1994 Video Shows Rick Santorum Did Not Support an Individual Mandate to Buy Health Insurance

Here is evidence that Rick Santorum NEVER supported an individual mandate that would require Americans to buy Health Insurance. It had been reported earlier today by some outlets that a 1994 article said Santorum did support an individual mandate at that time. But the article never actually quoted Santorum as saying that. Instead, it simply summarized Santorum’s view in that way.

But the video above is from October 1994 and it shows Rick Santorum clearly saying he does not believe it is the role of the Government to “dictate what everybody should have.” He added that is “not the American way of doing things.”

Via Daily Caller

  • Jackson_bob42

    I knew he never supported that. He has enough integrity that if he ever had, he would own up to it.

  • PirateMacFan

    Those media people … They were just as befuddled by simple, rational, and sound conservative ideas back in 1994 as they are today. Funny listening to them try to peer through their liberal mindset so that they can understand what Mr Santorum is saying!

  • Anonymous

    I have seen this video and it is a pretty weak defense.  He was clearly talking about Hilliarycare in my opinion, and the public option and so on.  Mandates allow choice of providers and he never contested reports at that time that he supported the Heritage Foundation model.

    The jury is still out on this one I am afraid.

  • Anonymous

    “There are lots of mandates we put on people and they don’t obey, but that’s wrong, that’s not the American way of doing things.  The American way of doing things is to get people to live their dreams, to make their choices.”

    It sounds to me like he’s saying that mandates don’t work, that they’re wrong, and that they’re unamerican.  I don’t think you can get more against it.

  • Anonymous

     That is true.  Maybe your right.  But he didn’t specify.  I don’t understand why he didn’t go on record opposing what was written twice in his home town paper.  Maybe he didn’t know about it, I guess.

  • Anonymous

    Well, it was considered a conservative idea in those days and might not have been as big a deal. It could be the newspaper didn’t make as big a stir as it would today so he never found out about it. Also, I don’t know how likely it is he would have found out about it if he didn’t read it himself and the media didn’t pick it up. It wasn’t like it is today, where everything goes viral.


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