Topic: Perry vs Romney

[charlesoakwood]

Rick Perry's Texas vs. Mitt Romney's Massachusetts: The Health Statistics Almanac

So it looks like Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, is running for President. There’s good reason to believe that his entry will lead to a two-man race for the GOP presidential nomination between Perry and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. But while Mitt Romney’s record on health care has been the subject of countless academic papers and blog posts, Rick Perry’s has not.

In an effort to illuminate this contest, I’ve gone through a wealth of statistical data compiled by the U.S. Census, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Commonwealth Fund. I wanted to know: how does health care in Texas compare to that of Massachusetts? Does the data help us assess the health care records of Perry and Romney as governors of their states, and what they could achieve on the national level?

Come back and visit this page from time to time, as I will try to update it as I come across useful stats.

Who wins?

If you’re the type who likes to read the end of a book first, you might ask, “Okay, Avik, what’s the bottom line?” The answer will, in part, depend on what you think is important in health care policy. If you’re most concerned about runaway government spending, Perry is the clear winner. If the rising cost of health insurance is your primary worry, Perry wins there too. On the other hand, if universal coverage is your bailiwick, Romney comes out far ahead.

If that sounds like the basic ideological divide in health policy, you’re not far from the truth. As you read through this article, you’ll see what I mean.

Link

[Libertas]

Center ring.  Gonna get interesting, that's for sure.

Somebody has to smoke out Romney on healthcare, he can't just get a pass by saying "it was right for Massachusetts".  It will be interesting to see how he handles attacks, he's staked his whole case on being presidential, he gets into it to rough and that patina is gone, he responds to meekly and he looks weak and vulnerable.

Better this come out now than in the general, that's for sure!

[charlesoakwood]

Jabs

Romney, on the trail in Litchfield, N.H., had taken a not-so-subtle jab at Perry.:

“Understanding how the economy works by having worked in the real economy is finally essential in the White House,” Romney said, adding: “I respect the other people in this race, but I think the only other person who has that kind of extensive private sector experience besides me in the Republican race is Herman Cain.”

...
Perry:

“I was in the private sector for thirteen years after I left the Air Force,” he said. “You know, I wasn’t on Wall Street, I wasn’t working at Bain Capital, but the principles of the free market — they work whether you’re in a farm field in Iowa or whether you’re on Wall Street.”

[IronDioPriest]

In a way, the primary process favors the opposition incumbent. These pubbies will spend the next several months hammering on each other, exposing every weakness, and the Chimp will be there the entire time, driving wedges in the electorate as they diminish themselves.

[trapeze]

If there is a third (conservative or faux conservative) party candidate, then I would be concerned.

If BO is not the Democrat candidate, then I would be concerned.

If the economy somehow...miraculously...turns around, then I would be concerned.

If it turns out that the Republican candidate is insane, perverted or in some way cracks up the day before the election, then I would be concerned.

If we were, à la Krugman, invaded by extra terrestrials late next year, then I would be concerned.

It is difficult to imagine any other scenario in which BO wins.

Jimmy Carter's legacy made safe...

Worst.

President.

Evah.

[trapeze]

And, that said, I don't know how President Downgrade's magic bus tour is going but I have a feeling that sooner or later he will be forced to do the full Milhous and adopt a bunker mentality. Certainly that would be better than pics and video of him facing hostile and heckling mobs.

[Pandora]

In a way, the primary process favors the opposition incumbent. These pubbies will spend the next several months hammering on each other, exposing every weakness, and the Chimp will be there the entire time, driving wedges in the electorate as they diminish themselves.

That's what bothered me about T-Paw taking shots at Bachmann during the debate.  You better believe "the opposition" will be using that against her.

[IronDioPriest]

In a way, the primary process favors the opposition incumbent. These pubbies will spend the next several months hammering on each other, exposing every weakness, and the Chimp will be there the entire time, driving wedges in the electorate as they diminish themselves.

That's what bothered me about T-Paw taking shots at Bachmann during the debate.  You better believe "the opposition" will be using that against her.

Yup. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. It's not like the opposition wouldn't do those things anyway. And in fact, a candidate's weaknesses and resume should be hashed over. But the primary process gives the opposition ammunition to say, "even your conservative colleagues say..."

[Libertas]

Some of that coming out of the mouths of opposition candidates has a childish nature about it, so it's not like people can just whip that out any old time and score points with it.  With an economy in ruins, people out of work and people PO'd, some of the cute playground gotchya crap is going to have a short life span.  The people that can stay on point and score solid points are going to rise to the top.  And there is going to be a hell of a lot of low-down dirty-rotten filthy tricks getting dealt by a desperate Obama machine that is going to require a massive rapid-response team to deal with.

[AmericanPatriot]

If there is a third (conservative or faux conservative) party candidate, then I would be concerned.

Is Paul nuts enough  to enter as a 3rd party and pull a Perot?

Although he doesn't have near enough support to win the nomination, he does probably have enough to be a spoiler

[Libertas]

If there is a third (conservative or faux conservative) party candidate, then I would be concerned.

Is Paul nuts enough  to enter as a 3rd party and pull a Perot?

Although he doesn't have near enough support to win the nomination, he does probably have enough to be a spoiler

Yes, and the Paulbots are willing to let Obama get re-elected to prove it!