Don’t expect Mitt Romney to backtrack on his Massachusetts health-care plan at any point this election cycle.
“I am sure there are many people who have calculated, and perhaps correctly, that the healthcare plan I put in place in Massachusetts is not good for me politically, and if I want to encourage my political future, I should say it was a mistake and walk away from it,” Romney told Fox News host Neil Cavuto in an interview set to air later tonight.
“You have seen a lot of candidates look at their biggest vulnerability, call it a mistake, and ask for forgiveness,” Romney continued. “In my case that wouldn’t be honest.”
He affirmed that he believes the health-care program was the “right thing” for Massachusetts then, although he conceded that it hasn’t “worked perfectly.”
“If it hurts me politically, it’s a consequence of the truth,” Romney added. “I am not going to walk away from that. It’s right for states to come up with their own solutions. I doubt other people are going try and follow the one we put together. Maybe learn from our experience. Maybe come up with something better. But the wrong course is to have the federal government impose its will on the entire nation.”
Asked if Elena Kagan should recuse herself from the Obamacare case, Romney said he was unsure at this point.
“I will take a look at her involvement,” he responded. “Typically a justice must recuse themselves if they have a conflict of interest; I don’t know what her conflict might be. My view is this is a pretty clear cut case, where the federal government has intruded on the rights of states.”