Tuesday, January 02, 2007
More of Romney on the brink
I continue to think that the next 3-6 months will determine Mitt's fate. If he's going head-to-head w/ Rudy and McCain, he might win. If he's got to fend off attacks from his right, from legitimate SoCons like Brownback, Keating, or Hunter (if any of them get traction), he's done. And the news keeps getting worse for Mitt. Not because of what other people are doing, but because of the continuous drip-drip-drip of people comparing what he said in the '90s with what he's saying now.
This blog ran a Lexis search and came back with a bunch of quotes from Mitt circa '94 where he was opposing the Contract with America. Apparently, he thought the conservative revolution was too partisan, and he opposed cutting capital gains taxes, among other things. Human Events chronicled some Romney statements, with an eye towards inconsistencies, here.
Clearly, there are going to be conservatives unwilling to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who is so -- and I'll be generous here -- pragmatic. I'm still impressed with Romney's ability to be an effective Republican spokesman, his attention to detail, his understanding of the global business environment, his opposition to amnesty, and his professed care for conservative social issues. To be fair, Mitt hasn't even announced yet, so with the exception of a few fanatical supporters in the blogosphere, the Mitt coverage has been pretty one-sided against him to this point. Maybe that will change once he's promoting himself full-time. But Romney's negatives are building. There are going to be plenty of SoCons out there who look at the "Big 3" and just see 3 moderates, and that will be an insurmountable problem for Mitt.
This blog ran a Lexis search and came back with a bunch of quotes from Mitt circa '94 where he was opposing the Contract with America. Apparently, he thought the conservative revolution was too partisan, and he opposed cutting capital gains taxes, among other things. Human Events chronicled some Romney statements, with an eye towards inconsistencies, here.
Clearly, there are going to be conservatives unwilling to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who is so -- and I'll be generous here -- pragmatic. I'm still impressed with Romney's ability to be an effective Republican spokesman, his attention to detail, his understanding of the global business environment, his opposition to amnesty, and his professed care for conservative social issues. To be fair, Mitt hasn't even announced yet, so with the exception of a few fanatical supporters in the blogosphere, the Mitt coverage has been pretty one-sided against him to this point. Maybe that will change once he's promoting himself full-time. But Romney's negatives are building. There are going to be plenty of SoCons out there who look at the "Big 3" and just see 3 moderates, and that will be an insurmountable problem for Mitt.
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2 comments:
I think it's important to take these comments in the context of the time. In '94 Mitt was running against the fat load Kennedy to try to do what no one has been able to do in 44 years - dethrone him from his Senate seat. As we've all mentioned on this blog before, the only way to win in MA is to compromise on some issues (at least in your statements).
I would of course prefer to see a candidate clearly state their position on issues and then get voted in or out. But there's no chance of getting office as a Republican in MA if you do so. I have to again go back to the point I made a few days ago: I'll judge Mitt more by his actions over the last 4 years than words from 12 years ago that were never implemented. Keep in mind that if any of those positions truly reflected his beliefs, it would have been very easy for him to enact them as governor. The fact that he didn't tells me where he really stands.
SHK--
3 points
1) Romney is the best of the Big 3, so I'm not trying to criticize as much as observe where this thing is headed.
2) You are right about the fact that he could have enacted any liberal agenda item he wanted while governonr--that is a strong argument in his favor and would make a great post.
3) It was easier to take his personal conversion story when it was just about abortion, but it's going to be harder for some conservatives to accept when it's also about the Contract with America, taxes, health care, etc.
I'm with you on substance, but the perception of flip-flopping is going to get trickier to deal with. He's also been punting on the "what should we do in Iraq" question for a while now, and he's going to have to take a position soon. The McCain & Rudy folks have their knives out.