Romney Reacts To SCOTUS Ruling: I’ll Do What The Justices Didn’t

Mitt Romney didn’t directly criticize the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in his statement reacting to the decision, instead he used it as opportunity to renew his pledge to repeal the law when he becomes President:

Washington (CNN)- Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate who has long pledged to repeal President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care law if elected president, said Thursday the Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law did not signal the measure was good for the American people.

“Let’s make clear that we understand what the court did and did not do,” Romney said. “What the court did do today is say that Obamacare does not violate the Constitution. What they did not do is to say that Obamacare is good law or that it is good policy. Obamacare was bad policy yesterday. It’s bad policy today. Obamacare was a bad law yesterday. It is bad law today.”

Romney stressed the Supreme Court ruling, which said the individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance is valid as a tax, even though it is impermissible under the Constitution’s commerce clause, did not change his basic feelings toward the law.

“What the Court did not do on the last day in session, I will do on my first day if elected president of the United States, and that is that I will act to repeal Obamacare,” Romney said in a statement approximately two hours after the ruling was handed down.

Explaining his opposition to Obama’s health law, Romney cited figures showing the Affordable Care Act reduced funding to other government-sponsored programs.

(…)

Romney, who learned of the Court ruling in his hotel room at the Washington Hilton, made his statement ahead of a campaign event in Washington with the U.S. Capitol as his backdrop. He used his public remarks on the court’s landmark decision to assail his Democratic opponent and present himself as an alternative.

“Our mission is clear: If we want to get rid of Obamacare, we have to replace President Obama,” Romney said.

It was inevitable that the Court’s ruling would become an issue in the election regardless of which way it went, and what the Romney campaign clearly hopes to do here is reignite the passion that surrounded this issue during the run-up to the 2010 elections and, given the polls, there’s a good possibility that they might be able to do it. Nonetheless, you cannot deny the fact that this is a huge political victory for the President that could very well start shifting public opinion on the law going forward and that the Romney campaign is going to have to hope that the same passion that ignited the Tea Party movement is still there, and that this starts pushing independents who may have been on the fence into the Romney camp.

Photo via Bloomberg

FILED UNDER: 2012 Election, Healthcare Policy, Law and the Courts, US Politics, , , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. al-Ameda says:

    Nonetheless, you cannot deny the fact that this is a huge political victory for the President that could very well start shifting public opinion on the law going forward and that the Romney campaign is going to have to hope that the same passion that ignited the Tea Party movement is still there, and that this starts pushing independents who may have been on the fence into the Romney camp.

    It will be really fun to see Romney attacking John Roberts as an “activist” Justice.
    I hope that Obama manages to get a few jibes in on RomneyCare along the way too.

  2. I predict the “good when I did it, bad when he did it” contortions will cost Romney a few more approval points.

  3. Herb says:

    “By any means necessary” from the conservative?

    That’s not really that conservative…..and I think Malcolm X would agree with me.

  4. HarvardLaw92 says:

    Drama Queenery, with which I’m not even sure he agrees. He is certainly walking himself out on the limb of “why was it good policy for Massachusetts, but bad policy for the nation as a whole?”

  5. Scott says:

    Well, if I were a Democrat, I would be saying this (based on his pledge to repeal the ACA):

    Romney wants to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions

    Romney wants to kick young adults off their parents policies

    Romney wants to increase the deficit

    Romney believes the receipt of healthcare should be based on ability to pay

    Romney supports free-riders

  6. bk says:

    Mitt, please explain how a President can “repeal” existing legislation. I’ll wait.

  7. dd says:

    the 300 million dollar man’s efforts to convince the 36k man that he cares about their health have failed.