Up till now mentioning Romneycare has been strictly off limits, so Saul's rebuttal is quite strange indeed.



The campaign has shied from reminding voters of Romney’s landmark achievement as governor because it so closely resembles “Obamacare” — and was in fact a model for the national law. Romney has said repeatedly that he does not wish to force his plan onto other states. Romney has justified the law to conservatives by insisting that it worked for his state, but he wouldn’t ask other states to follow his lead.

Conservatives quickly dubbed Saul’s rebuttal a serious misstep by the campaign.

Then the Romney campaign decided to sabotage itself with a mind numbingly bit of spin that may mark the day the Romney campaign died. Defending Romney and combatting the ad, Romney spokesman Andrea Saul . . . let’s go to the quotes “To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care,” Andrea Saul, Romney’s campaign press secretary, said during an appearance on Fox News. “There are a lot of people losing their jobs and losing their health care in President [Barack] Obama’s economy.” Conservatives have put aside their distrust of Romney on this issue in the name of beating Barack Obama. They thought he and his campaign team had gotten the message and the hints. Consider the scab picked, the wound opened, and the distrust trickling out again. About the only thing more stupid in terms of building bridges with the right would be to say something nice about fetal stem cell research. Start your watches for that one!

Housebreaking Romney: The Importance of Being Vocal

by Eric Erickson Mitt Romney’s ardent supporters are fit to be tied today. Andrea Saul cited Romneycare approvingly, conservatives rightly piled on, and Romney supporters are defending the guy. “You’re hurting him,” cried one. “Thanks for making this the big story of the day, Jackass,” cried another. Andrea Saul made this the big story of the day. She is hurting Romney. She is an official voice of the campaign. This was an unforced error of monumental idiocy and the blowback is deserved, appropriate, and — most importantly — absolutely necessary.

As Dan McLaughlin noted on twitter What conservatives are doing re Andrea Saul's comment is the same as how you housebreak your dog. Romney needs to know not to go there. — Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) August 8, 2012 Precisely.

Limbaugh was literally left sputtering as he contemplated the Romney response.

Andrea Saul’s appearance on Fox was a potential gold mine for Obama supporters,” he said. “They can say, ‘Romneycare was the basis for our health care.’”

July was called Romney's worst month ever by TPM, who offered a handy timeline . But this unforced out-loud mention of Romneycare by the Romney campaign - which was supposed to be off limits - has conservatives reeling LIke this And:And Rush Limbaugh called it a goldmine for Obama:Get the popcorn ready!

And now Ann Coulter has weighed in with her weighty opinion on the Sean Hannity show, calling Saul a 'moron' and suggesting donors withhold any further donations until she is fired: