Multiple Choice Mitt’s Changing Colors on Romneycare


April 12, 2006 is a day that will live on in infamy.  That was the day that then-Gov. Mitt Romney signed his signature socialized healthcare bill into law with Ted Kennedy standing over his shoulder.  It was the first time in American history that government of any sort compelled its citizenry to purchase health insurance.  It served as the catalyst for an individual mandate on a federal level, paving the road for Obamacare.

At the time, John Kerry heaped accolades on Romney, ominously suggesting that “we really need to be doing that on the national level.” Ted Kennedy praised it as “just what the doctor ordered,” and observed that we “may well have fired a shot heard round the world.”  It took less than four years for the shot to metastasize into a bombardment – one that will permanently attenuate our free-enterprise economy.

So how did Romney feel about his signature accomplishment of an otherwise uninspiring one-term tenure as governor?

At the time of its passage, Romney dubbed it as a “once in a generation” achievement.  He referred to his magnum opus, which created subsidies for government run exchanges (larger than those created under Obamacare), as a “landmark” achievement “to get all of our citizens insurance without some new government-mandated takeover.”

From Romney’s perspective, did he consider final passage of MassCare a meritorious ideal or a mediocre compromise watered down by the Democrat legislature?

Well, immediately after he signed the bill into law, he told Newsweek reporter Jennifer Barrett that “the final legislation incorporates about 95 percent of my original proposal.”

At the time, did Romney feel that the framework for his healthcare plan was a virtuous policy endeavor for the rest of the nation?

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Multiple Choice Mitt’s Changing Colors on Romneycare


April 12, 2006 is a day that will live on in infamy.  That was the day that then-Gov. Mitt Romney signed his signature socialized healthcare bill into law with Ted Kennedy standing over his shoulder.  It was the first time in American history that government of any sort compelled its citizenry to purchase health insurance.  It served as the catalyst for an individual mandate on a federal level, paving the road for Obamacare.

At the time, John Kerry heaped accolades on Romney, ominously suggesting that “we really need to be doing that on the national level.” Ted Kennedy praised it as “just what the doctor ordered,” and observed that we “may well have fired a shot heard round the world.”  It took less than four years for the shot to metastasize into a bombardment – one that will permanently attenuate our free-enterprise economy.

So how did Romney feel about his signature accomplishment of an otherwise uninspiring one-term tenure as governor?

At the time of its passage, Romney dubbed it as a “once in a generation” achievement.  He referred to his magnum opus, which created subsidies for government run exchanges (larger than those created under Obamacare), as a “landmark” achievement “to get all of our citizens insurance without some new government-mandated takeover.”

From Romney’s perspective, did he consider final passage of MassCare a meritorious ideal or a mediocre compromise watered down by the Democrat legislature?

Well, immediately after he signed the bill into law, he told Newsweek reporter Jennifer Barrett that “the final legislation incorporates about 95 percent of my original proposal.”

At the time, did Romney feel that the framework for his healthcare plan was a virtuous policy endeavor for the rest of the nation?

Read More →


Overland Park, Kansas: 48% of all likely 2012 voters are conservative. 66% of Republicans are conservative.


To read more details from our extensive poll of likely 2012 voters in Overland Park, KS, go to StateandLocalEducation.org.  Below is a portion.

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Part 3 of results

Telephone survey among likely 2012 voters in Overland Park, KS.  Conducted Tuesday, August 9, and Wednesday, August 10, by the State and Local Educational Foundation of Kansas.  Margin of error +/- 5.4%.  Party breakdown:  51% Republican, 29% Unaffiliated, 20% and Democratic.  55% Female, and 45% Male.  50% over the age of 50, and 50% under the age of 50.

For detailed accompanying information for comparison and background purposes, click here.  To view part 1 of our results, click here.  To view part 2 of our results, click here.  More information about survey methodology can be found at the bottom of this page.

 

Summary:

- Overland Park:

Our results indicate that 48% of Overland Park’s voters are conservative (among likely November Overland Park voters).  This includes 16% who are “very conservative.”  Thirty-six percent (36%) are moderate, and 16% are either “somewhat liberal” or “very liberal.”

Given that Overland Park’s voters supported John McCain over Barack Obama by a 53-46% margin, when the nation voted for Obama by a 53-46% margin, our results are comparable to Gallup’s national numbers.  According to Gallup, 41% of United States adults are conservative.

Other comparisons:

- Our results show 66% of Republicans to be either “very” or “somewhat conservative.”  Gallup’s figure was 71%.

- Gallup found 24% of Republicans to be moderate.  Our number was 29%.

- Among Independents, Gallup found 35% to be conservative, and 44% to be moderate.  We found 34% of Unaffiliated voters to be conservative, and 45% to be moderate.

Age and poltical views:

Among likely 2012 voters in Overland Park, 48% are over the age of 50, and 52% are under the age of 50.  We find that over-50 likely Overland Park voters are only slightly more conservative than under-50 Overland Park voters.  However, it is within the margin of error in our sub-sample (there was a sample size of 170 each of over-50 and under-50 voters, with a margin of error of 7.7% for each sub-sample).

Among over-50 voters in Overland Park, 49% are conservative; among than under-50 voters, 46% are conservative.  There are slightly fewer moderate voters among over-50 (35%) than with under-50 voters (37%).  Among over-50 voters, 15% self-identified as liberal; 17% of under-50 likely Overland Park voters are liberal.

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