Mitt Romney claims credit for ObamaCare


Mitt Romney said Friday that the United States wouldn't have ObamaCare without him — this despite the fact that Romney spent the entire 2012 election pledging to repeal ObamaCare and distancing it from his own universal health care law in Massachusetts. Romney's comment appeared in an obituary for Thomas Stemberg, the founder of Staples who passed away Friday at the age of 66:
Romney said that shortly after he was elected, Mr. Stemberg asked him why he ran for governor. Romney said he told him that he wanted to help people, and Mr. Stemberg replied that if he really wanted to help, he should give everyone access to health care, which Romney said he hadn't really considered before."Without Tom pushing it, I don't think we would have had RomneyCare," Romney said. "Without RomneyCare, I don't think we would have ObamaCare. So, without Tom a lot of people wouldn't have health insurance." [The Boston Globe]
So ObamaCare isn't the death of freedom after all? Read more in The Boston Globe.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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