Some prominent Mitt Romney supporters are saying the presidential hopeful's campaign should stop sending mixed messages about the Supreme Court's health care ruling.
Romney and his staffers have been going back and forth on whether to call it a tax as an attack on President Obama or not a tax, to preserve the argument that Romney never raised taxes in his state despite having a similar health care law.
Head spinning a bit? We'll backtrack.
On Wednesday, Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said the federal health care reform mandate constitutes a "tax," contradicting the way his senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, of the Etch-a-Sketch gaffe fame, characterized his position earlier this week. But the similar individual mandate and fee he signed into law when governor of Massachusetts is not a tax, he said in a separate interview, citing the Supreme Court's decision last Thursday.
In March, Fehrnstrom made headlines for saying in a CNN interview that the transition from the primaries to the general election was "almost like an Etch-a-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again."
Some people are calling the tax chatter another Romney flip-flop. Others are calling it the Etch-a-Sketch redux. Others, like editor of The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel, are saying this incident makes the previous gaffe look like solid campaign strategy.
Romney now says health mandate is a tax. Making that Etch a Sketch look downright steady,stable and full of integrity.
—
Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) July 05, 2012And now, plenty of people, including his supporters, are hitting Romney on the issue and letting him know that either he needs to get himself aligned with his staff on these issues, or scrap some of the staff and get a new game plan as they charge into the general election.
Media baron Rupert Murdoch, never shy on his views, tweeted that while he supports the former Massachusetts governor he believes Romney needs to shake up his staff to have a chance to beat Obama's seasoned campaign staff.
Met Romney last week. Tough O Chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from team and hires some real pros. Doubtful.
—
Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) July 01, 2012And apparently, that tweet upset the Romney campaign, which prompted Murdoch to follow up with a tweet on Monday. He said he wants Romney to win, but instead of the campaign upset about the criticism they should heed some of the good advice Murdoch feels Romney is getting about trying to get his campaign in order.
Romney people upset at me! Of course I want him to win, save us from socialism, etc but should listen to good advice and get stuck in!
—
Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) July 02, 2012
Murdoch's tweets of fury were followed by agreement from Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, and then a blistering editorial from the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal.
Welch tweeted that he hoped Romney's camp would heed Murdoch's advice, noting that the Obama campaign staff is a well-oiled machine at this point.
Hope Mitt Romney is listening to Murdoch advice ont campaign staff..playing in league with Chicago pols..No room for amateurs
—
Jack Welch (@jack_welch) July 02, 2012And the Wall Street Journal went further with an elaborate editorial that declared the tax or not a tax issue is indicative of larger campaign problems. The editorial says what could have easily been a choreographed way to attack Obama has essentially turned into a political defeat for Romney.
"Why make such an unforced error? Because it fits with Mr. Romney's fear of being labeled a flip-flopper, as if that is worse than confusing voters about the tax and health-care issues. Mr. Romney favored the individual mandate as part of his reform in Massachusetts, and as we've said from the beginning of his candidacy his failure to admit that mistake makes him less able to carry the anti-ObamaCare case to voters ...
His latest mistake is of a piece with the campaign's insular staff and strategy that are slowly squandering an historic opportunity. Mr. Obama is being hurt by an economic recovery that is weakening for the third time in three years. But Mr. Romney hasn't been able to take advantage, and if anything he is losing ground.
The Romney campaign thinks it can play it safe and coast to the White House by saying the economy stinks and it's Mr. Obama's fault. We're on its email list and the main daily message from the campaign is that "Obama isn't working." Thanks, guys, but Americans already know that. What they want to hear from the challenger is some understanding of why the President's policies aren't working and how Mr. Romney's policies will do better."
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Also, what did he do during the vietnam conflict? Serve, hell no. I know he was in France preaching Mormanism and who knows what else !
Romney stands for nothing. You can watch him on video not so long ago, talking about the mandate, and how he fully supports it. He even made reference to the millions uninsured – yes, making reference CLEARLY OUTSIDE HIS STATE, during his talk on health care, the mandate, and penalties.
The opposition to the health care bill isn't sincere – it's simply about politics. The entire republican mantra – to heck with whats best for the country, lets just attack the other side and take America down in the process if need be.
The cool thing – if Romney does by some miracle get elected, the Tea Party will likely be crying... because once again, Romney will erase the etch-a-sketch, and it's anyone's guess as to what will emerge.
Mitt Romney is the emptiest of suits there is. His party should run a Brooks Brothers mannequin for president instead: it's dressed the same, and at least it knows how to take a stand.
Romney a mixed up nut case. He has no argument or plan on anything. He just wants to BE PRESIDENT". Its his ultimate ego.
mittens cant even agree with himself in the mirror
Quit your moaning! Go to FOX, where you belong.
So runner, you are saying if you have a differance of an opinion, to to another News broadcaster? Smart... real smart.. Futher divide the country.
Stiff Mitt blows in the wind like a weed.
That's Mitt Romney there. That's who he is. Believing everything he said in the first place is the supporters' fault.
I am completely convinced that at this point in the election game, Mitt Romney's only political belief is that he wants to president. Badly.
Romney reminds me of a kid being called on the carpet for something by his parents. The bewildered kid finally just says "I'll say whatever you want me to say. Just tell me what you want me to say."
This is the kind of person you want in the White House? Really?
Ugh! Romney is the worst. I can not wait for the debates. Obama is going to eat him for breakfast and pick his teeth with the bones. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see some red states go blue this time around due to lack of enthusiasm from the Republican voters.
"When you tell the truth you don't have to have a good memory." Mark Twain
Romney has told us absolutely nothing about what he actually would do if elected president. Nothing.
Let's just call is what it is: Mitt Romney lies a lot, just look at any fact checking record & compare him to Obama. Now that doesn't mean I like Obama just because he's more honest & factually grounded, but it does mean I cannot vote for Mitt. That means Gary Johnson will benefit.
mitt the nut a true cultist who will say anything to try and decieve people.
Oh really? How about the current POTUS? He wouldn't know the truth if it hit him in the face.