As the model for President Obama鈥檚 Affordable Care Act, Romney鈥檚 health-care reform as governor of Massachusetts was poison during the GOP primaries. Most Republicans object to the reform鈥檚 mandate for individuals to purchase insurance, which parallels Obama鈥檚 reform. Romney鈥檚 insistence on defending the reform as a state鈥檚 prerogative, which makes it different from federal reform, frustrated conservatives who wished he would apologize for his 鈥渕istake.鈥�
Now that Romney is the presumptive GOP nominee, most Republicans will vote for him despite the reform. 鈥淎nybody but Obama鈥� is the new measure. But there鈥檚 a case to be made for 鈥淩omneycare鈥� as a plus with swing voters in the general election. His ability to work with the heavily Democratic legislature in Massachusetts hits on a theme that a lot of centrist voters come back to: They鈥檙e sick of the hyper-partisanship in Washington and want someone who can work across the aisle. And in Massachusetts, at least, the reform is popular.
Romney鈥檚 championing of health-care reform also shows voters that he knows how to tackle a complicated social problem and think creatively about a solution. Women voters, in particular, care about the social safety net, and Romneycare could be an avenue into their hearts. Of course, Romney has promised that, as president, he would oversee the repeal of 鈥淥bamacare,鈥� if the US Supreme Court doesn鈥檛 strike it down first. But as a 鈥渇ixit man,鈥� he can argue that he will fashion a replacement.
