Rick "Frothy" Santorum Supported Individual Mandate

[howardroark]

I shit you not: http://articles.mcall.com/1994-05-02/news/2979474_1_cooper-grandy-health-reform-employees-premiums/2

Candidates Diverge On Health Care Remedies
May 02, 1994|by ANN WLAZELEK, The Morning Call

Santorum and Watkins would require individuals to buy health insurance rather than forcing employers to pay for employee benefits.

So much for his attacks on Newt and Mitt...

[240 is Back]

hahahahaha so ron paul is the only repub in the race that isn't in bed with obama and the ins companies on the mandate.

[Shockwave]

hahahahaha so ron paul is the only repub in the race that isn't in bed with obama and the ins companies on the mandate.

And he's the only one the entire Republican party unites against... things that make you go hmmm...

[240 is Back]

And he's the only one the entire Republican party unites against... things that make you go hmmm...

he's bad for business.

put it this way.... corporations (including fox), politicians (members of both parties in congress), etc...

They will make MORE money under a second obama term than they would under a 1st ron paul term.  It all comes down to that.

They'd rather lose with Mitt or newt, than win with Paul... cause they all still got PAID over the last 4 years, they just didn't have the title.

[Bindare_Dundat]

Man, Santorum sounded like a fucking angry nut last night.

[240 is Back]

they were all weak last night.   

ron paul is stephen hawking trying to run a daycare center.  everyone is crapping themselves and crying and being irrational and he's trying to teach them physics.  The repub base can't control themselves.  they're immature, emotional, and after spending the last year defending these half-wit dipshits in the race - suddenly they're stuck with them.

[Freeborn126]

they were all weak last night.   

ron paul is stephen hawking trying to run a daycare center.  everyone is crapping themselves and crying and being irrational and he's trying to teach them physics.  The repub base can't control themselves.  they're immature, emotional, and after spending the last year defending these half-wit dipshits in the race - suddenly they're stuck with them.

haha, well put.

[Skip8282]

I shit you not: http://articles.mcall.com/1994-05-02/news/2979474_1_cooper-grandy-health-reform-employees-premiums/2

So much for his attacks on Newt and Mitt...

No.  I think it's just the way it's worded.

Required as in if somebody wanted health insurance they would have to purchase it rather than an employer being forced to supply it.

Not, that he supported a law mandating the purchase of it.

I was living in PA back then and I don't remember him ever trying to force the purchase.

[howardroark]

"Requiring" people to purchase health insurance sounds pretty damn similar to "mandating" them to buy health insurance, if you ask me.

[dario73]

"Requiring" people to purchase health insurance sounds pretty damn similar to "mandating" them to buy health insurance, if you ask me.

Required as in if somebody wanted health insurance

IF. IF. It's not a mandate.  Read it again, skippy.

[Skip8282]

"Requiring" people to purchase health insurance sounds pretty damn similar to "mandating" them to buy health insurance, if you ask me.

You have anything from Santorum himself indicating that he supports a mandate to purchase?

Or are you just another Paultard desperately grasping at straws?

[howardroark]

Required as in if somebody wanted health insurance

IF. IF. It's not a mandate.  Read it again, skippy.

Sounds like you need to read it again. Here is the passage in question:

Santorum and Watkins would require individuals to buy health insurance rather than forcing employers to pay for employee benefits.

There is nothing about you having to buy health insurance IF you want it. What it does say is that individuals would be REQUIRED to buy health insurance, no "ifs" or "buts" in the statement.

[howardroark]

You have anything from Santorum himself indicating that he supports a mandate to purchase?

Or are you just another Paultard desperately grasping at straws?

You can roll your eyes all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that your rationalization holds no ground.

And I'll look deeper for Santorum's own statements, however, before I do, you have to realize that his support for an individual mandate is not surprising at all considering:
1. Santorum's support for $17 trillion in unfunded liabilities in Medicare Part D.
and
2. Santorum's tendency to vote however the GOP establishment wants him to vote, e.g. his votes for unbalanced budgets and his votes to consistently raise the debt ceiling when Bush was President.

[Skip8282]

Sounds like you need to read it again. Here is the passage in question:
There is nothing about you having to buy health insurance IF you want it. What it does say is that individuals would be REQUIRED to buy health insurance, no "ifs" or "buts" in the statement.

Those are the words of a reporter.  Let's try again tard:

You have anything from Santorum himself indicating that he supports a mandate to purchase?

Or are you just another Paultard desperately grasping at straws?

[Skip8282]

You can roll your eyes all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that your rationalization holds no ground.

And I'll look deeper for Santorum's own statements, however, before I do, you have to realize that his support for an individual mandate is not surprising at all considering:
1. Santorum's support for $17 trillion in unfunded liabilities in Medicare Part D.
and
2. Santorum's tendency to vote however the GOP establishment wants him to vote, e.g. his votes for unbalanced budgets and his votes to consistently raise the debt ceiling when Bush was President.

No, your logic holds no ground as you've yet to proffer anything from Santorum.

[howardroark]

Let's see, the article clearly states: "Santorum and Watkins would require individuals to buy health insurance rather than forcing employers to pay for employee benefits."

Isn't requiring everyone to buy health insurance the same as an individual mandate? 

BTW, I am not alone in my interpretation of this statement:
http://newsok.com/1994-report-santorum-supported-individual-mandate/article/feed/340676
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2838685/posts
http://www.therightscoop.com/santorum-supported-the-individual-mandate/

[howardroark]

http://www.tnr.com/blog/timothy-noah/100133/rick-santorum-individual-mandate-fraud

PolitiFact verified several days ago that Santorum's claim that Gingrich has supported some version of the mandate for 20 years was "mostly true." But it didn't think to ask whether Santorum, too, has supported the individual mandate in the past. And as it happens, he has. He supported it in 1994, according to this April 7, 1994 article in the Allentown, Pa. Morning Call, and this May 2, 1994 article in the same newspaper. It's possible that the newspaper would have gotten this wrong once, but in the heat of a primary campaign it's highly unlikely Santorum's campaign would have allowed it to get this wrong twice.

It wouldn't have been at all odd for any of these Republicans to support the individual mandate in the past, because it was a Republican idea, hatched by Stuart Butler and some others at the Heritage Foundation. (Documentation here.) Heritage has desperately tried to disavow it, but to no avail. Even James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal, apparently present at the creation, concedes the point. You sometimes hear conservatives defend their past support for the individual mandate by saying that something was needed to head off more ambitious health insurance schemes like Hillarycare, but that's another way of saying that whenever a conservative proposes any solution to the health care crisis he or she does so in bad faith.

[Skip8282]

http://www.tnr.com/blog/timothy-noah/100133/rick-santorum-individual-mandate-fraud

PolitiFact verified several days ago that Santorum's claim that Gingrich has supported some version of the mandate for 20 years was "mostly true." But it didn't think to ask whether Santorum, too, has supported the individual mandate in the past. And as it happens, he has. He supported it in 1994, according to this April 7, 1994 article in the Allentown, Pa. Morning Call, and this May 2, 1994 article in the same newspaper. It's possible that the newspaper would have gotten this wrong once, but in the heat of a primary campaign it's highly unlikely Santorum's campaign would have allowed it to get this wrong twice.

It wouldn't have been at all odd for any of these Republicans to support the individual mandate in the past, because it was a Republican idea, hatched by Stuart Butler and some others at the Heritage Foundation. (Documentation here.) Heritage has desperately tried to disavow it, but to no avail. Even James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal, apparently present at the creation, concedes the point. You sometimes hear conservatives defend their past support for the individual mandate by saying that something was needed to head off more ambitious health insurance schemes like Hillarycare, but that's another way of saying that whenever a conservative proposes any solution to the health care crisis he or she does so in bad faith.

Just using the same article you're using.

Again...for the 3rd time (3 strikes and you're out ).  Is there any evidence from Santorum indicating he supports a law to mandate purchasing healthcare?

I don't like Santorum and was one of the first here to point out he would be horrible.  In fact, I would actually have to consider voting Obama, who I really despise - that's how much I despise Santorum.

But, I see no point in lying about it.  If he supported it, let's see the evidence.

[howardroark]

That's the evidence - two different articles from '94 showing that he supported the individual mandate. Is it possible that The Morning Call got Santorum's position wrong on two separate occasions? Yes. Is it likely? No.

[Skip8282]

In that case, I'll reserve judgement until the facts demonstrate one or the other.

Like I said, I was living in PA back then and I don't remember him trying to push any such law.  If it comes out later he's a supporter, it'll be reason #4857 not to vote for him.

[Soul Crusher]

Santorum actually opposed individual mandate in 1994 race for U.S. Senate
Daily Caller ^ | January 27, 2012 | Jeff Poor
Posted on January 27, 2012 6:35:42 PM EST by Lazlo in PA

As the race for the Republican presidential nomination has reached a point where opposition research has hit a fever pitch, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is discovering that even he isn’t immune from vicious political attacks.

A Washington Examiner piece by Joel Gehrke reported Friday that Santorum supported individual health mandates, citing a 1994 The Morning Call (Pa.) story. But as The Right Scoop blog pointed out on Friday, the article “doesn’t even quote Santorum as supporting the individual mandate.”

Running for the U.S. Senate in 1994, however, Santorum actually said just the opposite of that, as a video from CSPAN shows. The Oct. 31, 1994 video has Santorum saying government shouldn’t “dictate” anything on health care.

“I think what the role of the federal government is to provide opportunity for everyone to get what they want, to live their dreams and not to dictate what everybody should have,” he said.

And he explained why, which is even when certain things are mandated by the federal government, they often don’t work and added it simply is “not the American way of doing things.”

(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...

[James]

That's the evidence - two different articles from '94 showing that he supported the individual mandate. Is it possible that The Morning Call got Santorum's position wrong on two separate occasions? Yes. Is it likely? No.

So if "two different articles' from the same year say something negative about Ron Paul then should we also apply your same above "evidence" mark to Ron Paul, in whether or not it is true?  I think not.

[howardroark]

So if "two different articles' from the same year say something negative about Ron Paul then should we also apply your same above "evidence" mark to Ron Paul, in whether or not it is true?  I think not.

If it misrepresents RP's positions, then you'd expect the RP campaign to refute it - Santorum's campaign apparently did no such thing.

[Dos Equis]

I agree with Skip that the quote by the reporter doesn't show Santorum supported an individual mandate.  The article 33 posted refutes it too. 

[Bindare_Dundat]

I think there are much better examples you can catch Santorum lying about. His outrages claim that he  "stood out and stood tall" to warn of the housing crisis is downright bullcrap.

He also has some serious emotional issues. He gets worked up way to easily, reminds of the kid that takes his ball home when things dont go their way.

.