Santorum Challenges Romney on Obamacare

By Douglas V. Gibbs

During last Thursday's CNN Debate, the last debate before Tuesday's Florida Primary, Santorum challenged Romney on Obamacare, not only because of the similarities between Romneycare and Obamacare, but because Santorum recognizes how much of a defining issue government run health care truly is. If the government is entangled in our health care system, it will give them the authority (they think) to dictate to us everything that has to do with our health. It will allow them to tell us what we can and can't do in relation to health because after all, they are flipping the bill. What that does is make Obamacare the most important issue in this race, when it comes to our Constitutional freedoms.

Mitt Romney, since his Massachusetts health care law has many similarities with the federal health care law, has responded by saying that all of this talk about health care is not worth getting angry about. Santorum, in the debate, begged to disagree, saying that it is worth getting angry about, and it is worth staying angry about. Santorum was right in the debate when he said, "We can't afford to give away this issue. We can't afford for the issue of Obamacare to be subordinated to anything else that's being discussed up there."

While Newt and Mitt hammer each other over how much money they make, what immoral things they've done, and who is or is not conservative, Santorum has remained unscathed. Sure, there have been attempts by the media to try to drum up things, but nobody believes them, or nobody cares.

In the debate, one thing is for sure. . . Santorum did the best job of nailing Mitt Romney on Romneycare in any of the debates.  The Newt and Mitt back-and-forth personal-attack criticism is nothing when the issues are being talked about. That is what many of the voters are interested in.  With a Marxist in the White House, the personal flaws of the candidates is the last thing the voters are worrying about. The people of this country are willing to overlook a few personal flaws to stop the destruction of this country.

Obamacare is the final straw in terms of regulations. Obamacare will allow the government into your home, giving them control over every decision you make. Once Obamacare is fully implemented, and the liberal left gets the courts to back it, the liberals will be done shredding the Constitution. They will have completed their task to fundamentally transform this nation into a place where there is neither freedom or liberty. This issue is that crucial. Santorum was right. We cannot afford to give away this issue.

That said, considering that Romney is defending Romneycare, and Newt Gingrich has supported in the past an insurance mandate as stated in Obamacare, Santorum may be the only candidate who is truly convincing when he says he will get rid of Obamacare. He is not like the establishment Republicans who say things like, "Well, there are some things we might want to keep," or "Yeah, it may be big government, but we can do it better."  Santorum says no, it must be repealed.

Obamacare also teaches dependency, instead of individualism and self-reliance. Seriously. Think about it, one of the provisions allows you to keep your kids on your insurance policy until they are 26. My son is 26, is married, and has two kids. If he had an excuse to stay, like for health insurance, he would have never left. He'd be still depending on his parents instead of getting out there and getting his own place, and raising two beautiful children.  The best way to get kids out of the house is to say, "Hey, you can't be on my policy anymore, I guess you need a job so that you can have your own policy."

Boom, they are making money, and then they are out of the house taking care of themselves.

That is the kind of thing that makes this nation exceptional, not giving kids an excuse not to move out, or handing to people government handouts.

In the end, Santorum had it right. He laid it out perfect. In the debate he said, "Governor Romney was the author of Romneycare, which is a top-down, government-run health care system, which, I read an article today, has 15 different items directly in common with Obamacare. Everything from the increase in the Medicaid program, not just that government is gonna mandate you buy something as a condition of breathing, mandate that you buy an insurance policy. Something that Governor Romney agreed to at the state level. Something that Congressman Gingrich for 20 years advocated that the federal government can force each and every person to enter into a private contract. Something that everyone now, at least up on this stage, says is radically unconstitutional, Congressman Gingrich supported for 20 years. This is the top-down model that both of these gentlemen say they're now against, but they've been for, and this does not provide the contrast we need with Barack Obama if we're gonna take on that most important issue. We cannot give the issue of health care away in this election. It is too foundational for us to win this election."

We cannot give away this issue in this election. We cannot give the issue of health care away. Santorum is so right.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary