Went to a Willard appearance today - I need a bath

[rurallib]

My kids from Indiana are visiting and they have decided that politics is very entertaining. Mrs. Lib and I have been showing up at rallies in the SEIU purple shirts for health care. The health care folks asked us to go to Willard's rally in IC at the medical education building this morning. So we and my kids donned the purple shirts and went to a Willard rally.
Certainly a different and much smaller crowd. Looked like a few true Willard followers but for the most part mostly curious folks, many of whom must be involved in the health care field.
Willard's contention is that he can deliver near universal health care without any more government money invested than there is now while having only private insurance companies involved. Seems a bit far fetched but he claims he did it in Massachusetts. I would like to wait a few years before I pronounce it a success.
I guess he assumes that if you have a claim and have insurance that it will be covered. Since he avoided this in his speech, I asked in the Q&A. I mentioned that when my friend's wife was having breast surgery for her cancer, they met another lady who had just found out that her insurance would not cover her breast cancer. Funny thing is he didn't really answer my question. I tried to interject for clarification but was ignored.
A doctor who had been trained in England essentially for free asked if Romney would do something to help with the high cost of medical education. Romney laughed and said - gee, I have a son at Tuft's medical school and I can hardly pay for him. Should give you some idea how outrageously high it is when a man with $300,000,000 can pay for medical school.
I asked the doctor afterwards what he thought of the answer he got. He said he got no answer. He said Romney was a phoney, a rich kid who had no idea what was going on.
My daughter stood next to another doctor who asked a question. As Romney went off on how private insurance was the answer she said the doctor kept whispering "we need a government plan" under his breath.
Most of the crowd(?)(maybe 75 or so) left quickly. I don't think Willard scored any big points today.

[rurallib]

1. Forgot to add how pretty he looked

Those thousands he pays for cosmetics must be worth it.

[vireo]

2. "Phoney rich kid with no idea what's going on"

Sounds familiar.

I consider Romney to be the frontrunner but wonder if Huckabee can pull off an upset in Iowa.

[progressoid]

4. There seems to be a lot of chatter about the possibility of Huckabee making a push

Frankly, they both scare the crap out of me.

[progressoid]

3. For Romney, Health Care Fix Nothing to Brag About

Heard this on NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16232052

....

The bipartisan goodwill was only skin deep: Romney had quietly vetoed the $295 fee on Massachusetts employers.

It was a purely symbolic gesture — his veto was easily overridden. But it was the beginning of Romney's effort to distance himself from the very health-care plan he'd pioneered.

That gap only widened as Romney began to court conservative primary voters in the presidential race. On the campaign trail, Romney offered a national health-care plan that leaves out one of the central features of the Massachusetts plan: a requirement for individuals to buy health insurance. When Hillary Clinton proposed a plan that included such a requirement, Romney attacked it.

"To be honest, this was his signature achievement. And he essentially walked away from it on the campaign trail. Not just not mentioning it, but essentially disowning it," Gruber said.

So far, the Massachusetts health-care plan appears to be working well, although some of the mandates don't take effect until next year. About 200,000 more people now have health insurance in the state, and individual premiums have fallen. That's a victory for Romney, the pragmatic problem solver. But for the reinvented Romney, it's nothing to brag about.

[rurallib]

5. Been thinking how totally hypocritical his position is

Mandating insurance. Doesn't that go against all that is republiKlan? But the unfunded part of his program is true republiKlan.
- must have insurance
- must be private
- must figure out how to pay for it yourself (with few exceptions)
And it appears from his answers that insurance companies will still be able to deny claims. This is beginning to look like the insurance industry salvation plan. Much like privatized SS would be the salvation of Wall Street.

[Debi]

6. It seems to be the attitude of many in the GOP

"Well, I have the $$ to pay for it, why don't you?"