A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
On the front page of the New York Times this morning, a long story on Mitt Romney's positions on abortion. In both his unsuccessful 1994 senate race and his successful 2002 gubernatorial race, the Times notes, Romney campaigned as unambiguously pro-choice.
Then? "By 2005, with Mr. Romney eyeing a possible presidential bid, he began to distance himself from his abortion rights platform." In an article that June in National Review, Romney stated "[m]y political philosophy is pro-life."
Which brings us to the sentence that made me wince:
That same article quoted his top strategist at the time, Mike Murphy, as saying Mr. Romney had been "a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly."
"Faking it?" As best I can tell, there really is no other way of construing this. Mike was suggesting that Romney intentionally misled the people of Massachusetts.
Behind-the-scenes politics, as Ronald Reagan once remarked, can be "like seeing civilization with its pants down."
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Comments:
Apr '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
EJHill
Executive order? Governors have them, too. · 25 minutes ago
I did mention executive orders in an excised part of the comment you quote, but executive orders aren't grants of unlimited power. The governor has to be granted the power by the legislature, or have it as an intrinsic constitutional power. There are all sorts of things he could have done by executive order, and some he did do, but mandating sonograms is way, way beyond the limits of his position. Are you imagining him ordering the National Guard to administer them as a requirement for abortion mill licensing? I'm really struggling to imagine a strategy that would provide even a hint of legitimacy.
Mar '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Politicians often feel that they must pretend to be perfect to get elected. Then, once they are elected, we are shocked to discover that they are so good at pretending.
Aug '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Albert Arthur
DrewInWisconsin
Samwise Gamgee
I'd feel a lot better if he stopped trying to convince us how authenticallyconservative he is. I don't think many people are buying that line.
Apparently at CPAC he used the phrase "severely conservative" which really caused the raised eyebrows. What sort of conservative calls himself "severely conservative"? · 22 minutes ago
You know, you wouldn't have to say "apparently" if you had listened to his speech. · 4 minutes ago
Give me a link. I base my statement on what Byron York wrote about his speech, but I do not have links to all the CPAC speeches.
Albert, I know you're a Romney supporter. Why is that? And can you understand why I will never cast a vote for the man? In my view, there is little difference between Romney and Obama, and the only thing that will change my mind is if he starts saying that Romneycare was a bad idea.
But I also have to admit that if he did say that, I would assume he was lying to get my vote. I will never vote for the man.
Aug '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
AmishDude
But it isn't even that. If it were pros and cons, I'd be very happy, but the not-Romneys don't have their pros itemized. It's only about cons and only for Romney.
Not true. Go back and read any of my posts about why I supported Newt Gingrich. They were based on his actual record of conservative accomplishments when he was Speaker. I did not support Newt by trashing Romney.
Would that Romney could have told us something positive about himself instead of spending 15 million dollars in Florida on exclusively negative ads trashing Newt, and not a thin dime touting his own record.
Dec '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Conservative Episcopalian: Okay a little analysis:
. . .
At this point in the game, whether or not he is pro-life really or really pro-choice does not matter. He can only have marginal affect on any legislation, and any SCOTUS nominees will be closely watched. · 13 minutes ago
I get this whole SCOTUS thing, and why it's a good idea to have someone other than the current occupant of the White House picking the next several Justices.
But isn't this post about a candidate whose chief strategist said of him, that he was a "a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly?"
If this is true (and I haven't seen anything to indicate it isn't, but I'm willing to be convinced), then is this really the sort of candidate you want to elevate to the White House?
Are you so sure you know who he'll pick for the Supreme Court?
Are you so sure he's not faking it now?
Really?
Apr '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
DrewInWisconsin
Give me a link. I base my statement on what Byron York wrote about his speech, but I do not have links to all the CPAC speeches.
Albert, I know you're a Romney supporter. Why is that? And can you understand why I will never cast a vote for the man? In my view, there is little difference between Romney and Obama, and the only thing that will change my mind is if he starts saying that Romneycare was a bad idea.
But I also have to admit that if he did say that, I would assume he was lying to get my vote. I will never vote for the man. · 2 minutes ago
Although I think federalism, conscience, context, democracy, and Constitutionality to be important, and cannot imagine Obama saying this I can understand how someone might think that Mitt and Obama are similar on healthcare.
It sounds as if you also believe this to be the case on, say, unions, immigration, or criminal sentencing. Is that the case?
Dec '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
DrewInWisconsin
Not true. Go back and read any of my posts about why I supported Newt Gingrich. They were based on his actual record of conservative accomplishments when he was Speaker. I did not support Newt by trashing Romney.
Would that Romney could have told us something positive about himself instead of spending 15 million dollars in Florida on exclusively negative ads trashing Newt, and not a thin dime touting his own record. · 1 minute ago
As far as Romney's ads, I have no problem whatsoever. I hope that he carries that into the general election. But I would make the case that the negative ads were necessary for Romney because the MSM and conservative media will get excited over the flavor of the month and it takes time for the pushback. Look at the Santorum boomlet.
Why is Santorum riding high? He's the last guy to be vetted.
Jul '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Two points:
1. He's also a rich Mormon who's somewhat socially awkward with proles. I said it. Now we can wince up a storm about these earth-shaking revelations.
This is JV. We all know there was some ambitious opportunism in his seeming position change. Ascribing a brassier tone to it via Murph's blunt lingo isn't as graceful or elegant as your usual stuff Peter.
James nailed it in #20. I'll put it less diplomatically: I wouldn't choose Murphy to write a family member's obit. Would you?
2. This:
Peter Robinson:
Behind-the-scenes politics, as Ronald Reagan once remarked, can be "like seeing civilization with its pants down." ·
is a spectacular line, which I had never heard.
Thanks for that, Peter.
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Duane Oyen
1) What Romney actually said in Massachusetts was thta he wouldn]'t try to overturn Roe v. Wade. Makes sense to me- a g0vernor overturn the Supreme Court?
Re point 1), Duane, if that was indeed what Romney had said--that he was personally pro-life, but that as governor he would of course respect federal law, including Roe--then no one would have any difficulty with his present positions. (I wouldn't, anyway.) But that wasn't at all what Romney did. Google around a little, and look on YouTube, and you'll find Romney portraying himself as decisively, unreservedly pro-choice. And if you hesitate to believe me, take it from pro-choice activists. When Romney announced he was pro-life, as the New York Times piece explains, pro-choice activists felt betrayed.
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Cont'd....
All kinds of questions arise from this, questions that strike me as good, fair, and important. To wit:
Did Romney indeed mislead people intentionally, or was that just Mike Murphy's being provocative? Will the Romney campaign release a statement on this over the next day or two?
If Romney really was pro-choice when he ran for governor, how did he square that with his religion, to which he has repeatedly (and, to my mind, believably) avowed his fidelity?
If Mike is right--if Romney did engage in a straightforward political calculation, choosing to protray himself as something he wasn't--to what extent was he justified in doing so? Maybe to quite a considerable extent--Ann Coulter, for example, excuses Romney for much of what he said when running against Ted Kennedy in 1994; defeating Kennedy on almost any terms, would have been a boon to the republic.
But if Ann has a point--and I'm willing to grant that she may--then we still have to face perhaps the most basic question of all: How--really and truly, how--can we be sure Romney means what he says now?
Edited on February 13, 2012 at 3:14amAug '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
AmishDude
DrewInWisconsin
Would that Romney could have told us something positive about himself instead of spending 15 million dollars in Florida on exclusively negative ads trashing Newt, and not a thin dime touting his own record. · 1 minute ago
As far as Romney's ads, I have no problem whatsoever. I hope that he carries that into the general election. But I would make the case that the negative ads were necessary for Romney because the MSM and conservative media will get excited over the flavor of the month and it takes time for the pushback.
Then why would "negative ads" (posts) about Mitt Romney on Ricochet bother you? Isn't this the exact same approach that Mitt uses? "Sauce for the Goose" as they say.
Edited on February 13, 2012 at 2:26amRe: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
James Of England: Massachusetts Citizens For Life endorsed him, and have remained very supportive of him, while NARAL and Planned Parenthood loathed him.
· 1 hour ago
This is terribly important, JofE. Do you happen to know when during his gubernatorial campaign the pro-life group endorsed Romney? Do you by any sweet chance have a link to their endorsement? I'd love to see it. It might clear up a lot.
Edited on February 13, 2012 at 3:03amDec '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Peter Robinson:
But if Ann has a point--and I'm willing to grant that she may--then we still have to face perhaps the most basic question of all: How--really and truly, how--can we be sure Romney means what he says now? · 1 minute ago
In the same way we can believe what Santorum says on unions, immigration or crimial sentencing. Or in the same way we can believe what Gingrich says about the individual mandate.
Again, politically, I have no problem if Romney was always secretly pro-life and changed to pro-choice to placate MA voters. I have no problem if he's pro-choice but is now running on a pro-life platform because he's stuck with it.
What that says about other issues is a serious matter, but a different one.
Dec '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
DrewInWisconsin
Then why would "negative ads" (posts) about Mitt Romney on Ricochet bother you? Isn't this the exact same approach that Mitt uses? "Sauce for the Goose" as they say. · 7 minutes ago
Because I expect Mitt Romney to be an unabashed advocate for Mitt Romney and against everyone else. I do not expect him to be unbiased in this matter.
But I do expect that conservatives, when considering a vote for their presidential nominee, have a little wider eyes and don't rush to the latest not-Romney for no other reason that he's the latest not-Romney.
Sep '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
I dunno, Peter, this can't be much of a shock. Mr. "I'm not a career politician" is just that - a career politician and not a very good one at that. His reputation for being insincere is pretty well earned.
In the end, this is all off-point. We all know that Rick Santorum eats kittens for breakfast and drowns puppies in the pond by the mill after lunch. Really, Mitt is inevitable. Just get used to it.
Aug '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
AmishDude
DrewInWisconsin
Then why would "negative ads" (posts) about Mitt Romney on Ricochet bother you? Isn't this the exact same approach that Mitt uses? "Sauce for the Goose" as they say. · 7 minutes ago
Because I expect Mitt Romney to be an unabashed advocate for Mitt Romney and against everyone else. I do not expect him to be unbiased in this matter.
Oh, I trust Mitt Romney to be fully on the side of Mitt Romney. I'm not interested in voting for another narcissist however.
But do you understand what I am saying? When it comes to balancing attacks on his opponents vs. promoting himself, Romney is something like 90:10. He has done little to sell himself as the sort of genuine conservative we need. And the few times he tries, he is unconvincing.
Sep '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
DrewInWisconsin
Then why would "negative ads" (posts) about Mitt Romney on Ricochet bother you? Isn't this the exact same approach that Mitt uses? "Sauce for the Goose" as they say. · 11 minutes ago
Edited 2 minutes ago
A perfectly innocent and freedom-loving goose that, as we all know, was poisoned by Rick Santorum on his way to fund abortions.
Sep '10
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Peter Robinson
Duane Oyen
Google around a little, and look on YouTube, and you'll find Romney portraying himself as decisively, unreservedly pro-choice. · 5 minutes ago
And here are some examples (insert link tool still broken):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNDsyKnQIes
What disturbs me--and I think it's at least part of what bothers Peter--is that if Romney was faking it, as Mike Murphy claimed, then he faked it very, very well indeed. Look at 0:56 - 1:06 particularly in the YouTube clip. He used the same Romney Tone of Conviction that he uses now to tell us he's unreservedly pro-life.
So as "She" put it above, what's he faking now?
Aug '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
K T Cat:
In the end, this is all off-point. We all know that Rick Santorum eats kittens for breakfast and drowns puppies in the pond by the mill after lunch. Really, Mitt is inevitable. Just get used to it.
Obama is looking inevitable. Mitt is still quite painfully evitable.
Aug '11
Re: A Sentence I Wish I Hadn't Read
Anyway, the ground has shifted, and in a very short time. The chief issue now is not the economy. It's whether the Constitution continues to mean anything in Washington. Romney could gain support by getting this one right.
Of course, that would require repudiating Romneycare.