Published: May 03, 2011
Updated: May 03, 2011 - 12:01 PM
The keynote speaker at the Florida Democrats' annual fundraising gala June 11 will be Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who has functioned recently as a Democratic point man on potential GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
In interviews recently, Patrick, who succeeded Romney as governor of Massachusetts in 2006, has repeatedly praised Romney for something the former governor doesn't want to be praised for—passing a universal health care plan for Massachusetts that Democrats note is very similar to the plan passed by the Obama administration.
That record is probably Romney's biggest headache in seeking the GOP presidential nomination. Patrick's administration is currently implementing the plan.
"One of the best things he did was to be the co-author of our health care reform which has been a model for national health care reform," Patrick said of Romney in an ABC news interview in February. "We have 98 percent of our residents insured today. ... On that one issue, I think he deserves a lot of credit."
