The Republican message machine is trying hard to accuse President Obama of increasing taxes on middle-class Americans after the Supreme Courts ruling that the health care mandate is valid as an exercise of the governments taxing power.

But the party is doing so without the help of Mitt Romney, whose own health plan in Massachusetts contained an almost identical mandate.

On Monday, Eric Fehrnstrom, Mr. Romneys senior adviser, strayed wildly from the coordinated comments of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill and other party strategists by saying Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, agrees with Democrats that Mr. Obamas health care mandate is not a tax.

“The governor disagreed with the ruling of the court, Mr. Fehrnstrom said on MSNBCs “The Daily Rundown program. “He agreed with the dissent written by Justice Scalia, which very clearly stated that the mandate was not a tax.

Chuck Todd, the shows host, suggested that Mr. Romney “believes that you should not call the tax penalty a tax. Yo