I said that I agreed with the dissent, and the dissent made it very clear that they felt it was unconstitutional. But the dissent lost - it's in the minority.
Now the Supreme Court has spoken and while I agreed with the dissent, that’s taken over by the fact that the majority of the court said it’s a tax. Therefore it is a tax. They have spoken. There’s no way around that. You can try and say you wish they’d decided a different way, but they didn't. They concluded it’s a tax. That’s what it is.
~ Mitt Romney on CBS News, July 4, 2012
More from Huffington Post
UPDATE: 3:28 p.m. -- The Romney campaign has released a fuller transcript of the CBS interview, in which the candidate is asked the question:
If the mandate is a tax under Obamacare, isn't it also a tax under Masscare?
"Actually the chief justice in his opinion made it very clear that at the state level, states have the power to put in place mandates," Romney replied. "They don’t need to require them to be called taxes in order for them to be constitutional. And as a result, Massachusetts’ mandate was a mandate, was a penalty, was described that way by the legislature and by me, and so it stays as it was."
The governor disagreed with the court. He agreed with the dissent that was written by Justice Scalia which very clearly stated that the mandate was not a tax. ~ Eric Fehrnstrom, Top Romney Aide, July 2, 2012
Romney isn't just contradicting fehrnstrom, he's contradicting himself just 48 hrs ago saying the mandate is not a tax mi.tt/Nmcry8
— Bill Burton (@billburton716) July 4, 2012
Romney says RomneyCare mandate = a penalty, ObamaCare mandate = a tax. If this sounds confusing, it's because it is. politico.com/blogs/burns-ha…
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) July 4, 2012
Truly pathetic. #Romney can't keep his positions straight w/out checking polls and big $ men #LyingForTheLord #GOPFail bit.ly/N9vmOb
— Tim (@AltoNerd) July 4, 2012
Obamacare is a TAX that penalizes a non-action. Therefore it's both a tax AND a penalty!! #ObamaTax
— Lo (@LorisTweets) July 4, 2012
Romney clarifies his position:The health care mandate is a tax.Riding on the back of a jetski is a penalty.
— Dave Pell (@davepell) July 5, 2012
Obama, Romney in contortions over whether health mandate is a tax: dpo.st/Rgsj85
— The Denver Post (@denverpost) July 5, 2012
Thank God Romney came out and said that the #Obamacare mandate is a tax. If he keeps that up, Republicans will win.
— Anthony Crapisi (@Ant_Crapisi) July 5, 2012
Mit Romney: Monday the healthcare is a tax, Tuesday it was a penalty, wednesday it's a tax, thursday it's healthcare for ALL Americans!
— PAPARAZZINC (@PAPARAZZINC) July 5, 2012
Etch-a-Sketch moment? Romney's campaign has spent days saying the ACA mandate is not a tax - Romney today: "of course it's a tax!" OIC. #DEM
— EricBauman (@EricBauman) July 4, 2012
Yesterday, Romney's spokesman said it's a penalty. Today, Romney said it's a tax. Etch A Sketch meets Flip Flopper. #p2 #tcot
— Ezra Grant (@EzKool) July 4, 2012
@politicoroger And he buries it on the Fourth! Who runs this campaign?
— Sam Seaborn (@SamSeaborn) July 4, 2012
I think Romney broke his Etch-A-Sketch today.
— Frank Sennett (@SennettReport) July 5, 2012
Shaking the Etch-a-Sketch - again / WashPost | Romney: Health-care mandate is a tax wapo.st/LooDCA #hcr #Obamacare
— HCAN (@HCAN) July 5, 2012
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