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Santorum Goes After Romney, Gingrich On Healthcare
LATimes ^ | January 19, 2012 | Kim Geiger
Santorum goes after Romney, Gingrich on healthcare - latimes.com
Santorum Goes After Romney, Gingrich On Healthcare
By Kim Geiger January 19, 2012
Rick Santorum, in third or fourth place in South Carolinas Republican presidential primary race, managed to bruise the two leading candidates in Thursday night's debate in a matter of minutes by casting them both as advocates of big-government healthcare.
Santorum criticized front-runner Mitt Romney for the healthcare plan that he signed into law in Massachusetts and cast Newt Gingrich as unelectable because of his past support for requiring Americans to buy insurance.
Romney has long been criticized for his role in enacting the Massachusetts healthcare law, which was the foundation for the federal law that President Obama signed in 2010. But in most debates he has been able to brush the topic off by saying it was a state law that shouldnt be forced on the rest of the country.
Similarly, its no secret that Gingrich backs or at least used to support an individual mandate. Theres even video floating around that shows him proposing a requirement that people carry insurance or post a $100,000 or $150,000 bond. Gingrich also has generally succeeded in disavowing the topic.
As we reported last year, the individual mandate was once supported by many Republicans. As lawmakers on the left advocated for expanding the government or employer role in providing health insurance, it was Republicans who proposed the individual mandate as a private-sector solution. It became toxic in the mainstream of the Republican Party once Democrats embraced it.
ThinkProgress dug up some old newspaper clips suggesting Santorum also supported the mandate when he was running in a Republican primary in the 1990s. But that position is not well-known. And on the debate stage Thursday night, Santorum refused to let either of his rivals off the hook.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
LATimes ^ | January 19, 2012 | Kim Geiger
Santorum goes after Romney, Gingrich on healthcare - latimes.com
Santorum Goes After Romney, Gingrich On Healthcare
By Kim Geiger January 19, 2012
Rick Santorum, in third or fourth place in South Carolinas Republican presidential primary race, managed to bruise the two leading candidates in Thursday night's debate in a matter of minutes by casting them both as advocates of big-government healthcare.
Santorum criticized front-runner Mitt Romney for the healthcare plan that he signed into law in Massachusetts and cast Newt Gingrich as unelectable because of his past support for requiring Americans to buy insurance.
Romney has long been criticized for his role in enacting the Massachusetts healthcare law, which was the foundation for the federal law that President Obama signed in 2010. But in most debates he has been able to brush the topic off by saying it was a state law that shouldnt be forced on the rest of the country.
Similarly, its no secret that Gingrich backs or at least used to support an individual mandate. Theres even video floating around that shows him proposing a requirement that people carry insurance or post a $100,000 or $150,000 bond. Gingrich also has generally succeeded in disavowing the topic.
As we reported last year, the individual mandate was once supported by many Republicans. As lawmakers on the left advocated for expanding the government or employer role in providing health insurance, it was Republicans who proposed the individual mandate as a private-sector solution. It became toxic in the mainstream of the Republican Party once Democrats embraced it.
ThinkProgress dug up some old newspaper clips suggesting Santorum also supported the mandate when he was running in a Republican primary in the 1990s. But that position is not well-known. And on the debate stage Thursday night, Santorum refused to let either of his rivals off the hook.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...