Fresh off his disastrous trip to England, Mitt Romney went to Israel hoping to get back on track in the charm department. Apparently his campaign managers changed his settings to auto-pander because they probably wish he hadn’t said this:
“Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the G.D.P. in Israel? Eight percent,” he said. “You spend eight percent of G.D.P. on health care. You’re a pretty healthy nation. We spend 18 percent of our G.D.P. on health care, 10 percentage points more. That gap, that 10 percent cost, compare that with the size of our military — our military which is 4 percent, 4 percent. Our gap with Israel is 10 points of G.D.P. We have to find ways — not just to provide health care to more people, but to find ways to fund and manage our health care costs.”
Problem: Israel has socialized medicine, something very close to a single payer system. To be fair to Romney, though, there is one major difference between Israel’s system and Obama’s health care reform bill — it wasn’t thought up by a black guy.
17 comments
Skip to comment form ↓
ShowMetheData
August 2, 2012 at 1:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Incorrect!
Thought up by a bunch of white guys (Heritage Foundaton et al) and implemented by a white guy (Mitt Romney)
Michael Heath
August 2, 2012 at 1:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Mitt Romney writes:
I see two alternative explanations for this non sequitur:
1) Mitt Romney’s as smart as Sarah Palin.
2) Mitt Romney’s reference to ‘healthy’ is his preferred state of affairs, which is where only his kind have access to healthcare.
marcus
August 2, 2012 at 1:49 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Auto-pander” used to be a feature, now it’s a bug!
Mr Ed
August 2, 2012 at 1:57 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I think that Romney is saying this for exactly the opposite reason. Palin said a lot of crazy stuff because she didn’t really understand what she was talking about. Romney is saying the same crazy stuff because he knows those who he is talking to don’t understand that is being said.
Every time I hear Romney I hear the jingle “BA ba ba ba baaa, i’m loving it,” from McDonald. Romney speaks in tested marketing spin. Israel is good, his base knows little about it other than they like, “BA ba ba baaa 8% GDP.”
busterggi
August 2, 2012 at 2:25 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hey, you forgot to mention that Israel finances that health care with a 48% income tax which apparently Mr. Romney also supports – as long as its there and not here.
Zinc Avenger (Sarcasm Tags 3.0 Compliant)
August 2, 2012 at 2:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And he loves the sand, all the grains are exactly the right size.
MikeMa
August 2, 2012 at 2:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And IIRC, our substantial foreign aid helps pay for it too.
laurentweppe
August 2, 2012 at 3:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
To be fair, the Israeli right-wing did manage to sabotage the israeli safety net and bring a fourth of the citizenry below the poverty line
d cwilson
August 2, 2012 at 3:23 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
They know Israel needs to exist so that Jeebus can come back to destroy it. Beyond that, not much.
Romney’s marketing plan isn’t aimed at the people in the countries he visited or even people here in America who are interested in facts. It’s aimed at the base. These are people who don’t care that Obamacare is a clone of Romneycare or how much of a hypocritical douche Romney looks when he trashes his own plan. All they want to hear is: Obama = bad; Israel = Good; All other foreigners = bad.
umlud
August 2, 2012 at 3:33 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
So, under Romney’s overhaul of US healthcare, we will send ourselves foreign aid. But none of that foreign aid can be used for contraception!
Bleaugh.
sharonb
August 2, 2012 at 3:34 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Dontya understand? His clear, consistent position is that he has always been against it, before he was for it. And then against it; But for it. Or something.
Clear as day!
I hope someone taped this for the Democratic Party’s use. It is devastating. What a hack! #RMONEYSHAMBLES
John Hinkle
August 2, 2012 at 3:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Um, couldn’t he start by looking at what Israel is doing? You know, while he’s there and everything?
Eric Ressner
August 2, 2012 at 11:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
No, no, sharonb @27, you don’t understand at all. Romney hasn’t changed his position at all. It’s always been …
Universal healthcare: good for the people of Massachusetts, bad for the people of the United States, good for the people of Israel. [/snark]
Or …
Universal healthcare: good when I think I can gain political advantage from it being good, bad when I think I can gain political advantage from it being bad.
Got it now?
gratch
August 3, 2012 at 3:20 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
To say he wants to get back on the charm track would imply he was ever on that track to start with. He was so incredibly un-charming in the primary they briefly considered lunatics like Bachmann and Cain. The only reason they didn’t nominate an inanimate carbon rod was because they couldn’t prove it had been made in the U.S.A.
democommie
August 3, 2012 at 8:35 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“The only reason they didn’t nominate an inanimate carbon rod was because they couldn’t prove it had been made in the U.S.A.”
Well, he IS a carbon BASED inanimate rod.
Mittunswillard, the only man who can make John Kerry look all “touchy feely” or in touch.
I wonder how long it will be before the Mittster’s campaign starts running ads against Obama that tout Romney’s “overseas” experience during the Vietnam War.
slc1
August 3, 2012 at 10:08 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Disastrous trip, what disastrous trip? According to Charles Krauthammer, Romney’s trip was a scintillating success! Krauthammer has degenerated into nothing more then and anti-Obama shill.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-romneys-excellent-trip/2012/08/02/gJQAQwmtSX_story.html
The Lorax
August 3, 2012 at 10:20 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Phase 1: Insult country hosting the Olympics.
Phase 2: Double-reverse position on health care reform in Israel.
Phase 3: ???
Phase 4: Profit!