Rick Perry said Sunday hes still not a betting man but the Texas governor is counting on Mitt Romney losing support among Iowans for offering to wager $10000 in a dispute over his health care record.
I was taken a little bit a back Perry told Fox News Sunday. Driving out to the station this morning Im pretty sure I didnt drive by a house that anyone in Iowa would even think about that a $10000 bet possible so a little out of touch of the normal Iowa citizen.
Romney made the wager on Saturday night at a Republican presidential primary debate in Des Moines Iowa. The two candidates were arguing over whether Romney ever supported the individual mandate -- the centerpiece of the dispute over President Obamas health care law which requires every American to purchase insurance. Obama officials say they took their plan from Romneys health care proposals instituted while he was governor of Massachusetts.
Perry accused Romney of supporting the individual mandate before being against it and including it in an earlier version of his book before removing it. Romney shot back that hed bet $10000 thats not true. Perry responded: Im not in the betting business.
On Sunday Perry held firm on his contention.
The issue of individual mandates is still at the center here and Mitt can deny this as many times as he wants but in his first book hard cover of No Apologies he clearly stated that individual mandate should be the model for this country. And then he took that out of the book in the paperback and thats the fact and even a $10000 bet is not gonna cover that.
The bet -- not $1 and not $1 million -- made some stand up and wonder aloud if Romney is really a betting man -- and would throw down that kind of cash in a casual challenge.
I want to know if he has $10000 in his pocket the spokesman for new Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich R.C. Hammond said after the debate.
In a statement the Democratic National Committee said $10000 is almost three times more than what an average family spends on groceries in a year and more than a years worth of mortgage payments for the typical American home purchased today.
Romney the son of a former governor who was a self-made millionaire earned his own fortune leading a venture capital company. Romney disclosed earlier in the year that his personal wealth is estimated at between $190 million and $250 million.
In an era where the wealthy are being targeted for their success Romneys wealth is being seen as a potential vulnerability even though he has made a point of courting middle-class America.
I didnt grow up poor. And if somebody is looking for someone whos grown up with that background Im not the person Romney said during the debate noting that his father was poor at one point in his life. He added that his parents made sure we had jobs when we were growing up. They made sure we didnt spend money foolishly.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rick Perry said Sunday hes still not a betting man but the Texas governor is counting on Mitt Romney losing support among Iowans for offering to wager $10000 in a dispute over his health care record.
I was taken a little bit a back Perry told Fox News Sunday. Driving out to the station this morning Im pretty sure I didnt drive by a house that anyone in Iowa would even think about that a $10000 bet possible so a little out of touch of the normal Iowa citizen.
Romney made the wager on Saturday night at a Republican presidential primary debate in Des Moines Iowa. The two candidates were arguing over whether Romney ever supported the individual mandate -- the centerpiece of the dispute over President Obamas health care law which requires every American to purchase insurance. Obama officials say they took their plan from Romneys health care proposals instituted while he was governor of Massachusetts.
Perry accused Romney of supporting the individual mandate before being against it and including it in an earlier version of his book before removing it. Romney shot back that hed bet $10000 thats not true. Perry responded: Im not in the betting business.
On Sunday Perry held firm on his contention.
The issue of individual mandates is still at the center here and Mitt can deny this as many times as he wants but in his first book hard cover of No Apologies he clearly stated that individual mandate should be the model for this country. And then he took that out of the book in the paperback and thats the fact and even a $10000 bet is not gonna cover that.
The bet -- not $1 and not $1 million -- made some stand up and wonder aloud if Romney is really a betting man -- and would throw down that kind of cash in a casual challenge.
I want to know if he has $10000 in his pocket the spokesman for new Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich R.C. Hammond said after the debate.
In a statement the Democratic National Committee said $10000 is almost three times more than what an average family spends on groceries in a year and more than a years worth of mortgage payments for the typical American home purchased today.
Romney the son of a former governor who was a self-made millionaire earned his own fortune leading a venture capital company. Romney disclosed earlier in the year that his personal wealth is estimated at between $190 million and $250 million.
In an era where the wealthy are being targeted for their success Romneys wealth is being seen as a potential vulnerability even though he has made a point of courting middle-class America.
I didnt grow up poor. And if somebody is looking for someone whos grown up with that background Im not the person Romney said during the debate noting that his father was poor at one point in his life. He added that his parents made sure we had jobs when we were growing up. They made sure we didnt spend money foolishly.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
