Bloomberg on his Iowa speech tonight:
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty criticized health care legislation in Congress as he appeared in what may be an early audition for a 2012 presidential bid.
“It’s rare for Congress to work on weekends, but even rarer that a bill this anti-freedom comes along,” he said in remarks prepared for delivery. “It’s anti-freedom because it raises taxes,” he said. “It’s anti-freedom because it explodes bureaucracy. And it’s anti-freedom because it puts government in charge of health care decisions.” . . .
“The federal government can’t even live up to its promises for the manufacturing and distribution of vaccine for the flu,” said Pawlenty, 48. “If they can’t even arrange to manufacture and distribute flu vaccine, do you really think we should trust them to take over more of the system?”
Pawlenty also singled out President Barack Obama for criticism.
“On the night that he won the Iowa caucuses, he promised to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass a health care bill,” he said. “And now he’s decided to ram it down our throats.”