Reactions to Romney at CPAC

Mixed reactions to Mitt Romney's CPAC speech via Twitter:

Dozens of CPAC kids more interested in a fake Palin than a real Romney: http://politi.co/exv3Xk ~ jmartpolitico

Romney looks and sounds presidential, but *IS* he presidential? ~ sistertoldjah

• No, he's RINO ~ tatt2d

Hi. I'm Mitt "Individual Mandate" Romney. Watch me lose tens of millions of dollars in a pointless effort to become president! ~ jpodhoretz

Romney wants the presidency so bad, I'm almost inclined to vote for the poor guy. Like a four year pity date or something. ~ resnikoff

I really, really like Romney, I voted for him in '08. I just can't get past MassCare. ~ CraigR3521

The best part about Romney getting the nomination in 2012 is that he'll lose & we'll finally be rid of him. ~ BrentTeichman

Romney CPAC cheat sheet: Good things--America, federalism, free enterprise, founders. Bad things--Europe, organic food, Chicago, apologies ~ khennessey

ROMNEY trying to re-create himself into a Conservative from a RINO. Don't believe it. Remember ROMNEYCARE. ~ SueDinNY

Funny to hear Romney talk about Obama reinventing himself ~ GarrettQuinn

• Best joke in the speech so far! ~ LizMair

Mitt Romney will never apologize for America. Will he apologize for Mitt Romney versions 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0? ~ MattCover

Mitt Romney will never apologize for America. Okay, but will he apologize for the individual mandate idea? ~ stackiii

I wonder why Romney didn't tout his highly successful health care reforms at CPAC11 ~ imillhiser

Why isn't Mitt Romney talking about the abject failure of government-run health care? Does he want me to? I will... #handsoff ~ stackiii

Romney: These job fairs and unemployment lines are president Obama’s Hoovervilles and they’ve got to end. ~ jnsmall

CPAC Romney: Limited government is the answer! Hmmm... RomneyCare = Limited government? ~ RightKlik

Romney hasn't figured out how to explain Mass.' Romneycare (quite similar to ObamaCare). Never mentioned it in CPAC speech. ~ CTuckerAJC

Romney slams Obama's "they get, we give diplomacy" at CPAC ~ TobyHarnden

Romney hasnt officially announced. His speech uses conditional tense in ref to presidential run. #GrammarNerd ~ ProLifePolitics

VOTE FOR MITT! The man who couldn't beat the man who couldn't beat Obama! ~ RichardMcenroe

Hard to believe Mitt Romney is 63 ~ JimGeraghty

• Even harder to believe he's a Republican! ~ ironelbow

Mitt Romney just shook my hand and I asked him how I can get my hair like his. He said, "Your hair is just as great." ~ RyanRMiner

Donald Trump needs to ask Mitt Romney who makes his hair. ~ sarahbellumd

X-posted

Smack Down: Pro-ObamaCare Doctor Speaks Up

In yesterday's post I shared some quotes from Massachusetts state treasurer, Timothy P. Cahill. Cahill says Massachusetts is for all intents and purposes already on ObamaCare, and the state is going bankrupt as a result:

Our experience in Massachusetts tells us that [Obamacare] will burden future taxpayers with unfunded liabilities they cannot afford. Health-care inflation will continue. Mandates will increase insurance premiums. And the deficit will reach frightening levels as the law's costs greatly exceed the projections of its advocates.

I took this quote, and a few others from Cahill's Wall Street Journal article, and posted them on a health care website. A physician responded to me thusly:

You seem to be saying that if many American sicken, suffer, and die because they can't pay their medical bills, and if taxpayers object to paying these bills, then you believe these people should sicken, suffer, and die. That's the general feeling of doctors on this forum, and it strikes me as heartless.

With all due respect, good sir, this is one of the most shallow and simplistic arguments I've heard since 5th grade. If this kind of thinking is representative of a significant percentage of educated people, is there any reason to ask how we lost control of the health care system to the Federal Government?

Here's the response I posted on the health care website:

M****,

I'd like to see some evidence that the Democrats' health care agenda will result in less sickness, suffering, and death. Where's the evidence that the federal government can allocate health care resources more judiciously and more humanely than everyone else?

I'd like to know how empowering the Federal Government of the United States at the expense of individual patients is going to improve health care. Are politicians and bureaucrats uniquely virtuous? Are politicians and bureaucrats uniquely wise and knowledgeable?

Please explain how transferring more wealth and more power into the hands of a smaller number of politicians and bureaucrats can be expected to reduce waste, fraud and abuse.

You seem to have an unshakable trust in the Federal Government, M****. What is the basis of this zealous faith? What did the Federal bureaucratic machine do to earn your loyalty?

I think the Federal Government is as fallible as any other institution...and its future capacity to produce systemic failures and to perpetuate corruption will be proportional to its growing enormity.

You might appreciate this short video.

So far, no response from the good doctor. I'll provide an update if a response ever appears.

More

Quality of Care Declining? Costs Rising?

A very interesting conversation with Daniel Palestrant, MD on CNBC:

Couple that with these quotes from Timothy P. Cahill, Massachusetts state treasurer:
Massachusetts's health care program has been a fiscal train wreck.
The universal insurance coverage we adopted in 2006 was projected to cost taxpayers $88 million a year. However, since this program was adopted in 2006, our health-care costs have in total exceeded $4 BILLION.
The only reason MassCare has survived is that we have been repeatedly bailed out by the federal government. But that raises the question: Who will bail America out if we implement a similar program?
Our experience in Massachusetts tells us that [Obamacare] will burden future taxpayers with unfunded liabilities they cannot afford. Health-care inflation will continue. Mandates will increase insurance premiums. And the deficit will reach frightening levels as the law's costs greatly exceed the projections of its advocates.