'Hey, in my defense, I didn't want to catch a cold from anyone mowing my lawn.
I mean, you can never be too cautious with the help!' (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
The Massachusetts healthcare law that then-Gov. Mitt Romney signed in 2006 includes a program known as the Health Safety Net, which allows undocumented immigrants to get needed medical care along with others who lack insurance.
Uninsured, poor immigrants can walk into a health clinic or hospital in the state and get publicly subsidized care at virtually no cost to them, regardless of their immigration status.
The Romney campaign deflected questions to one of his health care policy advisers who claimed current Gov. Deval Patrick was responsible for the policy. The Times, however, dismissed that claim, saying it was clear from the start that the plan would cover undocumented immigrants.
Massachusetts officials involved in crafting the healthcare law said there was broad understanding when Romney signed it that at least some people who would benefit would be in the country illegally.
That's supported by language in the law. Although it explicitly bars undocumented immigrants from getting certain health benefits, it does not prohibit them from receiving aid through the Health Safety Net.
Obviously, the problem for Mitt Romney is that he has savaged Rick Perry for offering in-state tuition rates to the children of undocumented immigrants in Texas. Given that Perry called Romney's criticism "heartless," you'd expect him to applaud Romney's program, albeit while calling out Romney's hypocrisy, right?
Wrong:
“When faced with the illegal immigrant benefits this morning, the Romney campaign tried to deny indisputable facts and to cover their tracks by blaming Gov. Patrick,” [Perry campaign spokesman Mark] Miner continued. “The truth is Gov. Romney’s plan intended to provide free health care to illegal immigrants, and the law and rules he approved were clear about providing free health care to illegal immigrants.”
So according to Rick Perry, it's terrible to give undocumented immigrants access to health care clinics ... but it's "heartless" to oppose giving them access to education. To put it another way, he'd rather be just as hypocritical as Mitt Romney than miss a chance to beat up on brown people for political gain.
