Romney says Obama's 'fundamental dishonesty' is undermining second term

Nov 4 2013

Former GOP presidential candidate says Obama did not learn the lessons of the Massachusetts' health overhaul.

The Washington Post: Romney Accuses Obama Of 'Fundamental Dishonesty' On Health-Care Law
Mitt Romney stepped up his attack on President Obama's health reform program on Sunday, accusing the president of "fundamental dishonesty" that has "undermined the foundation of his second term." The harsh comments from Obama's 2012 rival follow repeated attempts by the Obama administration to liken the current measure, known as Obamacare, to the health reform law that Romney championed as Massachusetts governor. ... His state's efforts showed the merits of avoiding a "one-size-fits-all plan," Romney said. "States should be able to craft their own plans" (Yeager, 11/3). 

The Boston Globe: Romney Criticizes Obama On Health Care Pitch
The federal law in many ways has been modeled after the Massachusetts law, but Romney has argued that health care should be solved in the states, not by the federal government. He also said this morning that Obama should have implemented the law in stages, as Massachusetts did, to prevent major glitches. ... Following Romney's appearance, the show had his Democratic successor, Governor Deval Patrick, to defend President Obama. "The Affordable Care Act is not a website," Patrick said. "I think Governor Romney knows that, and the American people know that. It's a values statement, and it does a lot of good for a lot of people. That has already begun; it will continue. The website is imperfect. That will get fixed, I'm confident of that" (Viser, 11/3).

USA Today: Romney Slams Obama's 'Dishonesty' On Health Care
In an appearance Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee criticized Obama's repeated assertion while the legislation was being debated in Congress that people would get to keep their health care plan. "He wasn't telling the truth," Romney said. "I think that fundamental dishonesty really puts in peril the foundation of his whole second term." The Obama administration has stressed in recent days that people who lose their health care coverage -; because their existing plan does not meet minimum standards under the federal law -; will be able to get better insurance coverage as required by the Affordable Care Act (Camia, 11/3).

McClatchy: Romney: Because Of Health Care, Obama 2d Term "Rotting Away"
Romney, the Republican presidential nominee last year, has been cited by Obama as an architect of health care change. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed into law a plan that in many ways is the model for the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Romney said throughout the 2012 campaign, and again Sunday, that states should be allowed to craft their own plans. "I think the president failed to learn the lessons that came from the experience in Massachusetts," Romney said Sunday (Lightman, 11/3).

Bloomberg: Obama's 'Fundamental Dishonesty' Hurts Credibility, Romney Says
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed into law a 2006 state program used as a model for the federal law, known as Obamacare. The Massachusetts plan also took time to get off the ground, White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said, enrolling only 0.03 percent of the population in the first month (Woellert, 11/3).

The Hill: White House Lowering Expectations On Enrollment
White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer on Sunday said initial ObamaCare enrollment numbers, to be released later this month, will not meet administration expectations due to a faulty website rollout. "I can promise you that the first enrollment numbers which will be released later this month are not going to be what we want them to be," Pfeiffer said on ABC's "This Week." "There's no question about that." "The website hasn't worked the way we want it to work. But we take responsibility for that, we take responsibility for the errors, we take responsibility for fixing it," Pfeiffer said (Balluck, 11/3).

Politico: Axelrod Hammered On 'You Can Keep It'
Former White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod had no allies on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday when he was asked repeatedly by a roundtable of journalists and pundits why the president told Americans if they liked their health care plan, they could keep it (Kopan, 11/3). 

Politico: Rogers: Shut Down ACA Site
Rep. Mike Rogers continued his criticism of the Obamacare rollout on Sunday, saying the Obama administration should temporarily shut down the website because of cybersecurity concerns. Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said even the administration admitted there was a "high degree of risk" with the website. Rogers has been a harsh critic of the Affordable Care Act rollout, and has long raised cybersecurity concerns about HealthCare.gov. At Wednesday's hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Rogers said HHS had conducted "a completely unacceptable level of security" (Topaz, 11/3).

And in earlier Republican comments -

The Hill: GOP Sen. To Obama: Delay O-Care Mandate
The problems surrounding the ObamaCare rollout and the potential for millions to lose insurance next year are proof that the individual mandate should be delayed, Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) said Saturday. In the Republican weekly address, Coats argued that the problems with ObamaCare run much deeper than website glitches as he called for a one-year delay for requiring individuals to have health insurance (Herb, 11/2).