Health care reform, again.

Interesting piece on Slate, comparing President Obama's health-care-reform proposal with that championed, and passed, by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a conservative darling and likely 2012 Republican challenger to Obama.

Here's a passage:

"Remove a little anti-Obama boilerplate and Romney's views become indistinguishable from the president's. They even rely on the same MIT economist! At the Massachusetts bill's signing ceremony, Romney relates in his book, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., quipped, 'When Mitt Romney and Ted Kennedy are celebrating the same piece of legislation, it means only one thing: One of us didn't read it.' The Washington Post's Ezra Klein has noted that Republicans may have a philosophical difference with the Democrats over health care reform, but in practice their proposed solutions have often been remarkably similar. It follows that nearly all Republican opposition to Obamacare is mere political opportunism.

The story also challenges readers to distinguish between statements made by Obama and Romney on the issue.

So if Obama's approach is the virtually the same as one championed by conservative Romney, what's the problem?

Can it only mean that Republicans are playing games with this vital topic, poisoning the discourse with misinformation, for political gain? Can a political party be more cynical?

You know the answers. Heck, the Republican National Committee has said as much. Politico.com has obtained a fund-raising presentation that shows the organization "plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on 'fear' of President Barack Obama and a promise to 'save the country from trending toward socialism.'

"The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how "ego-driven" wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and 'tchochkes,'" the story says.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33866.html#ixzz0hDPNyfwM

It made me think of this piece from The Onion.