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Romney.. the Wrong Choice for the GOP And for the Country

I have for a long time found Ann Coulter [1] fascinating. Occasionally wrong, mostly correct.  I have several of her books on my shelves here.  I even carry one in the truck that I haven’t finished reading.  That said, it fascinates me that  Coulter who had nothing but derision for John McCain, thinks that Mitt Romney is the answer to this country’s problems. I have to wonder what is motivating this misdirected admiration for Romney. Seems to me that Ann has become far too enamored with the idea of being part of the GOP establishment.  That’s dangerous territory, as far as I can see.  Thing is, it’s the only plausible explanation for her recent writings.

To the main attraction; The difference between Romney and Obama right now is that Obama has a more solid record of consistency, in terms of their political leanings, than does Romney.

It should have surprised no one when Obama told us last week that he thinks the free market has never worked.  I mean, hell, I warned of this the day the Democrats nominated him, that he actually thinks this way….(to the derision and catcalls of a lot of GOP loyalists and certainly the usual lefties)  …but Romney has no such consistency.  Granted, that the remainder of the Republican field at this point is looking less than perfect.  But the fact that so much of the GOP rank and file is giving all those admittedly flawed people a serious look, should tell any observer that there is a good deal of dissatisfaction with Romney among that rank and file.    Romney and his record is why. [2]

This apprehension is more than justified.

Romney is now supposedly a pro gun small government conservative who subscribes to the pro life way of thinking.  This, given his history of left-leaning  is about as convincing to me as OJ Simpson’s claim that he will search every golf course in the country until he finds his wife’s killer…. more or less. Even Polifact seems to agree on this point. [3]

Romney has a governing record and for that matter a record of campaign rhetoric in Massachusetts that leans so far to the left that it’s difficult to distinguish between Romney and Obama. Look back, for example, at the rhetoric flying around the room when Romney ran against Ted Kennedy.  There is some speculation, that Romney was simply saying that to get elected…. He was trying to trick the Liberal Massachusetts voter.  Forgive me if I don’t find that overly impressive.  Either he was saying anything he needed to say to get elected, or he really is that Liberal.  Seems to me that neither one of those choices is very appetizing. Let’s look at a few other salient points that form the Romney record:

  • Romney didn’t support Ronald Reagan. (As I’ve said in the past, the GOP establishment wasn’t too happy about Reagan running. Kinda tells you where Romney was and is, huh? Interesting fact about a man now trying to claim Ronald Reagan’s legacy.)
  • Romney favored “Assault” Weapons Ban
  • Romney Favors Waiting Periods to Buy Handguns
  • Romney raised taxes on business by a total of $309 million
  • Romney increased taxes on business property
  • Romney joined a coalition lobbying congress to tax internet activity
  • Romney refused to support the Bush tax cuts while governor
  • Romney refused to sign the No New Taxes pledge when campaigning for Governor
  • Romney Balanced Budget with $500 Million in New Fees
  • Romney imposed “socialized” health care on Massachusetts
  • Romney supported abortion in general, and believes in sustaining Roe v. Wade.
  • Romney campaigned for Governor of Massachusetts as a pro-choice candidate, and was endorsed by a pro-abortion political group
  • Romney Approves of the Abortion Pill and Supports the Legalization of RU-486
  • Romney has a long history of promoting and furthering the homosexual agenda, and working closely with leading gay activists
  • Romney barred Boy Scouts from public participation in 2002 Olympics because of their Ban on Homosexual Scoutmasters
  • Romney unnecessarily (and unconstitutionally) implemented homosexual marriages in Massachusetts
  • Romney supported Racial preferences
  • Romney believes in the hoax of anthropogenic global warming
  • Romney supported the unconstitutional and wasteful “porkulus” spending
  • Romney supported the unconstitutional bailouts of bad business
  • Romney supported the assault weapons ban and Brady Bill
  • Romney believes illegal aliens should be rewarded with citizenship after violating our borders and breaking our laws

I mean, exactly at what point did he turn away from being a big government type? The record above would seem to suggest he hasn’t…. Regardless of how much influence he’s tried to buy among conservatives. [4]

Finally, we’re told that he is certain to overturn Obamacare. Yet,  since he authored and pushed  through the legislature in Massachusetts  a scheme so similar to Obamacare that Obama cites Romney as an author of the thing, for fear of lawsuits over copyright infringement,  how are we to believe that he will go to Washington and obliterate such a law? Yeah, right.

Yet we are supposed to believe the establishment GOP when they tell us now, that Romney is conservatism’s best hope? Sorry, I honestly don’t think he is the best choice.  As a matter of fact, I think he will do more damage than good.  Granted, that he could beat Obama.  Then again, that’s not all that high a bar to jump.  Any one of the current GOP candidates could beat Obama. A little referred to factoid from the 1980 election was that so many people were so disenchanted with Jimmy Carter that Ronald Reagan became the “none of the above” candidate.  I say again, anyone can beat Obama.  At this point, I suspect even Jimmy Carter could beat him.

And assuming that Romney wins over Obama, what have we won?  The answer is nothing.  If Romney wins the nomination, what we have is a GOP, the party of Reagan, become indistinguishable from the party of Obama.  In a choice between Liberal, and Liberal light, guess which way the electorate is going to go?  If you need a history check on that, one need look no further than McCain’s loss to Obama.

There are no perfect candidates.  There never has been.  Even Reagan had his issues.    But even in the imperfect list of candidates that the Republicans are now fielding, any one of them would represent conservatism better than Romney ever could.  That’s a message that needs to be sent, and pronto, to the GOP establishment.

Indeed, so obvious is this message that it seems logical to ask if the GOP establishment is at all interested in actually being conservative. But that is another post.

Editors note…. edited for flow after original posting