Holy Crap: Romney praises Israel's Government Paid Healthcare?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/romney-praises-israels-socialized-health-care-sys

Romney Praises Israel's Socialized Health Care System
No to ObamaCare, but Israel's mandate is working, Romney says.

JERUSALEM — Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney offered praise for the Israeli health care system today — a medical plan that has been socialized since its founding in 1948.

Romney, who championed the Massachusetts health care mandate, but is an opponent of the federal mandate passed by President Barack Obama, marveled at how little Israel spends on health care relative to the United States.

“Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the GDP in Israel? eight percent," Romney told donors at a fundraiser at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, speaking of a health care system that is compulsory for Israelis and funded by the government. "You spend eight percent of GDP on health care. You're a pretty healthy nation. We spend 18% of our GDP on health care. Ten percentage points more. That gap, that 10 percent cost, compare that with the size of our military — our military which is four percent — four percent. Our gap with Israel is 10 points of GDP. We have to find ways — not just to provide health care to more people, but to find ways to find and manage our health care costs."

Romney has explained that he opposes ObamaCare because what worked in Massachusetts may not work for other states. Highlighting the success of the Israeli system — in a country that enjoys one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world — could complicate matters for Romney at home.

Rights of the Insured under the National Health Insurance Law
-—Every Israeli citizen is entitled to health care services under the National Health Insurance Law.

[Curtland1015]

1. Ya don't say Mitt...

My God. Is there any side of an issue Mitt isn't on?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. It's weird...he really is not an ideologue at all....just a numbers guy. He looked at the

percentage of GDP, saw the number and went "Wow". Amazingly though, he didn't remember he's against the idea
of providing healthcare to citizens....Oops. But, it does show for sure...it's about the bottom line only

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

14. Not so much a numbers guy....

As an "I'll say anything to anybody at anytime if it benefits me" guy.

[progressivebydesign]

39. Watching his interviews, he comes off like a desperate job candidate for position over his head.

You can watch him as he reacts to questions, and he gives these answers that are so pat.. he doesn't put any thought behind them. There is no depth. Everything is carefully responded to, but not really answered. Have you ever interviewed someone for a job, and seen that? They answer everything perfectly, but you never warm up to them. Or they get hired and they have no clue wth they're doing.

[Berlum]

2. Etching the Sketch again, eh Willard?

[spanone]

3. pathetic pol

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. I'd like to know what his plan for us is

Except that he, like every other Repub, has nothing waiting in the wings to "replace" PPACA, our national health insurance law, with, of course.

[trof]

5. K&R

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. Romney is such a hypocrite.

[BeyondGeography]

8. He might just be an idiot

[annabanana]

11. Point taken. He may not be SMART enough to be a hypocrite. . . . n/t

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

15. Being a hypocrite...

starts with the a priori assumption that you HAVE a set of values that one is willing to subvert. Since Mitt doesn't believe in anything, I'm not sure it's technically accurate to call him a hypocrite.

Sociopath?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. He is 100% all about money. That, he is smart at. How to get it. How to spend it

wisely. How to avoid taxes.

[Lucy Goosey]

9. The Obama campaign needs to take this and run with it...

It shows Romney's astounding hypocrisy. It would be easy to, for example, to come up with an ad that said something like, "Why does Mitt think that Isreal's universal health coverage is great, but doesn't think Americans deserve the same thing?"

[annabanana]

12. Exactly!.. An opportunity not to be missed. . . n/t

[Bolo Boffin]

26. The ad just needs to be Romney talking.

With some well-placed words on the screen.

BECAUSE ISRAEL HAS UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

WITH AN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE

JUST LIKE GOV. ROMNEY'S MASSACHUSETTS

RE-ELECT OBAMA/BIDEN

[clydefrand]

47. Romney is a real stupid a...hole!

He likes Israel's health coverage, but we shouldn't have it? Oh, could it be because he and all of the other rich have enough money to pay for their health problems.

Maybe we need to pay more because we have more people in this country than in Israel? And we do have bit more land than they do!

[cali]

10. Utterly shameless in a way I don't think I've ever encountered before

Not even in fiction.

[Javaman]

13. don't worry, lost mittens will "step back" his comments when

the right wing gets their panties in a bunch.

more of lost mittens': first he fucks up then he sucks up.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

17. He is stepping back so much lately....wish he could step back all the way to the point

he decided to run

[ProSense]

18. Remember the one

about him intentionally trying to appeal to wingnuts?

No, he's a moron.

[Ganja Ninja]

19. Check out the top tax rate Israeli's pay.

Over 501,961 - 48% (Don't know what denomination that's in. Currently 1 Israeli shekel = 0.247666 U.S. dollars)

Taxable Income - All income from employment and business is taxable. Passive income from bank deposits and savings, both in Israel and abroad are also taxable.

Capital Gains - Capital gains may arise on the sale of assets; for individuals this is generally 25%.

They also have a VAT tax of 17% and what amounts to a social security tax that is considerably higher than ours.

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Israel

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. yikes. shows MR is no where ready for prime time. To just focus on one piece of data without

taking into consideration key facts you mention

[jillan]

20. I see Mitt decided to pack his etch-a-sketch afterall.

[ananda]

21. So he's both retroactively for and against healthcare.

Whoadude, that's heavy.

[karynnj]

22. So, I guess that makes Romney on record for single payer

Someone needs to complain to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the rest of the RW loons who think the ACA is socialized medicine.

[Zambero]

24. Spot on Mitt!!!

Now, how might we get that nagging % of GDP down to a manageable level? Just eliminate the 30% of U.S. health care cost that is "middleman" insurance company profit, and revamp with a single payer system with low administrative cost, just like Israel. However Mitt, please be advised that the devil is in the details -- your newfound Tea Party pals would not want you to espouse any sort of national health care system. Best that you back this one off, just like you did in London.

[valerief]

25. International hypocrisy. He's the James Bond of hypocrisy. nt

[get the red out]

27. Thanks for posting this

I linked to it on FB so that all my extreme right "friends" can toss their breakfast.

[LynneSin]

28. Maybe Romney was inspired by the opening olympics tribute to Nationalized Healthcare

I mean he was in attendance who knows!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

30. Now that would be a welcome flip flop

[neeksgeek]

29. I think Mittens is FOR Healthcare...

Just not for the lazy, entitled, uneducated workers in Amercia who "don't know how the system works."

[ProSense]

32. No

"I think Mittens is FOR Healthcare..."

...he isn't. It was convenient while it allowed him to fool people, not anymore. He vetoed the best parts of the MA health care law.

On April 12, 2006, Governor Mitt Romney signed the health legislation.[20] Romney vetoed eight sections of the health care legislation, including the controversial employer assessment.[21] Romney also vetoed provisions providing dental benefits to poor residents on the Medicaid program, and providing health coverage to senior and disabled legal immigrants not eligible for federal Medicaid.[22] The legislature promptly overrode six of the eight gubernatorial section vetoes, on May 4, 2006, and by mid-June 2006 had overridden the remaining two.[23]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_health_care_reform#Legislation

Obama Calls Health Care Decision ‘A Victory,’ Romney Vows Repeal
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/health-care-supreme-court-obama-romney-decision-mandate.php

Mitt is a flip-flopping, opportunistic, rudderless, unprincipled jerk. His comments in Israel are all opportunistic, and he believes no one will connect the dots. It's time to separate Mitt from the Mass health care bill.

[neeksgeek]

35. I never know when to include the sarcasm tag.

I should have done so this time.

[Marrah_G]

33. wtf.........

[grantcart]

34. who says American taxpayers aren't willing to pay for a great socialized

Health care plan

[area51]

36. lol

Rmoney: "I was against it before I was for it."

[Skidmore]

37. Well, I'm helping this article to go viral.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

42. gotta keep tweetin

[Laura PourMeADrink]

48. well, doesn't look like MSM picked up on this

[nolabear]

38. These debates are going to be MAGNIFICENT.

The Bureau of Keeping Up With Gaffes alone is reducing jobless numbers.

[Betty Jo]

40. MITTY AND HCA HOSPITALS

Romney is part of HERCULES II LLC,which bought Hospital Corporation of America..Some of these hospitals are in England.Some of these hospitals are in cooperation with Englands National Health Care System NHS.This deal was reported on DU way back.I found out about HCA and Hercules II LLC because I read the downloadable tax returns of Annie and Mitty.They paid taxes on hospitals that they partially owned.This chain of hospitals is only one of the many healthcare entities that Bain owns.The Romneys are making millions of dollars off of these all over the world.I think that this is the reason Mitty doesn't want his taxes made public.Google the tax returns,HERCULES II LLC and the Bain sites and HCA .Connect the dots.Mittyis making millions off of Medicare and Medicaid.

[geardaddy]

41. Willard!

[erpowers]

43. Three Points

One, this is another thing that makes we wonder if someone from the Democratic Party is working for the Mitt Romney campaign and trying to destroy it from the inside. Two, people, including Republicans, should refuse to vote for Mitt Romney just because of his stupidity. Romney saying those things after he criticized the Affordable Care Act is just too stupid. Even if his speech writing team is to blame for that speech he should have known what type of healthcare system he was talking about and not made that speech if he truly opposed a national healthcare system. Three, will any reporters call Romney out on that speech and ask him to explain his stance?

[Swede Atlanta]

44. Either this guy or his people are morons......

I am not that familiar with the Israeli National Health Insurance System but it appears it is either single-payer (similar to Medicare) or it is like Romney's MA system with private insurers with a mandate. Either way Mittens loses on this argument. He is obviously opposed to single-payer because his cronies in the health insurance business cannot get their take and opposed to the mandate with private insurers because it is his own plan for MA but adopted by Obama for the nation.

I swear if he is somehow elected in November I don't know what to do. I'm not like the Teabagger nutcases that are screaming they'll just implode if Obama is re-elected but seriously what do I do? This guy is as stupid as GWB and surrounded by many of the same cronies. Perhaps those cronies are not as jaded as GWB's but still I see nothing but heartache if he is elected.

[Third Doctor]

45. the man believes in nothing

He praises a program that his supporters would deny the american people.

[BREMPRO]

46. ok maybe he is just a smart guy who knows what the problem is

but can't hold that position because that would not be popular with his base... or maybe he is just plain dumb because he doesn't realize he just trashed one of his parties core principle... either way, this was a remarkably idiotic issue politically to wade into.. does he have a clue that the reason they spend less is because it's govt. funded and run nationalized health care? if he does know then he is an idiot for saying that. if he didn't know he's remarkably ignorant and politically clumsy.. never ceases to amaze me the broad inconsistent jumble of ideas and position he can fit through that little thin lipped lizard mouth...

[Heather MC]

49. you people!!! i swear you people just don't get it

you were not suppose to hear him spout of all his wonderful fact and figures and think omg he is praising socialized medicine in another country. while simultaneously opposing it in the united states.

on the contrary you were suppose to eat up his word salad and think WOW he has rally done his homework he knows how fucked up our healthcare system. bravo he's the guy!

but instead you people keep pointing out the obvious how is he suppose to win if we don't play dumb???/