Who Wants to Celebrate RomneyCare's Birthday?

Democrats who like ObamaCare, that's who, according to Chris Moody at The Daily Caller:

In anticipation of the anniversary of the state health-care law Mitt Romney signed in 2006, the New Hampshire Democratic Party is planning a tongue-in-cheek celebration for the former Massachusetts governor's plan, which health-care policy experts argue bears a striking resemblance to the federal health-care law President Obama spearheaded into law last year.

"Without Romney, it's hard to see how President Obama would have been able to provide quality, affordable health care for every American," said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley in an email to supporters Monday. "Take a second today or tomorrow to thank Mitt Romney for providing the critical momentum necessary to get President Obama's vision of health reform through Congress and signed into law."

Calling him the "founding father of health-care reform," the group is urging supporters to send Romney a thank-you tweet.

Watching Democrats tease Romney like this continues to be amusing. But I wonder if it might not backfire slightly, at least for those who continue to be genuinely happy with the precedent set by the Massachusetts health care overhaul. After all, the more that liberals celebrate RomneyCare, the less appealing he becomes to the conservative base that dominates Republican primaries. Sure, Romney isn't going to come out swinging in favor of ObamaCare, but so long as he doesn't disavow the Massachusetts plan completely—which doesn't seem likely—he's going to be a lot more amenable to mandate-driven state reforms. And in general, he's a lot closer to liberals on health care policy than any other potential GOP candidate. But liberal activist community, aided by the White House, seems intent on taking him out of the running, mostly, I suspect, because they can. No matter what, though, it's pretty fun to watch.

General reminder: The Massachusetts plan has not worked out very well, and public support appears to be tanking.