One of the few Republicans in the country who's been tirelessly pushing for the implementation of Obamacare at the state level has been tapped to head Mitt Romney's transition team, should he become president.
Former HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, and his consulting group Leavitt Partners, are the primary advocates within Republican circles for implementation of Obamacare's exchanges. It just so happens that his consultancy is one of the major beneficiaries of the taxpayer funded gold mine of hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange implementation grants. But that's a coincidence, of course.
The rest of the story is here.Leavitt has said some relatively positive things about certain elements of Obama’s health reform law, suggesting earlier this year that “Obamacare” empowers the HHS secretary “to do certain things that are clearly aimed at trying to move us in the right direction.”
McKeown, who still works with Leavitt at his Utah-based health care consultancy, acknowledged that the former governor does not want to undo one key part of the controversial legislation.
“We believe that the exchanges are the solution to small business insurance market and that’s gotten us sideways with some conservatives,” he said.
The exchanges are not only a matter of principle for Leavitt — they’re also a cash cow.
The size of his firm, Leavitt Partners, doubled in the year after the bill was signed as they won contracts to help states set up the exchanges funded by the legislation.
For better or for worse, Romney appears to be the GOP candidate opposing Obama. If he is, then we need to make sure Romney understands that Obamacare needs to go. And in an oddly related twist of fate, the residents of Eastern Washington may have a path to Romney on this and other subjects: his go-between with the House of Representatives (more below the fold).
McMorris Rodgers will join Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Romney’s point man in the Senate, in leading the campaign’s efforts to coordinate with members of Congress as the GOP presidential nominee campaigns against President Obama.
“She understands the impact of the economic challenges Americans face and the need to put our country on a better track,” Romney said in a statement. “As a member of the leadership team in the House, she will be a helpful partner in our efforts to ensure our focus remains on the critical issue of economic security for all Americans.”
As the vice chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, McMorris Rodgers is a member of the GOP leadership and is the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House. She is responsible for coordinating messaging, policy and logistics for the 242-member GOP conference. …
As liaison, McMorris Rodgers will be responsible for ensuring that lawmaker messaging “is getting to the Romney campaign,” and that members are similarly up to date on the campaign’s talking points, a source close to the congresswoman told The Hill. She will also bring in policy experts from the Romney campaign to meet with members as needed and brief lawmakers on the former governor’s day-to-day activities and schedule.
There's speculation as well about her being a potential running mate for Romney. So it's worth considering a letter or e-mail to our representative about Romney's Transition Leader's apparent conflict of interest.
