Romney, Obama offer messaging previews for the coming health law decision

Jun 28 2012

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says if the court strikes down the law, it shows President Barack Obama wasted three years. If court upholds it, he promises to get rid of the law if elected. Obama tells a campaign crowd the law is critical to expanding coverage to those who can't get it.

Los Angeles Times: Romney And Obama Preview Reactions To Healthcare Ruling
In dueling Southern campaign stops Tuesday, President Obama and Mitt Romney previewed their likely responses to the Supreme Court's highly anticipated healthcare ruling, with the Democratic incumbent warning against refighting the reform battle and the Republican deeming the question one of states' rights and personal responsibility (West and Memoli, 6/27).

Bloomberg: Romney Poised To Claim Victory As Court Rules On Health
Whichever way the Supreme Court rules on the health-care law tomorrow, Mitt Romney is preparing to claim victory. If the court invalidates the statute, "then the first three-and-a-half years of this president's term will have been wasted on something that has not helped the American people," Romney told voters yesterday at an outdoor rally at Carter Machinery, a construction company in Salem, Virginia. "If it is deemed to stand, then I'll tell you one thing -- then we'll have to have a president, and I'm that one, that's going to get rid of Obamacare," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said (Hirschfield Davis, 6/27).

The New York Times' The Caucus: Romney Previews His Response To The Supreme Court's Health Ruling
Mitt Romney's campaign is eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health care law, which is expected on Thursday morning. But on Tuesday, at a machinery company here, Mr. Romney offered a preview of the possible responses he has been readying for when the ruling finally comes (Parker, 6/26).

Boston Globe: Romney Prepares For Court's Decision On Health Care Law
If the law is rejected, Romney plans to argue that Obama wasted both his time, and the time of the American people, by pursuing a policy that doesn't pass constitutional muster. If the law is upheld, Romney would argue that opponents need to elect him so that he can overturn it himself (Viser, 6/26).

Reuters: Romney Presses Attacks On "Obamacare" Before Ruling
Republican Mitt Romney stepped up his criticism on Tuesday of President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy achievement, saying if the U.S. Supreme Court does not overturn the 2010 healthcare overhaul when it decides its fate this week he would dump it if elected in November. Eager to change the subject back to Obama's economic stewardship after nearly two difficult weeks focusing on immigration, Romney accused Obama of taking his eye off the ball when he pushed the healthcare measure through Congress in 2010 (Reid, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Romney Blasts President's Obamacare Legacy
If the health-care law is deemed unconstitutional, it's sure to be a black eye for the president. But it could complicate Mr. Romney's message as well by increasing the clamor for the candidate –and Congressional Republicans -; to be more specific about the health care policies they would try to instate. So far Mr. Romney has been able to use the health care law as a rallying cry to pump up supporters that are opposed to the bill (Murray, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Obama Defends Record In Florida Visit
Mr. Obama also delivered, as he did in every speech through four states, a lengthy defense of his record, including his controversial health-care reform law. In doing so he challenged his audiences, saying whether these accomplishments are maintained depends on them (Lee, 6/26).

The Associated Press: Romney Attacks 'Obamacare' Ahead Of SCOTUS Ruling
With an eye on the Supreme Court ruling this week, Mitt Romney on Tuesday said President Barack Obama's time in office would have been wasted if the high court strikes down the president's signature health care overhaul. ... At a fundraiser in Atlanta Tuesday, Obama countered that his health care law was critical to expanding health care coverage for millions of Americans and preventing companies from discriminating against people who are sick. "We don't need to refight this battle over health care. It's the right thing to do," Obama said (Peoples, 6/26).

In related news -

Politico: 2010 Dem Losers: No Regrets On Health Care Vote
Fifty-two Democrats lost in 2010, and public outrage over the health care law played a huge role in those losses, which handed the House to Republicans and put the Obama presidency on the defensive. But interviews with half a dozen of those 2010 Democratic losers reveal virtually no second-guessing and hardly any regrets (Nocera, 6/27).

Reuters: Democrats Lament Not Making Healthcare Sale
Prominent U.S. Democrats conceded on Tuesday they could have done a better job of selling President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul to the public, but said the law could still be an effective campaign issue even if it is struck down by the Supreme Court. Two days before the high court rules on the law's constitutionality, congressional Democrats told the Reuters Washington Summit they hoped to put Republicans on the defensive during the campaign for opposing the law's more popular elements (Whitesides, 6/26).