Legal Action, No Confidence Vote, Marital Woes hound Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville

Randy Richardville's action and leadership have many in the State Senate questioning his loyalties. 




Senate Majority Leader
Randy Richardville (R)
Monroe

"On Wednesday, March 14, Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell, introduced Senate Bill 1018. The measure mirrors House Bill 4003, which was designed to stop the "skim" and prevent future forced unionizations. Co-sponsoring Hildenbrand's bill are 21 Senate Republicans. Only 20 votes are needed to pass legislation in the Senate.This should mean there are now 22 GOP Senators leaning toward voting "yes' on HB 4003 and sending it to the Governor. However, they can't vote for the bill if Sen. Richardville refuses to put it up for a vote."

This has resulted in a number of criticisms (well deserved I might add) of the Speaker about him pursuing his own agenda; one that is paid for in some way with union support.

Which leaves many in the state feeling that their "elected voice" has been muffled by the majority leader. Essentially, the words "put a sock in it" is what is coming out of Richardville's office, and has prompted some to place his personal troubles on display:

""We are looking into the possibility that what they did was illegal. It certainly was inappropriate at best. I would just characterize it as disgusting," Amber McCann, Richardville's spokesperson, told Gongwer. "Whatever the intent of the communication was, the result is that the senators have rallied behind their leader. ... Whatever the sender's motivation is, it's had the opposite effect on the caucus."  

The situation became public after Randy  Bishop discussed allegations involving Richardville on a Charlevoix talk radio program. Tea party activists are upset with Richardville because of his reluctance to push right-to-work legislation in the Senate."

The nearly half of the Michigan State Senators who are ready for a vote of no confidence couldn't have a better opportunity to put a stint in the pipes, and allow the blood of reason to flow once again. There is no threat but the threatening tone of reality that you have to listen to. Right To work, and the particular issue of STEALING from the unfortunate to pad the wallets of union friends of the leader are realities.



Senator Roger Kahn (R)
Saginaw

The good news in this is  Michigan senate PASSED SB1018.  Roger Kahn (R) from Saginaw was the dissenting Republican Vote.  Roger Kahn is the Uncle of Randy Richardville.   The bill is identical to HB 4003 so it should be ready to go in a few days. 

More on Randy Richardville's woes:

MIRS CAPITOL CAPSULE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“These guys are a couple of low-level thugs who, at their core, are pissed at being beat by Randy and (Sen.) Howard WALKER (R-Traverse City) in a primary and nobody will do anything for them on their Right to Work proposal.” said Sen. Jack BRANDENBURG (R-Harrison Twp.) about a pair of Tea Party activists who sent e-mails to Republican senators urging them to remove the Senate Majority Leader Randy RICHARDVILLE by making a personal attack.

R Al Bain response to Senator Jack Brandenburg’s Quote of the Day: “These guys are a couple of low-level thugs”

Those who claim they are being unfairly attacked and respond with personal attacks is an attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative characteristic or belief of the person supporting it.

Caucus Rallies Around Richardville Amid Tea Party Attack
Certain Tea Party activists are urging Republican senators to remove Senate Majority Leader Randy RICHARDVILLE (R-Monroe) from his leadership position for not advancing such issues as Right to Work and the unionization of home health care workers.

On Tuesday, “Trucker” Randy BISHOP, a state Senate candidate in the 37th District in 2010, sent an email to Republican senators that prompted a Senate Republican caucus this morning during which all 26 GOP senators gave Richardville a “standing ovation” in support, sources tell MIRS. There are a total of 26 Republicans in the Senate, so if all 26 Senators stood for the “standing ovation” of support this means that Senator Richardville also participated showing his own personal arrogance in regard to this matter! 

The Bishop correspondence came after one sent by Gene CLEM of the “1st Tea Party Alliance” a couple weeks ago signed by various other Tea Party leaders that also brought up similar issues.
Unlike the Clem correspondence, Bishop forwarded an e-mail that repeated an unverified personal attack against Richardville, which generated an angry response from Senators who felt their leader was being unfairly attacked. This theme against Richardville was repeated during a live broadcast by Charlevoix station WMKT, which Bishop participated in.

Sen. Jack BRANDENBURG (R-Harrison Twp.) said he’s spoke with Bishop and R. Al BAIN, who ran against Richardville in the 2010 Republican primary, earlier this week and was not happy by the tact they are taking.

“These guys are a couple of low-level thugs who, at their core, are pissed at being beat by Randy and (Sen.) Howard WALKER (R-Traverse City) in a primary and nobody will do anything for them on their Right to Work proposal.”

MIRS asked Richardville spokeswoman Amber McCANN about the email Bishop sent to senators. “I don’t think that kind of document deserves acknowledgment or comment,” she said.
A caucus source said that there’s no coalition within the caucus of senators interested in challenging Richardville’s leadership position. Some have been unhappy with Richardville over certain issues, like the New International Trade Crossing (NITC) or the Michigan health care exchange, but not enough to throw in with a couple Tea Party activists.

However, a bill that would help prevent unionization drives like the one under the Michigan Quality Community Care Council (MQCCC), SB 1018 sponsored by Sen. Dave HILDENBRAND (R-Lowell), will see action on Thursday. The bill is expected to move out of the Reform, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee and be passed on the floor.

Leadership discussed the bill last week and the caucus talked about it on Tuesday. McCann said Richardville plans to vote “yes” and said the timing has nothing to do with Bishop’s letter.
Bishop said he sent the e-mail based on “rumors” he heard in Richardville’s home district that he felt the senators should know. He said he “absolutely supports” the Republican caucus voting out Richardville for “not representing the people of the state of Michigan” on issues like Right to Work and the New International Trade Crossing, which he called the “government bridge.”

“He’s not in sync with the majority of Republican citizens and what needs to be done,” Bishop said. “Randy Richardville is a major roadblock in what we feel would truly reinvent Michigan and do a better job of getting Michigan and its people back to work.

“I can’t believe these Senators are going to condone this type of behavior from Randy Richardville,” he said. “That’s astonishing to me.”

Doug SEDENQUIST of the Delta Area Tea Party Group and Bain told MIRS that they, too, believe Richardville needs to go.

“This has nothing to do with sour grapes,” Bain said. “This guy is not a Republican. I don’t care if he’s got an ‘R’ after his name. He’s not a Republican.”

But Joan FABAINO of Tea Party group Grassroots in Michigan said repeating personal attacks against a sitting Senator is “not anything I would approve of whatsoever.”

Fabiano said there is a lot of “angst and distrust” of Richardville and his brand of leadership, this tactic used by Bishop “shows a lack of ethical behavior . . . I would condemn it. “

Tea Party activists across the state had been making racket for weeks about Richardville for his stance on policy issues. Clem said Tea Party activists from Plymouth, Lapeer, Manistee, Ludington and elsewhere were putting pressure on Richardville to move on the MQCCC bills.

“Don’t you think it’d be a better leader than Richardville?” Clem said.
But another Tea Party official told MIRS that many other Tea Party groups are not interested in wasting energy on an inter-caucus fight when U.S. Sen. Debbie STABENOW (D-Lansing) is on the ballot in 2012 and the Democrats are working hard to take back the House at the federal and state level.

Was Mitt Romney's Vote for Scott Brown Voter Fraud?

Did Mitt Romney commit voter fraud when he cast a ballot for Scott Brown in the special election in Massachusetts? One of his lesser known opponents for the GOP presidential nomination, Fred Karger, filed a complaint with Massachusetts state election officials alleging that he voted for Brown, as well as in other Massachusetts elections, when he was not in fact a resident of the Bay State.

In his complaint, Karger lays out a chronology of Romney's real estate moves since his failed presidential bid in 2008. According to Karger's timetable, Romney and his wife, Ann, bought a $12.5 million home in La Jolla, California, in May 2008. ("I wanted to be where I could hear the waves," Romney told the AP of his move to the West Coast.) Thereafter, Romney became a regular at California political events, even campaigning for Meg Whitman during her gubernatorial bid. A year later, in April 2009, the Romneys sold their home in Belmont, Massachusetts, for $3.5 million, and registered to vote from an address in the basement of an 8,000 square-foot Belmont manse owned by their son Tagg. But where the Romneys really lived these past couple of years seems to be a bit of a mystery. While Romney was appearing at so many California political events people were speculating he was going to run for office there, the National Journal reported in May 2009 that the Romneys had made their primary residence a $10 million estate in New Hampshire.

The discrepancies in the news coverage prompted Karger to take a closer look, in part because he found it dubious that a guy worth $500 million would really be living in his son's basement. Investigating this mystery was right up Karger's alley. He spent 30 years working for one of California’s preeminent GOP consulting firms, doing opposition research for candidates, as well as the tobacco industry, so he has plenty of experience digging up dirt on political adversaries.

Fraudulent voter registration in Massachusetts carries a penalty of $10,000 and up to five years in jail. And the law in Massachusetts is pretty clear about the residency requirements needed to vote in the state. The state defines residence as "where a person dwells and which is the center of his domestic, social, and civil life."

Using that definition, Karger spent some time interviewing Belmont residents, including members of the Romneys' local Mormon Temple, where they’d been regulars, and asked people when they’d last seen the the former Massachusetts governor or his wife around town. The local fishmonger told Karger, "They flew the coop. They moved to California. I haven’t seen Mrs. Romney in over two years, and she used to come in here all the time." Likewise, churchgoers used to worshiping with the Romneys told Karger that they also hadn't seen the Romneys in a couple years. Yet the Romneys continued to vote in Massachusetts, including in the January 2010 special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat. Karger says he even received personal confirmation from Ann Romney about the couple's living arrangments. In April, Karger says he ran into her in Las Vegas at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, where Mitt was speaking. According to Karger, Ann told him they are living in California.

In July 2010, the Romneys bought an $895,000 attached townhouse in Belmont, on the grounds of the McLean Mental Hospital, a move that finally gave Mitt a permanent Massachusetts address. Karger has asked the state to open an investigation into the Romneys' residency, as well as into whether they’ve been paying Massachusetts income taxes. The Romney campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Residency issues have plagued Mitt Romney in the past. When he campaigned for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he ran into trouble because he had switched his residency to Utah three years earlier when he moved to Park City to take over the struggling Salt Lake Olympic operation. The move technically made him ineligible to run for office in Massachusetts, which requires seven years of continuous state residency before a candidate is eligible to run. After a lot of legal wrangling and paying back taxes, he was finally allowed on the ballot.

 

Senator Marco Rubio is NOT a natural born Citizen. Does Not Qualify To Be VP.

 Marco Rubio has come up over and over again for VP and as a future GOP Presidential candidate.  But there is an underlying question of eligibility.  Some would question…. really?  It didn’t seem to matter for Barack Hussien Obama.  But we all know that it will matter for GOP candidates.  And the other question is if you are ineligible for President, can you still serve as vice president and then be skipped over for succession?

Thus Senator Marco Rubio is NOT a natural born Citizen of the United States.  He is a native born Citizen under the 14th Amendment and/or the Wong Kim Ark (1898) Supreme Court decision which grants basic citizenship to individuals born in the USA.  But Senator Marco Rubio is NOT a natural born Citizen under Article II, Section 1.  Thus Senator Marco Rubio is NOT constitutionally eligible to serve as President or Vice President of the United States per Article II, Section 1, and the last sentence of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution.

Senator Marco Rubio is NOT a natural born Citizen.  He was born with dual allegiance.  One to the USA by location of birth and the other to Cuba via gaining Cuban citizenship at birth via his father since his father had not yet naturalized to the USA and renounced his Cuban citizenship by doing so…… He should be a protector of the U.S. Constitution, the document that gave his parents the freedom and liberty they sought when they came to this country

Senator Marco Rubio’s father was not a naturalized citizen when Marco was born in May 1971 per National Archives data. His father applied for naturalization in Sep 1975. Marco Rubio not constitutionally eligible to run for President or VP.

A natural born Citizen of the United States is one born in the United States to two U.S. Citizens who were Citizens of the United States either by birth or naturalization at the time of the birth of the child.  A natural born Citizen of the United States is a child born with sole allegiance to the United States, a person born without Citizenship in any other country other than the USA at the time of their birth.  A natural born Citizen has no foreign influence or claim on them by another country at the time of their birth under U.S. law and the Law of Nations.  That is why the founders and framers chose the legal term of art “natural born Citizen” for the eligibility clause for the singular most powerful office in our form of government, the President and Commander in Chief of our military. They did not wish command of our military forces to ever devolve to a person born with dual allegiances.

Senator Marco Rubio of FL has been evasive and not been forthcoming about his exact citizenship status upon his birth in the United States in May 1971. 

We have given Senator Rubio long enough to be voluntarily forthcoming on this information.  A phone call last week by a volunteer researcher assisting my efforts to learn more about Senator Marco Rubio’s exact birth citizenship status was made to the National Archives (NARA) to learn the facts about Senator Marco Rubio and certain other individuals who are mentioned in the media as potential candidates for President or Vice President.  That is, are they constitutionally eligible, i.e., “natural born Citizens of the United States” as is required in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.

According to the information obtained Senator Marco Rubio of FL, his father did not petition to become a naturalized citizen of the United States until Sep 1975, a full four years after Marco Rubio was born.  A natural born Citizen of the United States is one born in the United States to two U.S. Citizens at the time of the birth.  Thus Senator Marco Rubio is NOT a natural born Citizen of the United States.  He is a native born Citizen under the 14th Amendment and/or the Wong Kim Ark (1898) Supreme Court decision which grants basic citizenship to individuals born in the USA.  But Senator Marco Rubio is NOT a natural born Citizen under Article II, Section 1. 

Thus Senator Marco Rubio is NOT constitutionally eligible to serve as President or Vice President of the United States per Article II, Section 1, and the last sentence of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution.  Senator Marco Rubio has obviously known this for a long time.   His silence in response to the American electorate and avoidance to answering the questions put to him over the last year about this issue says a lot about Marco Rubio and indicates that when it comes to his own personal political objectives he is in the progressive school of thought about following the fundamental law of the land, our U.S. Constitution.  To people of the progressive school of thinking the Constitution says and means whatever one wants it to mean to allow one to achieve their personal political power and goals, i.e., what John McCain did in the 2008 presidential election cycle in making a deal with Senator Obama and the U.S. Senate so that McCain could run unmolested about questions by the Democrat Party operatives and their allies in the major media as to his natural born Citizenship status.

Senator Marco Rubio is NOT a natural born Citizen.  He was born with dual allegiance.  One to the USA by location of birth and the other to Cuba via gaining Cuban citizenship at birth via his father since his father had not yet naturalized to the USA and renounced his Cuban citizenship by doing so. This is similar to the situation with Obama gaining British citizenship at birth from his Kenyan British Subject father. Senator Marco Rubio should stand up for the Constitution and speak out about this and say that as much as he’d like to run someday for those offices, he is not constitutionally eligible to run for President or VP.  He should be a protector of the U.S. Constitution, the document that gave his parents the freedom and liberty they sought when they came to this country.  He should put his personal ambitions for higher office aside.  He should tell the RNC and people in the media the facts and stand up like a statesman should and support the Constitution and not allow them to continue their musing and aspirations to run him for Prez and VP some day. To allow such discussions to continue in the major media is allowing them to continue to undermine the true meaning and intent of the “natural born Citizen” clause in Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

In addition to clarifying his own constitutional citizenship status, Senator Marco Rubio of FL should also say that Obama is not eligible either and should be investigated for election fraud and criminal activities such as SSN fraud and draft registration fraud and be removed from office.  We not only have a constitutionally ineligible person in the Oval Office but we also have a grifter and criminal in that office.

The leadership of the Republican Party and the RNC is also complicit in this usurpation of the founders and framers intent with the eligiblity clause in Article II Section 1.   The Republican Party leadership has ENABLED Obama to get away with what he’s done to illegally usurp national power in order that the Republican Party can do the same thing too, i.e., ignore the Constitution when it suits their own political power objectives.  It’s time for a change in the Republican Party leadership … a major change.  We need dedicated constitutionalists to take over the party and fight the righteous battle to restore the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution to full force and effect in Washington DC and throughout our great land and to investigate Obama and have him removed for the fraud and criminal he is, and to thence begin a purge in Washington DC of all the enablers of this usurpation and cover up.  We the People demand it.

Copy of Sep 1975 Petition for Naturalization for Mario Rubio, father of Senator Marco Rubio who was born in May 1971, more than 4 years before his father elected to become a U.S. Citizen and renounce his Cuban citizenship: http://www.scribd.com/doc/56489970/Naturalization-Petition-Filed-in-Sep-1975-for-Mario-Rubio-the-father-of-Senator-Marco-Rubio-born-May-1971

The Real Story of The Missing Girl Mitt Romney Supposedly Saved

Robert Gay, a partner of Mitt Romney’s from Bain Capital, has an ad out for Mitt Romney regarding how Mitt stopped work at Bain Capital and had fellow Bain executives take the day off to go looking for Gay’s daughter, Melissa Gay, in New York. Melissa had skipped out on mom and dad and taken off to New York City to a rave party.

Bain Capital is a company formed by Mitt Romney.

Robert Gay is a fellow Mormon Church member. What is not being told in the ad, nor does the press tell, Robert Gay is the son of Frank William Gay, aka Bill Gay. Bill Gay, is better known for his role as Howard Hughes primary care-taker who controlled Howard Hughes and the Hughes Corporation. Bill Gay became the Vizier for Summa Corp., a Hughes corporation. Bill Gay was dubbed the head of the Mormon Mafia, the name given the Mormon six men who surrounded Howard Hughes and kept Hughes in isolation and out of public view. It has been claimed William Gay took over four billion dollars illegally from the Hughes estate.

Gay’s control of Hughes was during a turbulent time in American history, the time of the Pentagon Papers and Gemstone, the planned break-in of Hank Greenspun safe. Greenspun was the editor of the Las Vegas Sun and was said to have had incrementing documents on Hughes. Hughes was supplying the plane for whisking away of the men out of country after the break-in. This was all planned on Bill Gay’s watch.

Gay’s control over Hughes was lock and key, which no one could break.
“Some Hughes outside loyalists jokingly claimed the newly named SUMMA Corporation, which Bill Gay controlled, was a synonym for Southern Utah Mormon Missionary Association, others, Stall Until More Money Arrives.”

Now William Gay's son works for Mitt Romney. Does this make Mitt Romney Don Vito Corleone?

As a note, Romney has shown little concern for the children who were victims of childhood sexual abuse the Romney family covered up for decades in the Mormon Church, in regions the Romney family controlled. Children who's lives were destroyed as the Romney's covered-up their assaults

Proof! Obama Wanted Higher Gas Prices

Did Obama want higher Gas Prices?  Evidence is starting to build showing that President Obama and his Administration aren't exactly as worried as they want to make us believe at the prospect of higher fuel costs. One of the best pieces of evidence has been Department of Energy secretary Steven Chu's remarks about wanting fuel prices here to be commensurate with Europe's higher rates.

While Obama himself has also famously said that he wanted the price of coal electricity to "necessarily skyrocket," until now, there hasn't been a video of him stating the same sentiment about gas prices.  Finally there is evidence !

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Randy Richardville and His Uncle Roger Kahn: Two Peas In A Pod?

An old article dated from Fall of 2010 was sent to the Not So Lame Media.  It makes for interesting reading as you can follow the money.  It should also be noted that Sen Roger Kahn is Randy Richardville's Uncle.   Do we smell nepotism? The Not So Lame Media continues to receive information from its readers on potential corruption. 

From MIRS,

Nofs, Richardville Parting Ways?
Current and future GOP senators came together to sing kumbaya at a fundraiser today, but the race for leadership has already begun in earnest with the results of the Aug. 3 primary providing a clear picture of what the 2011 caucus will look like.

Things appear to have shifted a bit in recent weeks with Sen. Randy RICHARDVILLE (R-Monroe) and Sen. Mike NOFS (R-Battle Creek) emerging as the top prospects for caucus leader with Sen. Mark JANSEN (R-Cutlerville) also meeting presumed future caucus members after appearing out of it several weeks ago.

MIRS has learned that before the primary, Richardville and Nofs had been talking about teaming up, but that's changed, with Richardville wanting to go his own way.

Sources tell MIRS that Richardville has promised Sen. Roger KAHN (R-Saginaw) the Appropriations Committee chair post if he's elected leader, while Jansen has told Sen. John PAPPAGEORGE (R-Troy) that the position is his if he's leader.

Other sources indicate that Jansen may be looking to team up with Richardville, even though such a meeting hasn't taken place. Jansen has to recover after putting money behind losing candidates in races against winning candidates Rep. David HILDENBRAND (R-Lowell) for the 29th District Senate seat and Rep. Phil PAVLOV (R-St. Clair) for the 25th District Senate seat.

Jansen did pick a winner, though, in Rep. Tonya SCHUITMAKER in the 20th District. He gave her $10,000 from his Jansen Legacy Fund. He also gave winner Mike GREEN $2,500 in the 31st, Dave ROBERTSON $2,500 in the 26th, Rep. Arlan MEEKHOF $1,500 in the 30th and Joe HUNE $1,000 in the 22nd. Other leadership candidates put money behind those horses, too.

There's also the history of Jansen's failed leadership bid in the House. Some have compared him to Sen. Jason ALLEN (R-Alanson), who realized too late in 2006 that he didn't have the votes to beat now-Senate Majority Leader Mike BISHOP (R-Rochester) for Majority Leader. Allen teamed up with Sen. Wayne KUIPERS (R-Holland) near the end, but it was too late. The theory is that Jansen wants to build a team earlier.

That said, Jansen appears to be approaching the race as the measured option with no future political ambitions, the person willing to make hard decisions and take the arrows that will come with those decisions without worry about the next rung on the political ladder.

However, Nofs, Kahn and Richardville were all markedly active during the primary, which, sources tell MIRS didn't go unnoticed. Richardville picked a winner in giving Rep. Brian CALLEY $2,500 through his Richardville Leadership Fund, but picked the loser in the 7th by giving $1,000 to Deb WHYMAN. In the past, Richardville also has given to Nofs and Rep. John PROOS.

Kahn's Leadership Fund gave $5,500 to primary loser Rep. Kim MELTZER in the 11th, but did give Rep. Rick JONES $10,000, Schuitmaker $7,000, Green $3,000 and Meekhof $2,000 and $1,000 to Howard WALKER in the 37th. He also gave to Roberston.

Nofs' "Fund For A New Majority" gave to winners Hune $10,000, Schuitmaker $5,000, Robertson $5,500, Calley $2,500, Jones $2,500, Walker $3,000, Hildenbrand $2,500, Pavlov $2,500 and Meekhof $2,000. He played both sides of the fence by giving $2,500 to both Copper RIZZO and Rep. Jim MARLEAU in the 12th.

Proos was on the list of prospective caucus leaders before the election (See "Leadership Races In The Shadows," 8/11/10). But Proos had to devote more time than he planned on his primary race for the 21st Senate District. There's been some speculation that he could team up with Nofs and be his Appropriations Committee chair.

The rumor today was that Richardville was trying to nail down support from House members and was even telling them not to count on any money from him if he didn't. But no incoming senator confirmed that, although several said that it's "way too early" to worry about leadership when Republicans haven't secured the majority yet. ***

More on Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville's Uncle, Senator Roger Kahn:

According to campaign finance reports filed with the Michigan Secretary of State, Sen. Kahn received $2,500 from the SEIU in 2010. However, a review of the reported contributions to his campaign committee, Friends of Roger Kahn for Senate 2010, shows that he has received thousands of dollars from the health care industry. It should be noted that simply because a contribution came from within the health care industry, that doesn't automatically mean that its source supports the forced unionization of home health care workers. It should also be noted that Sen. Kahn is a physician.

Sen. Kahn's campaign finance reports also show that he received multiple contributions from officials at Detroit Medical Center. The top donor in this group was DMC Senior Vice President David Katz, who contributed $2,000 to Sen. Kahn in 2010 and $1,500 in 2009.

"

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Will Romney Eliminate Obamacare? Senior Romney Health Adviser: Obamacare Can Move Health Care System In The Right Direction

Mike Leavitt who is a former Utah Governor, President George W. Bush’s former Secretary of Health and Human Services and a senior adviser to Mitt Romney, says the Affordable Care Act could help reduce health care costs and transform America’s existing fee-for-service health care model. In an apparent break from Romney’s pledge to “easily” repeal the law, Leavitt told ModernHealthcare that the measure could help move the nation in the right direction:

Mike Leavitt, the former secretary of HHS under President George W. Bush and current Romney adviser, said the federal government’s historic $15 trillion debt will drive “hard” changes in healthcare system to reduce its costs. Those changes, including moving across healthcare from a fee-for-service model to outcomes based payment, may be facilitated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Romney has repeatedly urged repeal and replacement of the law.

The law “gives the secretary authority to do certain things that are clearly aimed at trying to move us in this direction,” he said in a brief interview after addressing a Washington gathering of the Cancer Action Network. “A lot of it will depend on how aggressively the secretary chooses to use the authorities in the law to move us in that direction.”

Leavitt’s consulting firm, Leavitt Partners, is also heavily invested in the health law’s exchanges and “has been advising companies and state legislatures” on how to build the new marketplaces. He has also said that companies and states will likely implement the measure despite the GOP’s efforts to unravel the law, arguing that “they recognize that individual insurance shoppers and small businesses have long been at a disadvantage, lacking the negotiating power of large companies that can demand better prices.”