Mitt Romney and the Individual Mandate: A Highly Misleading DNC Ad
— New DNC Web ad attacking Romney
Many Democratic attacks on Mitt Romney suggest that he is a politician without conviction, and someone who will “say anything” to get elected. A new Democratic National Committee Web ad follows that pattern, highlighting a series of TV clips that aim at a perceived vulnerability of the former Massachusetts governor: his successful effort to create universal health care in his state.
President Obama’s health-care law was largely built around the concept of an individual mandate, as was Romney’s law. Romney, however, has insisted that he never intended to take the concept nationwide, but that each state could decide for itself how best to promote universal coverage.
This ad uses the clips — some of which we had not seen before — to suggest that Romney actually did support a national mandate, even when he now says he is against it. But how accurate is this claim?
The Facts
Readers should be wary of campaign ads that show many little clips, because a line or two can be taken out of context. One of the first things we do when fact-checking an ad like this is to look at the entire TV interview or debate segment, to understand why the comment in question was made.
In the DNC ad, a key moment is when text declares, “Romney supported the individual mandate. . . and for the whole country.” Then it cuts to a 2008 GOP debate in which moderator Charlie Gibson starts to ask, “Although you’ve backed away from mandates on a national basis . . .” and then Romney interjects: “No, no, I like mandates.”
Looks like a gotcha moment, right? Wrong.
Romney wasn’t really answering the question about mandates on a national level. In fact, a few minutes later, Gibson comes back to the question: “But let me just come to one point. Yes or no? In your national plan, would you mandate people to get insurance?”