So Mitt Romney really is a RINO squish after all. We knew it all along.

Tom Stemberg, founder of Staples and Petsmart, died this week at the age of 66. Because he was closely associated with Romney, it was natural for obituary writers to turn to Mittens for a quote or two. This one was particularly poignant:

Romney said that shortly after he was elected, Mr. Stemberg asked him why he ran for governor. Romney said he told him that he wanted to help people, and Mr. Stemberg replied that if he really wanted to help, he should give everyone access to health care, which Romney said he hadn’t really considered before.

“Without Tom pushing it, I don’t think we would have had Romneycare,” Romney said. “Without Romneycare, I don’t think we would have Obamacare. So, without Tom a lot of people wouldn’t have health insurance.”

In a 2012 interview with the PBS show “Frontline,” Mr. Stemberg said “the uninsured are creating a crazy burden on our system. ... It just ought to be made more efficient, and you can’t do that unless you get everybody covered.”

Well, thank you Tom Stemberg for that and my multicolored file folders for easy identification of research on right-wing astroturf groups.