Health Care

Health Care


http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/health-care-debate-returns-with-intensity/?scp=1&sq=Health%20Care%20Debate%20Returns%20With%20Intensity&st=cse

Summary
As the governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney was responsible for the adoption of the state health care programs that required state residents to purchase health care. His act has targeted by his fellow opponents, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich as being the underlying blueprint for Obamacare. With the Supreme Court hearing on the constitutionality of a federal health care on March 26th, the similarity between Romney’s health care and Obamacare is bring brought up again as other Republican presidential candidates use it to criticize Romney. Though Romney has tried to deflect criticisms by distinguishing the Massachusetts health care from Obamacare and explicitlytating that he will repeal Obamacare, crcriticismstill follow.

Connection
The Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of government mandated healthcare will likely determine the fate of Obamacare. However, debate between both parties over the healthcare will most likely persist and possibly revive in later years. Supreme Court rulings, while are upheld by law, rarely go unchallenged. For instance, decades after the ruling that abortion is legal as it is a privacy right through Roe v. Wade, the Republican party is still touting anti-abortion agenda.

Reflection
Romney's similarity with Obama with respect to healthcare and other measures will most likely be used by other Republican candidates as fuel for attacks. Until now, Romney's popularity has won him the number one position among the Republican candidates. However, it'd be interesting to find out whether his similarities with Obama will be an advantage in the general elections, winning him votes from moderates, or an disadvantage, causing him to lose votes from Republicans.