Romney denounces health plan, process

Mitt Romney took a moment his book tour to lambaste the new health care law, calling for a repeal and characterizing President Obama as an abuser of power and purveyor of fraudulent claims.

"President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation — rather than bringing us together, ushering in a new kind of politics, and rising above raw partisanship, he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends. He promised better; we deserved better,'' Romney wrote in a statement on the website of his political action committee, Free and Strong America.

The former Massachusetts governor has been criss-crossing the country and doing a series of interviews on his recently released book, "No Apology,'' which premiered Sunday atop The New York Times' best-seller list for non-fiction books. Romney had actively supported and signed the 2006 bill that greatly expanded availability of health care in the Bay State. Many analysts have pointed to the Massachusetts plan as a model for Obama's and the Democrats' national package.

Romney disagreed.

"His health care bill is unhealthy for America. It raises taxes, slashes the more private side of Medicare, installs price controls, and puts a new federal bureaucracy in charge of health care. It will create a new entitlement even as the ones we already have are bankrupt. For these reasons and more, the act should be repealed. That campaign begins today.''

Romney, who ran for the GOP nomination for president in 2008 and is considered a possible candidate in 2012, did not specify if he would play a role in any repeal campaign. His PAC has been a top fund-raiser for Republican candidates across the nation and he could use his influence to back candidates that support a repeal.

GLOBE STAFF