Conservatives, led by controversy-generator Ann Coulter, are demanding the head of Mitt Romney's spokeswoman, Andrea Saul, for touting "RomneyCare," her candidate's Massachusetts health-care law, while responding to a pro-Obama ad. Republicans opposed to ObamaCare said Saul betrayed their cause by praising a law that, like the president's initiative, includes a health-insurance mandate. Rush Limbaugh eviscerated Saul, calling her comment a "gold mine" for Democrats because it came off as an endorsement of ObamaCare. Was Saul just doing her job, or must Romney fire her to appease the GOP base he needs to win the election?
Absolutely. Saul has to go: Coulter says big GOP donors should not give Romney another dime if he doesn't fire Saul, says Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit, and she's absolutely right. Praising Romney's health-insurance mandate while promising to get rid of President Obama's initiative amounts to "playing kissy-kissy" with the opposition. That's no way to win an election.
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Saul did nothing wrong: Romney has no reason to get rid of Andrea Saul, says Noam Scheiber at The New Republic. She was "saying precisely what her superiors in the Romney campaign believe, not least of them Mitt Romney." It is "common knowledge in RomneyWorld" that the GOP candidate remains proud of the health reform he pushed through for his Massachusetts constituents, no matter how scathing he is toward ObamaCare. Team Romney "massively underestimated the fever on the right" on this issue, but that's not Saul's fault.
"Romney spokesperson ignites right-wing backlash; I rise to her defense"
The question is, why did Romney hire her: "Romney seems to have intentionally promoted staffers who are largely unknown — and in some cases hostile — to the conservative movement," says Matt K. Lewis at The Daily Caller. Saul, who, in her last job as an aide to Florida GOP turncoat Charlie Crist, once called Marco Rubio a scam artist, is only the most glaring example. Coulter wants Romney to fire Saul, "but a better question is: Why did he hire her in the first place?"
"If 'personnel is policy,' Mitt Romney has serious problems"
Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.