mr. mitt romney. is it realistic for the former governor to try to run away from this healthcare plan that he put together because it is so similar to what the president has signed into law? guest: i do not think that it is realistic. the reason the reform has worked in massachusetts is because of the four elements i laid out, including the individual mandate. the governors from the supported the individual mandate. host: we will talk about massachusetts' health care with dr. judyann bigby, the health and he missehuman services secrf massachusetts. here are the phone lines if you would like to get involved. we have a special line for massachusetts residents. another article in "the new york times" -- massachusetts insurance regulators reject most requests for higher rates. dr. judyann bigby, tells a bit more about that and how works? guest: one of the things we have seen is that the cost for small business, grew premiums, -- group premiums -- have continued to rise. the insurers filed on march 2 the r

mitt romney. >> the grassroots of the republican party has moved in ron paul's direction since the last election. they view obama as mr. big government or worse and so, therefore, ron paul's anti-government party of no philosophy fits the mood at the grassroots of the republican party right now. it really does. >> gene, it's amazing the party is not party of the elected capitol hill boring crowd. >> this must be terrifying to the capitol hill boring crowd and to establishment candidates like mitt romney who thought it was all teed up for him the next time and you have this base that has drunk an awful lot of the kool-aid. basically. >> they're going to have a lot of fun this november because it's going to be about watching concession speeches from the democrats they manage to beat, right? that's fun. that's the beheadings in the french revolution. they'll watch that. at some point they have to pick a leader and i have a sense they don't have a leader. i don't think sarah palin is their real leader. i think they like the idea of the libertarian movement, no government, no grown-ups around. lot of freedom. they don't th

mitt romney. democrats and republicans are people that need to work together, they have to drink about what they're doing for the united states. mr. obama is taking the country down because the democrats are letting him. guest: i would probably, specifically distance myself from any characterization of the president's race and what it means. the president is certainly a person of great intellect and ability, so i will leave that part not discussed. but one point that the caller did make that i want to associate myself with, we are all americans. with the challenges we are facing overseas, of what the american people are looking for is for parties to work together to solve common problems, not for continued fighting. while political parties my bell believe from the point of view of washington that hyper- partisanship works coat -- politically, most voters have said -- enough, already. we are to into problems of the economy, health care, and our role in the world rather than working the other. host: have you had any response to the reception from the questions on health care coming from the house? guest: what i am hearing from demo