Texas Gov. Rick Perry's campaign released a tough new ad attacking Republican front-runner Mitt Romney Monday morning for his support of as governor of Massachusetts for a state-wide healthcare law that required everyone in the state to purchase medical insurance.
The ad equates Romney with President Obama on the issue, at one point showing the president's image in a mirror abruptly changing to that of Romney as thunder crashes in the background. It goes on to insinuate that Romney has flip-flopped on the issue, quickly cutting between video of Romney defending shifts in his policy positions and former "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert waving flip-flops in the air.
"Even the richest man can't buy back his past," the ad goes on to say.
The Romney campaign reacted angrily Monday, saying that many of the ad's excerpts had been quoted out of context or deceptively edited.
“Rick Perry is a desperate candidate who will say and do anything to prop up his sinking campaign," said Gail Gitcho, Romney's communications director. "In trying to deflect attention from his liberal in-state tuition policy for illegal immigrants, he has resorted to repeated dishonesty, distortions, and fabrications about Mitt Romney."
The ad is an indication Perry is looking to regain his footing in the GOP race by returning to a theme that successful in the last primary race, where the former governor was dogged by accusations of political opportunism.
“Mitt Romney clearly supports government-mandated health care since he fought for his Massachusetts mandate, which provided President Obama with the blueprint for Obamacare,” said Perry spokesman Mark Miner in a statement. “Romneycare has cost $8 billion and killed 18,000 Massachusetts jobs, yet Mitt Romney wrote in his book that his plan was a model for the nation. When it comes to government-mandated health care, there is no difference between Mitt Romney and President Obama.”
Perry was not the only one to campaign on the theme Monday morning — the Democratic National Committee launched "WhichMitt.com," a website that uses a quiz to highlight policy shifts throughout Romney's political career. And fellow candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) took jabs at Romney's changing positions on abortion rights last week.
"You won't find YouTube clips of me speaking in support of Roe v. Wade. You won't find me equivocating or hemming or hawing when I'm asked to define marriage as between one man and one woman," Bachmann said.
This post was updated at 11:07 a.m. to include comments from the Romney campaign.
