Memo To Mitt – Endorse the Individual Mandate

 It’s What You Believe In, So Go For It

Were it not for the Massachusetts Health Care Plan that Mitt Romney authored, shepherded through the legislature and signed into law he might already be the presumed Republican nominee for President.  The problem is that the law contains a requirement that every resident of the state of Massachusetts obtain and carry health insurance, and because this has now become a part of the federal plan authored, shepherded through the Congress and signed into law by the President, Conservatives have suddenly reversed themselves and now oppose such a requirement.

Mr. Romney’s position today is that his plan was ok for Massachusetts, but not necessarily the right plan for all states.  Fair enough.  However, the requirement that all residents have health insurance either makes sense or does not make sense regardless of the state of residence.  Furthermore, as is now coming to light, Mr. Romney was an enthusiastic proponent of such a requirement, Ryan Lizza being just the latest to write in detail about how Mr. Romney’s support of such a requirement was integral to its being included in the Mass. Plan.

So Mr. Romney, you have a choice.  You can continue to get pummeled by folks like Sarah Palin regardless of how many times you try to explain away your prior position, or you can just say,

“Hey, if we don’t require everyone to have health insurance, the uninsured just stick the rest of us with their medical costs when they cannot afford them.  That’s not right”

Wait a minute, you have already said that in Massachusetts, so just say it again.