.
AND before Representative Ryan’s Medicare Discount Coupon $5 OFF Vouchers plan proposed the same legislative scheme and every Republican from South Carolina voted for it!
By Muskrat70 May 10, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Oh, so it was just the way Romneycare was implemented that was the problem. If Romney ran for another term, his plan would have worked perfectly. Are you serious Chris?
By Blackman May 10, 2011 at 4:33 pm
I agree with you Petigru (although I don’t appreciate the ‘nigra’ comment). The HealthCare Act are all Republican ideas previously implemented by Romney, endorsed by Demint, Hatch, Kyl, Alexander and other Republicans. This was the basic plan that the GOP used to oppose Hilary Clinton’s health care push. Now they are all opposed to it. What hypocrites! BTW most in Massachusetts like their health care plan and more people have coverage.
By wetwillie May 10, 2011 at 5:00 pm
… “nigra president”… funny how a republican controlled congress and it’s fans like petigru get to impale the “nigra president” when it was their votes that sent the “nigra president” the healthcare bill passed and ready to be signed. if it had not passed, the “nigra president” would not have a bill to sign… so whose healthcare plan is it?? no, really, whose is it??
By Anon May 10, 2011 at 5:03 pm
What statistics do you have to support your comments about the Mass plan being an “unmitigated disaster” (other than your own, ill-informed opinion)? Yes, the Medicaid rolls increased, but that was by design. The state got a waiver to make Medicaid eligibility more flexible to order to provide that type of coverage to low-income individuals. The people of Mass are overwhelmingly happy with the plan’s progress. Polls usually show it enjoys the support of 90%+ of Mass residents. And the plan has worked. Over 95% of the state’s residents are covered by an insurance plan. Now the state is dealing with having to contain skyrocketing costs, an issue that would be there whether the state had universal coverage or not. But that was already the plan’s design – universal coverage first, cost containment second. Universal coverage now gives the state more leverage to make the healthcare providers cut costs (see Patrick’s refusal to allow double-digit premium increases last year).
By yarrrr May 10, 2011 at 6:08 pm
She won’t be picked to be VP in 2012 and if she does it will be the end of her political career.
By Guero May 10, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Don’t none of y’all GET sarcasm? Anyone who calls Ryan’s plan a $5 OFF voucher ain’t a Repub, folks.
By Lori May 10, 2011 at 6:23 pm
Romney-Haley? Yeah sounds good to me.
Better than good. Would be very strong ticket against the failure Obama.
By Mrs.Dash May 10, 2011 at 6:46 pm
That’s a pretty photo. Scary pretty.
By Pat MaBooty May 10, 2011 at 7:11 pm
What is Mitt doing with his left hand?
By Billy Bob May 10, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Sounds like a lot of employers in Mass. dumped health care benefits for their employees. Seriously, who could blame them. Doctors, hospitals and insurance companies are sticking it to employers and the self-employed.
By Soft Sigh from Hell May 10, 2011 at 7:26 pm
“Don’t none of y’all GET sarcasm?”
I am continually surprised at how what is obviously sarcasm (or intentional hyperbole, or irony, or mimicry, or parody, etc.) frequently does not get recognized on a board environment.
I can’t readily find out, but I do wonder whether these same persons who miss it in prose would also miss it with intonation and the sly smile or the intentionally overdone deadpan face.
By RedundantTiger May 11, 2011 at 6:03 am
Paul Ryan’s pathetic attempt at a budget failed to attack two of the most expensive features of the current system: health insurers take off 20% of every healthcare dollar (versus 4% for Medicare) and Medicare Part D would still require seniors to buy prescriptions at frull retail with no group purchasing, re-importation, or cost controls. Big Pharma would continue to profiteer off the sick and dying in Ryan’s plan. Even a rock-ribbed Conservative like Senator Tom Coburn says that one third of healthcare spending is total waste,but Ryan wasn’t going to offend his masters at Big Pharma and Big Insurance. The bottom line is still that Conservatives are wonderful sidewalk superintendents, but they can’t govern.
Obama has promised any State a waiver if it can cover everyone at a lower cost than the Affordable Care Act. The Republican silence is deafening. But Vermont is close to bringing out a single payor plan that will save significant amounts of money. The Republicans are still looking at the “blank piece of paper” and hoping for some ideas
By cash May 11, 2011 at 9:36 am
I am certainly not an Obama fan. However, he is no more black than white. So therefore, I do not think he is a “nigra”.
By Guero May 11, 2011 at 9:41 am
What color is the sky in your world, cash?
By Huhhh??? May 11, 2011 at 10:51 am
Chris, although he gets a news worthy story now and then, Sic is no journalist.
He a political hack doing PR for, as the video shows, the Cato Institute which is owned by the Koch Brothers and Howard Rich.
There is a helluva lot of difference in journalism and PR.
I’m sure Sic tells the truth about Mitt’s health plan as much as he tells the truth about the success of vouchers in Wisconson and Florida and the other states that have been crazy enough to piss their money away on the idea.
And, we don’t need to worry about Trikki as VP in ’12. She will be indicted for her consulting business and/or tax fraud before then.
By cash May 11, 2011 at 11:10 am
What about the money stolen from the Sikh Religious Society. I am told by one of the members, they will have justice.
By Blackman May 11, 2011 at 11:55 am
This word ‘nigra’ is being tossed around on this message board. Would someone please define this word for me? Thanks.
By Soft Sigh from Hell May 11, 2011 at 12:29 pm
‘nigra’
A traditional southern bigot’s way of half-saying “Negro” when forced to in polite company when he really wants to say “nigger,” which he would use in his normal company.
Very common decades ago.
By Blackman May 11, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Ahh! So ‘nigra’ is a half derogatory, almost offensive, word that applies to all Black people, though these people had no control in their ethnic placement. And those who choose to incorporate such a word into their vocabulary give themselves high marks for their own superiority, even though they had no choice in their own ethnic placement. Furthermore, those who are comfortable using this word would admit that it doesn’t matter what legislation is proposed, whether it is initiated by Republicans or not, and whether it is beneficial to most White Americans or not, if the ‘nigra’ president supports it, then it must be opposed. ‘Nigra opposition’ is paramount to everything else! Right?
By marcus wilby May 11, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Please.Pretty Please-Gov. PLeeeeze run for VP.I am sure you will be just as successful as McCain and Palin.Obama 2012.
Pingback: Are Some ‘Tea Party’ Politicians Just Politicians After All? « News « @griffinrc
Pingback: Are Some ‘Tea Party’ Politicians Just Politicians After All? | PERSUASION IN INK
Pingback: Are Some ‘Tea Party’ Politicians Just Politicians After All? | StigmaBot