Is Romney a health care candidate?
Ramesh Ponnuru and I have gone back and forth on Massachusetts' health-care reform effort, in the interest of a meta-debate over whether Mitt Romney ought to be proud or ashamed of the bipartisan overhaul that represents his governing legacy. Paul Krugman talks about Mass Care in his column today, and while I doubt Ponnuru will let me argue with Krugman as my authority, problems of perspective being what they are, I think this data is worth noting, since Ponnuru refuses to believe the thing could be popular:Earlier this year, many conservatives, citing misleading poll results, claimed that public support for the Massachusetts reform had plunged. Newer, more careful polling paints a very different picture. The key finding: an overwhelming 79 percent of the public think the reform should be continued, while only 11 percent think it should be repealed.Interestingly, another recent poll shows similar support among the state’s physicians: 75 percent want to continue the policies; only 7 percent want to see them reversed.Given that the Massachusetts' effort is pretty similar to the current national legislation -- both are compromise plans that involve joint public and private efforts -- this should be an important signifier for those people, and legislators, waffling about federal health-care reform.
-- Tim Fernholz
