Top Romney Advisor Eric Fehrnstrom: Romney Does Not Believe Health Care Mandate Is A Tax

[EarlG]

Source: Mediaite



After Chief Justice John Roberts handed down his ruling that the individual mandate requirement in the Affordable Care Act fell under Congress’ power to tax, the question of whether Republicans were taking advantage of calling it a tax or insisting the ruling was wrong to call it that has continued into today, when senior Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom insisted the mandate, according to the candidate, was not a tax, and that he disagreed with the Court’s ruling calling it such.

On today’s Daily Rundown, host Chuck Todd asked the question with Romney’s mandate in Massachusetts rather than the national version of that, asking whether they called the fine a tax or a penalty when passed in the state. “Let me say that when the Supreme Court ruling came down last week… Governor Romney went before the cameras and said he disagreed with the ruling,” Fehrnstrom replied, arguing that “President Obama’s position is contradictory and unstable.” Todd asked again whether the penalty was talked about as a penalty or a tax, and Fehrnstrom explained that “what we did in Massachusetts works for Massachusetts” and was “never meant to be a one size fits all plan for the entire nation.”

Todd played a few clips of Romney calling the mandate a “tax penalty,” which was a confusing way of putting it for the purposes of this discussion. “What we put in place in Massachusetts is a penalty and [Romney] disagrees with the Court’s ruling that it is a tax,” Fehrnstrom concluded.

Video at link.

Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/top-romney-advisor-eric-fehrnstrom-romney-does-not-believe-health-care-mandate-is-a-tax/

[Firebrand Gary]

1. K&R nt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

2. Let the song and dance by the Gop clown show begin

Republican after Republican is being asked about this today and the fact that Romney doesn't think the mandate is a tax and they're all changing the subject as they do the funky chicken off the stage.

[nolabear]

3. I love it when the truth breaks out like a rash.

[katsy]

4. Of course.

He is saying it's "unconstitutional" a la scalia and minority opinion.

mitt is still, and always will be, a duplicitous, slimy pfhuck.

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. The argument of whether the penalty ...

is a tax, or not, is merely an invented sideshow drama that attempts to give legs to the gop claim that President Obama lied when he campaigned on not raising taxes for those making under $250K.

And, based on the gop true-believers (AKA, the Hate President Obama at all times crew) the narrative seems to be sticking ... until they are questioned on it further; then they find they are unable to maintain the argument because they soon realize that, if this is a tax, it is a completely avoidable tax ... just like the "tanning booth" tax or taxes on cigarettes.

[BREMPRO]

6. more accurately: “President wanabe Romney's position is contradictory and unstable.”

naked projection from the hypocrisy corp.

[siligut]

7. Stealthy switch to Romney approving of aspects of Obamacare to follow

Watch for the insidious reversal of Romney's duplicitous, pandering disapproval of Obamacare as overall approval goes up and people don't want it to be repealed on day one.

[Amonester]

9. Yep. As soon (or as late) as THAT happens...

Rmoney will be told to start bragging about the fact that it was HIM who implemented it FIRST, and how good he thinks it is for the country.

So predictable!

[DallasNE]

8. The Etch-A-Sketch Is Getting A Real Workout

And it is causing a huge amount of confusion for the Romney campaign. Recent Supreme Court decisions were supposed to play into Romney's hand but the Supreme Court ended up not cooperating with Romney on immagration or health care. This confusion shows that Romney had no plan B on either issue. If Romney can be caught this flat footed on these issues can you imagine what will happen when Romney is on the world stage dealing with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. It makes one shudder at the thought. Since Romney has had his sights set on the Oval Office for a long, long time it really calls into question whether he has the chops for the office considering how unprepared these events are showing him to be.

[Amonester]

12. Rmoney is a soulless bully. It'd be "bomb, bomb, bomb" from day one.

Even worse than chimpy (like that would even be possible to begin with).

So pRedictable!

[kestrel91316]

10. The USSC has ruled, so what Rmoney thinks is irrelevant.

[Lionessa]

11. Well that's dumber than dumb, Roberts gave Romney a gift and he's pissing on it.

When I first heard the ruling being allowed via a tax rather than commerce, I saw Repubs get two gifts.

First and obvious, states' sovereignty upheld, but secondly the word TAX. I figured that the Repubs, including Romney, would jump on that word in the campaign. Something akin to "Obama raises taxes on the middle class." Instead they are disavowing the word????

I'm confused, but actually this bodes well for Obama I would think since both claim it isn't a tax.

[DinahMoeHum]

13. Again, Eric Fehrnstrom has become a useful idiot (for Obama)

He's the one who coined the meme "Etch-a-Sketch" regarding Romney, after all.

[julian09]

14. It's not a tax, it's a penalty for not complying with mandate on the one or two percent who won't

comply. It's a sales tax in reverse where you are penalized for NOT purchasing something; to compensate for the use of uncompensated emergency room care. President Reagan mandated emergency room care for everyone, including the indigent, was that a tax on those whose premiums have gone up about a thousand dollars per year because of it.
People who purchase insurance are not taxed or penalized, those who can but don't will be penalized for making that choice.
If you are late on a credit card payment, you pay a late fee not a tax, if you are caught speeding, you pay a fine, not a tax.
These are choices you made and are responsible for the outcome.
If this were a tax, would Obama get the credit for exempting 99% or 98% of the population and offering the remainder a way to avoid tax, by purchasing insurance. Who is responsible for the tax Obama or the one refusing to purchase even with Obama subsidies.

[hughee99]

15. If you can afford it, but pay the fine/tax/penalty and end up in the ER

does the government pay for your ER bills, or do they get sent to you?

[julian09]

16. The hospital would go after you or use collection agency

govt doesn't pay, fine /tax penalty, isn't payment for services or substitute for insurance.

[hughee99]

17. Exactly,

You're not paying a fine because the government is now responsible for paying for you, you're paying it strictly as a penalty for non-compliance. I've seen a number of people suggest that this fine is to help pay for the people without insurance, but that's really not it at all. If you don't have insurance, you're on your own.

[Fearless]

18. Oh my... paging Dr. Irrelevant... n/t

[maddezmom]

19. Romney campaign enters 'message mayhem' on insurance mandate

¬snip¬

Asked by MSNBC's Chuck Todd whether Romney agrees with President Obama "that you should not call the tax penalty a tax, you should call it a penalty or a fee or a fine," Fehrnstrom replied: "That's correct."

The Romney campaign later tried to turn the conversation back to Obama, saying the real question was whether the individual mandate was a tax or "an unconstitutional penalty."

"Gov. Romney thinks it is an unconstitutional penalty," Romney spokeswoman Amanda Hennennberg said.

Veteran Republican strategist Mark McKinnon called the dissonance "message mayhem," noting Romney said in a January 2008 interview that the Massachusetts mandate was, in fact, a tax.

"Romney called the mandate a tax in Massachusetts … so, I guess he said it was a tax before he said it isn't a tax," he said. "Meanwhile all other Republicans are calling it a tax. Sounds like message mayhem."

more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-07-02/romney-health-insurance-mandate/55989162/1