Texas Gov. Rick Perry kicked off Columbus Day on Monday with a sharply critical new Web video that lights into presidential rival Mitt Romney’s support of a universal health care law in Massachusetts, suggesting it is evidence that the former governor’s attempts to cast himself as a successful conservative businessman ring hollow.
The new “Romney’s Remedy” spot describes the Republican front-runner as the co-author of President Obama’s national health care overhaul — showing Mr. Obama gazing into a mirror that flashes the reflection of Mr. Romney’s image.
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“Even the richest man,” the ad’s caption reads, “can’t buy back his past.”
The ad also says the Bay State program, which includes the individual mandate to purchase insurance that conservatives abhor in the president’s plan, cost his state 18,000 jobs and $8 billion in costs.
Mr. Romney has vowed on multiple occasions to replace what he calls “Obamacare” and, while defending his state program, said he opposes a national version that requires people to obtain coverage.
As for his repeated claim that he’s a “conservative businessman,” the Perry ad responds, “Nice try.”
“When it comes to government-mandated health care, there is no difference between Mitt Romney and President Obama,” Perry spokesman Mark Miner said in a press release.
