As Henry Payne notes, Mitt Romney has not backed down on his defense of RomneyCare, or as I like to call it, ObamaCare 1.0
That’s disappointing, but I will give Romney credit for framing it in terms of federalism. If I recall correctly, his defense is that it’s not something he would advocate for the whole country, but it was something that reflects what Massachusetts wanted.
That’s not exactly a whole-hearted endorsement of limits on government. But it is consistent with federalism. And if Bay State residents want to subject themselves to high taxes and long waits for doctors, have at it. Just don’t expect residents of other states to follow suit. We could use a bigger dose of federalism these days, since power divided is power checked.
But back to Romney. While his answer is fine on its face, I do fear that he does lack a sufficient adherence to constitutional principles to ensure further encroachment of Congress and the presidency on the American public.