called him a flip-flopper and said, first, first he threw his top aide eric fehrnstrom under the bus, second he contradicted himself calling the mandate not a tax. he didn't necessarily throw fehrnstrom under the bus. they were both saying the same thing. what romney essentially did 48 hours after what eric fehrnstrom told us, he conceded, fine, if the supreme court is going to call it a tax, then we'll call it a tax. now you see the problem it's creating among conservatives. let's move to there. the penalty versus tax episode highlight what's many conservatives see as romney's fundamental flaw. they simply don't trust him, eshl when it comes to health care. look no further than tad's scathing wall street editorial which slams romney's tax confusion, unquote. the editorial comes out just days or the paper's owner rupert murdoch, i'm not implying anything there, they don't do this same thing but it comes at the same time that rupert said he had doubts about romney's staff. the journal's editorial board writing, quote, this latest mistake is of a piece with the campaign's insular staff

and they are also furious for eric fehrnstrom for the second time because he told the truth.ll of the dishonesties that governor romney put forward, go to politifact and check it out. >> look at how much money the corporations are sitting on. if you are going to lie, i understand political campaigns do a lot of maneuvering. but don't by any stretch believe for a second that you could blatantly lie about something that you were videotaped saying or the other campaign doesn't even have to throw your way. >> exactly. mitt romney is finally catching hell. and the two things he has caught the most hell on is for telling the truth. we want to know your thoughts at 1-800-steph-1-2. it's the 4th of july-eve party, my friends. we'll be taking your calls after the break. that's my crap fireworks. >> oh, god, that feels weird and good all at once. >> announcer: it's the "stephanie miller show"! ♪ you've heard stephanie's views. >>no bs, authentic, the real thing. >>now, let's hear yours at the only online forum with a direct line to stephanie miller. >>the only thing that can save ameri

eric fehrnstrom tried to create the line, walk a fine line.mney's trying to walk that fine line, too, and i think it shows you they're so concerned about the flip-flop -- they still think that is very dangerous to them and i think that's what you saw come to bubble up this week. >> let's take a look at the "wall street journal" editorial. they write "this latest mistake is of a piece with the campaign's insular staff and strategy that are slowly squandering an historic opportunity. romney promised republicans he was the best man to make the case against president obama, whom they desperately want to defeat. so far, mr. romney is letting them down. chris cilliza, plus bill kristol compare that to losing candidates from massachusetts, talking about dukakis and kerry. that is not a favorable when things are going bad, your staff is too insular, they don't have enough experience. some of this is just the day-to-day politics. go back to 2008. remember how barack obama was consulting with too many people who were telling him what he wanted to hear?

nobody thinks eric fehrnstrom is out there freelancing.his is a message they had, it didn't work, and now conservatives, "wall street journal" editorial board, bill kristol, now conservatives are saying what's wrong with you? whose side are you on? not only are you messing up the health care message, we're worried you're going to mess up the entire campaign. this is such a softball. why are you swinging at it? >> steve, was this dumb? >> well, they bungled the sort of rollout of getting his position straightened badly, i think. and i do agree, i doubt they'll get much mileage out of the tax argument, but i'll be charitable and kind of put out other side out there. it basically goes like this. what kurt just laid out there about the rationale for considering this a tax and not applying to a lot of people, very valid, and most people in isolation see it that way. but consider that as a microcosm for the debate and the health care law. when you take it piece by piece and explain the individual components to people, they always poll very well.

i know that eric fehrnstrom would not have gotten out ahead of his skis as the president would with have said, ahead of his candidate had it not been authorized. michael, thank you for joining us inside "the war room." michael tomasky of the "daily beast." with all of the talk about mitt romney flip-flopping, we're afraid the actual footwear is going to get a bad rap. our digital team took to the street in search of flip-flop defenders. it is funny stuff. you can catch it out by going to current.com/thewarroom. >> win the presidency, take back the house and keep the senate. when you say it like that, it sounds pretty easy. the reality is a little trickier for democrats. later, brett ehrlich reflects on what makes america great at least in his mind. >> is america the greatest country in the world? you bet it is! dododododododododododododododododododododododo it's go time! >>every weeknight cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the guys in the middle-class the guys at the lower-end got screwed again! i think you know which one we're talking about. >>overwhelming majority of the coun

eric fehrnstrom is mr. etch-a-sketch. >> is it true that president obama is the greatest flip-flopper of all because he's said for years oots a mandate, not a tax and now injuries prudence says it is a tax. tom, isn't obama the biggest flip-flopper here? >> frankly, obama argued before the supreme court that it was a tax. that was one of their arguments. again, by conflating this small penalty, this $600 penalty is going to hit fewer than 1% of people, with all of obamacare where states set up free market exchanges and people can buy insurance at lower prices, it doesn't serve -- >> larry. >> it confuses the american people. >> lars larson, i have to ask you, i think obama has deliberately confused the whole issue. lars, the entire republican party, including the congress, including the house, is going to use the idea that there is an obamacare tax. that is what the court, for better or worse, ruled. and they're going to overturn it on that basis. so i want to ask you, lars, will mr. romney and team romney

here's eric fehrnstrom. >> what did you call it in massachusetts?x or a penalty? >> it was a penalty and the governor had all of the authority he needed under our state constitution to put in place the reforms that he did put in place. >> bill: eric fehrnstrom who was -- who is top advisor to romney now and was with romney as governor of massachusetts as his chief of staff or whatever, a top aide. so he's saying no, it's not a tax. it is a penalty. >> really what this reminds us is this idea that everyone has the responsibility to get health insurance as long as we can make it affordable and if you don't you should pay. what really is a modest penalty under this law. more modest than i think some of the healthcare experts would have even liked to see is not a liberal or a radical idea. in fact, this was an idea that was really created or championed by the heritage foundation, one of the most conservative think tanks in the country. and so that's what we're running up against. >> bill: romney called it a responsibility fee or something like that. i m

here is eric fehrnstrom, also a senior adviser and mitt romney. >> the governor believes that what weace in massachusetts was a penalty. and he disagrees with the court's ruling that the mandate was a tax. >> the supreme court is the final word, right? highest court in the land? they said it was a tax, didn't they? so it's a tax, of course. that's what they say it is. >> so are you going to clear that up, kevin? >> well, i think, look, the governor spoke on this. i think for all the emphasis that we put on staff, staff really don't matter. what matters at the end of the day is the candidate, his vision, his words. and governor romney made very clear what he believes. he's made very clear, this is an election that voters are looking for a choice on the issue of obama care. you have one candidate that wants to keep it and believes the taxes, the regulations, the size and scope are good. and one candidate that believes it's not helpful for the american public and wants to repeal it and replace it with more patient-centered care. that is what is on the ballot in november. all this talk ab

today romney contradicted his top campaign adviser eric fehrnstrom and called it a tax. >> the supreme court is the final word, right? it's the highest court in the land. they said it was a tax. so it's a tax, of course. >> reporter: earlier this week he called it and a similar fee in romney's massachusetts health care reform a penalty. >> the governor believes what we put in place in massachusetts was a penalty, and he disagrees with the court's ruling that the mandate was a tax. >> reporter: the obama campaign accused romney of contradicting his own campaign and himself. >> we believe in america. >> reporter: but romney aides say the two views are aren't consistent. the war of words comes as the president prepares for a campaign bus tour of ohio and pennsylvania where he'll have some unwelcome company, former minnesota governor tim pawlenty and louisiana governor bobby jindal, both possible romney vp picks, will shadow the president. the trip could be overshadowed by this friday's jobs report. remember, the last report showed the unemployment report ticked up. the president really ca

his spokesperson eric fehrnstrom insisted that he did not. >> the governor believes that what we putplace in massachusetts was a penalty and he disagrees with the court's ruling that it was a mandate as a tax. >> putting romney for the first time perhaps in this entire election cycle on the same side as house minority leader nancy pelosi. >> it could come under any other place but it's under the tax code. >> eliot: democrats have more success running ads like this about the aftermath of a bain corporate takeover. >> we all lost our jobs. mitt romney made over $100 million by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. >> eliot: and the ads seem to be resonating with the voters. 23% of the registered voters began with a positive view of romney's business record, but that number dropped to 18% with 33% having a negative view in 12 swing states where the bain attack ads were played. for more i'm joined by boris ebb stein republican strategist daily caller and former mccain mccain-palin communication aide. we have mitt romney and the g.o.p. congressional leadership. isn't this a ni

. >> but here's romney adviser eric fehrnstrom saying no, it's not a tax. >> the mandate is not a tax. >> just for good measure, romney spokesman andrea said it is not a tax. but the romney campaign must have caught a lot of flack from republicans because he felt able to say yes, the mandate is a tax. >> so it's a tax. like it or not, it's a tax. >> that was more than enough to set off rupert murdoch's wall street journal which wrote a stinging critique of romney's flip-flopping. quote, perhaps mr. romney is slowly figuring this out. in a july 4th interview he stated himself that the penalty is now a tax after all. but he offered no elaboration. so the campaign looks confused in addition to being politically dumb. the latest mistake is a piece of with the campaign's insular staff and strategy that are slowly squandering an opportunity. here's more on fox news. >> his two senior advisers have a totally different story. >> i know. it was so stupid. what he was doing is he didn't want to be accused of raising taxes in massachusetts. >> wow. so stupid, huh? and bill crystal agrees with th

and then eric fehrnstrom came out two days ago and said silt not a tax.refutes his own campaign, says it is a tax, and says he agreed with the majority opinion, even though he supported the minority opinion. mitt romney has now had four different positions in 36 hours. >> that could be good for mrs. romney. >> i think if you are going to mary mitt romney you better really like missionary because that's what he did. >> i would like to say mitt romney doesn't have a backbone. >> yes. >> and we do not want karl rove or the koch brothers for president again. >> uh-huh. >> you know what i mean right? >> i know exactly what you mean. >> and another thing i would like to say, so what if we -- you know obamacare. they -- the republicans make it seem like it's a bad thing. >> that he cares, yeah? >> it's not a bad thing. he just puts obamacares. we should have a bumper sticker that says obamacares. >> that is brilliant. >> my politics are very -- i -- i just look at it like -- just take a pause and just look at the landscape. just look at who the person is. see wh

i mean eric fehrnstrom doesn't improvise. the other thing to keep in mind about eric he's been with the governor for a long time, most of those folks, in the trenches. in '07 and '08, mitt romney had this long heated battle inside the republican primary about whether various fees that were in massachusetts and penalties were tax increases and they had to fight that. what you saw with eric, you saw him making, you know, making sure that they stayed consistent with what they were saying in '06, '02 and '06 during the term and what they said in '07 and '08 and saying today. i think then you saw that in romney yesterday. he was taking pains to try to stay consistent with what he had said, with what fehrnstrom said. no, this was -- especially when you hear the way it was specifically worded, the governor agrees with the dissent and the dissent does not believe the mandate is a tax. they believe the mandate is unconstitutional. he was careful how he worded it. he doesn't go off on his own. >> let's get to the medicaid side of the s

but wait a minute, here's mitt romney's campaign adviser, eric fehrnstrom. >> the mandate was not a tax sorry, would you please repeat that? >> the mandate was not a tax. the mandate was not a tax. the mandate was not a tax. >> oops. in other words, mitt romney and his people will twist themselves into knots over this because if they say it's a tax, then romney care's individual mandate was also a tax. that's a big problem. this is kind of a problem rick santorum was talking about when he said romney would be the worst candidate to go against president obama. >> it would be probably the worst candidate for us to nominate to go after barack obama on gas prices and on government takeover in health care. heck, he created the blueprint for the government take over of health care that president obama followed. >> time-out, did he say gas prices? where are they? we'll do that story tomorrow heading into fourth of july. by the way, the penalty for not buying insurance affects less than 1% of the population. less than 1% of the population has become one of their big talking points. even if you

eric fehrnstrom was asked who was running bain between 1999 and 2002? his response, you should check with bain, but it wasn't romney. the huffington post checked with the security and exchange commission in six different filings between april of 2000 and may of 2001. mitt romney was listed as a member of the management committee at bain. the committee was responsible, key word there, for day to day operations of bain. in one filing, romney was listed as president and managing director. no one can have titles like this in the business world and not have any responsibilities to accompany. romney's answers are clouding the issue, no doubt. it's getting so bad for mitt romney, even conservative pundits are urging him to release his tax returns to get everything out in the open. >> mitt romney is losing at this point in a big way. if something is going to come out, get it out in a hurry. >> he should release the tax returns tomorrow. you have to release six, eight years of tax returns. >> there's obviously something there. if there was nothing there, he woul

i'm concerned about eric fehrnstrom and he gave the etch-a-sket etch-a-sketch remark and internally romneyem to be saying they're upset with him for doing that. at the same time, though, the president up until the supreme court gave him a win last week had a significant series of bad weeks. polling isn't going well in the battle grounds. even cnn has him behind mitt romney in battle grounds. and no one wants to talk about should barack obama's team do this. i don't know if it's fair to talk about mitt romney's team when they're neck and neck in the polls and he hadn't done anything wrong in the past few weeks. >> right. and this is a campaign being run out of massachusetts so there are a lot of consultants wanting in. but to change your campaign at this point would be so destabilizing and demoralizing. you want to reach out and grow your campaign is what i think i'm hearing eric say. but when you're in the real heat, that would be i think a terrible management decision. >> final word -- >> mitt romney should ignore people like jack welch and rupert murdoch. neither one have ever run for po

and his words yesterday contradicted how his senior advisor eric fehrnstrom characterized romney's view just two days earlier, on msnbc. the governor believes t what we put in place in massachusetts was a penalty and he disagrees with the court's ruling that the mandate was a tax. >> reporter: romney remained on vacation today, but his campaign issued a statement, turning the focus back on obama, for denying his own justice department argument that the mandate could be seen as a tax. but the back and forth over what to call the mandate also raised concerns among conservatives over the romney campaign's overall strategy. the "wall street journal," in a harshly worded editorial today suggested that the romney camp's handling of the mandate and other issues could be putting his prospects in jeopardy. one quote: "the campaign looks confused in addition to being politically dumb." the editorial added that romney's staff is slowly squandering an historic opportunity. and with four months to go until election day, a new pew research center poll finds that voters believe the campaign is informa

senior campaign adviser eric fehrnstrom veered off message, saying that the law is a penalty, not a tax, agreeing with president obama. the governor believes that what we put in place in massachusetts was a penalty, and disagrees with the court's ruling that it was a tax. >> since the court's ruling, virtually every republican leader has used the decision as proof that the president's signature legislation is a massive tax hike on americans. >> it's now a tax since the court said it was a tax. >> believe me, if this was brought to the public as a tax, there's no way this law would have passed in the first place. >> how are you? >> it's a tricky spot for romney. from day one, he has campaigned on a vow to scrap the president's health care law. but as governor of massachusetts, he passed the first individual mandate at the state level. some political pundits took issue with the campaign's approach, and said romney should return his focus to the economy. >> this is a classic case where consistency and intellectual honesty is a mistake. simply accept that the supreme court has said it's a t

and i enjoyed it when we saw eric fehrnstrom saying it was a penalty, and then to see governor romneyh's marching order and say it is is a tax but not when i did it, my friends. >> you have so much material. and last night we made a little corner of our show a shrine to mitt romney. we're calling it mitt's flips. and we're encouraging people to send us their flip flops and put on the flip flop which flip flop you like best and send it to us. >> you won't have any room in studio now. >> you are going to have to move into the giants ballpark across the studio. i vote for planned parenthood. he was someone who gave money to planned parenthood and now wants to defund it. >> exactly. i wanted a size 15 flip flop because it was the mother of all flip flops -- >> it was a quadruple flip flop and he said he sided with the mine nor if i but agreed with the majority at the same time. >> it is an interesting observation about leadership and what he would be willing to do. how many flip flops he would make as president if he happens to say something that the members of his party don't agree with.