Illinois R & D tax and spend proposals echo Romneycare & Obamacare

If you like the Illinois GOP, you’ll love Mitt Romney, Part 13.

When was the last time you heard an Illinois Republican lay out a proposal for doing something materially different than what the Democrats are doing right now in this state? If you cite legislative leaders Tom Cross and Christine Ragdogno’s call for the repeal of the massive tax increase that passed last year, well, that’s not good enough. Calling for tax cuts without substantial spending cuts is not a serious proposal. I want to know exactly how they plan to spend less money so the state can get by on less revenue. You can’t do one without the other since all spending is, obviously, a tax.

Maybe hidden away on some website or inside a Springfield computer is such a plan for decreasing spending, but if it’s hidden, it’s worthless.

Similarly, presidential candidate Mitt Romney, author of the infamous Romneycare, claims he will repeal Obamacare. Health care experts have compared the two laws and find so many similarities that it’s easy to understand why GOP primary voters suffer from cognitive dissonance.

Grace-Marie Turner, the head of the health care think tank Galen Institute, was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gignot last month on this very topic. The page which has the interview also has an interview with one of Romneycare’s consultants, who agrees that the law was the foundation for Obamacare. You can watch both interviews here.

Click here to read a few quotes from Grace-Marie Turner that explain the health care issue brilliantly and succinctly. I first used them in a column ten years ago, and re-used them again in 2006 and 2010.

If you like the way Illinois Republicans set themselves apart from Illinois Democrats when it comes to a governing vision, you’ll love Mitt Romney. Romneycare and Obamacare tell you all you need to know.