Romney: Health care ruling creates 'choice' between two agendas

(CBS News) Reacting to the Supreme Court decision largely upholding President Obama's health care law, Mitt Romney on Thursday reaffirmed his desire to overturn the law, framing the ruling as enabling voters to make a clear distinction between current policy and what he called a far less government-intrusive approach.

"This is the time of choice for the American people," Romney said. "Our mission is clear: If we want to get rid of Obamacare, we're going to have to replace President Obama. My mission is to make sure we do exactly that."

While the court said the law does not violate the Constitution, Romney said, the justices did not take a position on whether it "is good law or that it's good policy. Obamacare was bad policy yesterday; it's bad policy today. Obamacare was bad law yesterday. It's bad law today."

He concluded his remarks by saying: "If you don't want the course that President Obama has put us on, if you want instead a course that the Founders envisioned, then join me in this effort. Help us. Help us defeat Obamacare. Help us defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big, too intrusive and is killing jobs across this great country."

Romney spoke to reporters across from the Capitol after awaiting the decision in his room at the Washington Hilton. He returned to the D.C. area on Wednesday night to hold a campaign event in Virginia and attend a fundraiser in Georgetown.

Romney has sought to make the economy the overriding focus of his campaign, even as issues such as the Court's recent ruling on immigration have diverted him from that approach. But he had been previewing the health care ruling over the course of the week, suggesting that if the law was overturned, he would argue that the president had wasted the last three and a half years of his presidency and that his attention to health care reform was a "moral failure" amidst an economic crisis.

"It was not just bad policy; it was a moral failure to put forward a piece of legislation that wouldn't help Americans get back to work, and to focus the energy of the White House on Obamacare," he said in Sterling, Va., on Wednesday evening.

Going forward, Romney will continue to argue that the law is bad policy and overly burdensome on job creators, even if it is constitutionally sound.

While the Court's decision represents a major disappointment for conservatives, it will help ensure a fresh wave of excitement among the base to defeat Obama. Proof of that came in the more than $300,000 that Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said was raised within 90 minutes of the ruling's announcement.

The worst outcome for Romney's campaign strategy would have been if the law had been overturned, as he would have lost a chief rationale for his campaign.

It posed a significant challenge to the presumptive nominee during the primary campaign -- and still could do so -- because of a 2006 law he championed as Massachusetts governor that bore remarkable resemblance to the federal law in its use of mandates to ensure maximum coverage.

Although Romney has repeatedly argued that his plan was only appropriate for Massachusetts, not the nation, the Obama administration cited the state health care law he championed as a model for the federal law.

Romney's reasoning wasn't enough for many of his opponents. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was particularly vicious on during the primary campaign, painting his rival as "uniquely disqualified" to do away with the law.

Santorum appeared on the steps of the Supreme Court while lawyers were arguing the case before the justices and said, "There's one candidate who is uniquely disqualified to make the case. It's the reason I'm here and he's not. The reason that I talk about Obamacare and its impact on the economy and on fundamental freedoms and Mitt Romney doesn't. It's because he can't because he supported government-run health care as governor of Massachusetts."

For now, Romney will continue to run on a pledge to repeal and replace the health care law as president. He has said that he will issue states a waiver from the law. He has also said he would like to block grant Medicaid money to the states and put in place reforms to make the healthcare industry "more like a market" by giving consumers more options. He has also said he would like to give seniors the option of purchasing "private-sector Medicare."

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The day in politics: June 28

[rayward73446]

Romney, like all the rest of the GOP are persuing the "Beat Obama at any cost" platform and practicing obstuctionism, misinformation, and unfair socialism against women. They are not creating ay JOBS! For the last three years they have not done anything constructive to get Americans back to work. They didn't even try. They denied laid off workers extended unemployment benefits. Where are the jobs? Why is anyone supporting any of these misguided politicians when they are not working to get the economy growing again. Where are the jobs? Jobs are the most pressing problem we face, but the GOP thinks that denying contraception for women is more important? Where are the Jobs?

[sam_osborne]

Medicine-man Mitt Romney is left with a big problem that he has talked his way into over the health care law. His emphasis of getting rid of the law as the first thing he would do was fine when it seemed as if it would be struck down and he could have heroically claimed that if they had not done it he would have, but God bless the Court for having the same wisdom as he has.

Now Romney has to make it clear what he is GOING TO DO when with a snap of his fingers he gets rid of what is. That is not something he has been doing and the clearer he might get about some great inventive genius to solve the problem is going to upset more people than he can make admirers.

Mitt seems to have been born with a silver foot in his mouth. As he speaks through his toenails, maybe we will hear that he is going to get ratified constitutional amendment against illness. Once he has done that I would like him to get one against aging, and the Japanese beetle.

[Nocults]

The "choice" is, health care for all Americans, or an early death for those who aren't part of the 1%

I'll have to pray about that, in my magic underwear.

WWTTD?????????????

What Would Tim Tebow Do?????????????

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

Speaking of "moral failures" what about the GOP in the House spending so much time obsessing over women's contraception while the nation was dealing with an economic crisis. Was that a "moral failure" too, Biff? You did not speak about that did you? Where's the leadership, Romney.

[marychgo]

What Romney and his supporters keep forgetting is that at least a third of those who tell pollsters that they don't like "Obamacare" don't like it because it isn't "Medicare for all"!

[Nocults]

The Constitutionally elected Congress passed it, the Constitutionally elected President signed it, the Supreme Court affirmed it per the Constitution, but Bishop Romney is still driving the GOP clown car over the cliff.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RandallRichard]

Obama was originally opposed to the individual mandate but accepted this idea because it came from conservatives and he thought it might bring some conservative support to the bill. Congressional Republicans who had been for this idea now decided it had to be opposed since Obama was for it. Ironically it appears that only one conservative of any stature was willing to accept this conservative idea but it was the one Obama needed to keep the law intact.

[RandallRichard]

So Mitt, after you repeal ORomney care what will you replace it with? You Republicans are now trashing the only plan you ever came up with so what will you use for an alternative?

[hhandyman]

my guess is the unemployment line by Nov 20 2012 but that doesnt work for the self employed so he will have to live off his nest egg for a few seconds.. and deal with egg stains from the crowd that followed him to the wrong conclusion right or not its so right its wrong.

[myopinionpal]

Romney should be thanking the high court because now the state of Massachusetts won't have to toss Romneycare in the trash can.

[wfw3536]

I guess you do not realize the Supreme Court was not ruling on the Massachusetts health care law. No matter what the ruling would have been it had nothing to do with the Mass. state law. You just do not seem to understand what happened.

[Jaylah54200]

I choose to continue to go forward. So I will not be voting for the candidate that wants to take this country backwards.