A Transactional Case For Romney
I've been on the hunt for Mitt Romney defenses that are persuasive. Jonah Goldberg's column today makes a point about Romney that I find at least worth discussing. He says that some conservatives are sold on Romney and some merely think he has a problem articulating conservative principles. A third group just doesn't buy that he's conservative at all. We have all three groups here at Ricochet but it's the last group that Goldberg addresses:
First, let me say: I feel your pain. The Tea Party arose in no small part out of a delayed allergic reaction to the rhetorical and, to a lesser extent, policy problems of George W. Bush’s presidency and the deep resentment that came with having to vote for John McCain in 2008. These disappointments were visited upon the conservative base by something the naysayers (often problematically) call “the Republican establishment.”
After what seems like an eternity under Obama, and with the raised expectations from the Tea Party’s earlier successes, conservatives are extremely reluctant to settle or compromise simply on the say-so of the establishment. For good reasons and bad, Romney seems like a compromise. And no matter how begrudgingly a conservative comes to accept the reality of Romney’s nomination, the diehards immediately proclaim any support for Romney to be proof of membership in the establishment. In fact, it seems like the best definition of a Republican-establishment member these days is simply someone who has made peace with his disappointment prematurely.
I love that last line. Goldberg goes on to say "It is better to have a president who owes you than to have one who claims to own you." A President Gingrich would "wander off into trouble" within 10 minutes:
If elected, Romney must follow through for conservatives and honor his vows to repeal Obamacare, implement Representative Paul Ryan’s agenda, and stay true to his pro-life commitments.
Moreover, Romney is not a man of vision. He is a man of duty and purpose. He was told to “fix” health care in ways Massachusetts would like. He was told to fix the 2002 Olympics. He was told to create Bain Capital. He did it all. The man does his assignments.
So, what do you think about this transactional case for Romney? I can buy it, although I wonder if the pro-choice progressives who elected him in Massachusetts would argue differently about his vows (I guess he stayed true enough to them while in office, only becoming more pro-life and conservative after he left?).
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Jan '12
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Gus Marvinson
Unfortunately, I do not possess your restraint and made the mistake of speaking my mind (re. comments 15 and 17)... · 3 minutes ago
Edited 3 minutes ago
In this, as in many things, I take my cue from the literati of early 18th-century England, especially from Alexander Pope:
Thus I keep many a blood vessel from bursting, and I avoid alienating polite society.
Edited on Feb 3 at 11:08amDec '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
I'm going to have to hit myself in the face with a shovel for saying this, but, I've come to agree with George Soros about the realistic differences between Obama and Romney. They are a couple of Dr. Kervorkian's who will assist in the suicide of our Republic. The real question is should our Republic commit suicide next Monday or a week from Saturday. I'm leaning towards next Monday and get it over with. Then there might be a chance to at least restore the America of my childhood.
Romney carpet bombing Florida with wall-to-wall lies about Newt, tells us everything we need to know about his character, he has none. Given his willingness to lie on such a large scale, how can we believe anything the man says?
Jan '12
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
I can't, Doc, but that only churns my stomach all the more.
Mar '11
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Noesis Noeseos
Gus Marvinson
Unfortunately, I do not possess your restraint and made the mistake of speaking my mind (re. comments 15 and 17)... · 3 minutes ago
Edited 3 minutes ago
In this, as in many things, I take my cue from the literati of early 18th-century England, especially from Alexander Pope:
Thus I keep many a blood vessel from bursting, and I avoid alienating polite society. · 15 minutes ago
Edited 14 minutes ago
Oh, I could string together a bunch of Bible verses that I use to keep me in check, but my passion got the best of me this time. My point, restated, is that JG too often makes his money on his name and not on substance. Contrast VDH or Thomas Sowell. Could you imagine either of these men writing Jonah's article?
Edited on Feb 3 at 11:42amApr '11
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Pseudodionysius
Pseudodionysius: I genuinely believe that he will be the first President to effectively reduce permanent government since Coolidge, and the best restorer of our Constitution over the same time.
He may indeed honestly believe that James. My worry is about the carpet bombing Coalition of the Shilling that chased all the A list candidates out of the game and pumps money into the SuperPac like they're inflating the Goodyear blimp over the SuperBowl this weekend. ·
And that New York Times article I linked to earlier didn't inspire me that he won't inadvertently convince the American electorate that they're a little piece of pie on Mitt's 59 point slide deck and pie chart extravaganza of excellence for an American apple pie you can believe in. ·
It's a long way from where many on Ricochet are; I certainly wouldn't feel as I do if my views were formed here. Since they were mostly formed in 2007, though, and had been extensively discussed, prayed over, and otherwise tested prior to that, I do. Meeting his colleagues, the moderates who knew him well and liked him, thought he was too conservative. The conservatives were very impressed.
Sep '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
James Of England
It's a long way from where many on Ricochet are; I certainly wouldn't feel as I do if my views were formed here. Since they were mostly formed in 2007, though, and had been extensively discussed, prayed over, and otherwise tested prior to that, I do. Meeting his colleagues, the moderates who knew him well and liked him, thought he was too conservative. The conservatives were very impressed. · 5 minutes ago
Well, so far, his media missteps have alarmed Krauthammer and Steyn sufficiently in the last few days that I certainly hope he recovers enough to convince those who don't know him that the pie's big enough for everyone.
Feb '11
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Yes, Stuart, I also disagree that belligerence can't beat likeability. But I also disagree with the other part of the original premise: that conservatives are seeking belligerence as catharsis. We're seeking someone to move the ball downfield; moving the ball down field is an inherently belligerent act; we'll never move the ball down field without being belligerent with the opposition. Of course we'd prefer that our belligerent candidate also be likeable, but ultimately only one of those traits are essential to scoring.
May '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
The biggest problem with the Transactional Argument is that, IMO, the Presidency is not a transactional position. Congress is transactional. The Presidency is visionary. And I don't see anyone arguing that Mitt is a man of vision and big ideas.
Sep '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
"After what seems like an eternity under Obama, and with the raised expectations from the Tea Party’s earlier successes, conservatives are extremely reluctant to settle or compromise simply on the say-so of the establishment. For good reasons and bad, Romney seems like a compromise."
Wrong. Romney is no compromise, he's a 100% off the rack moderate Republican. Newt Gingrich might be a compromise - a guy who has had flirtations with Democrats but can articulate conservatism and promises conservatism. That's a compromise of sorts or perhaps, Mitch Daniels.
"And no matter how begrudgingly a conservative comes to accept the reality of Romney’s nomination, the diehards immediately proclaim any support for Romney to be proof of membership in the establishment. In fact, it seems like the best definition of a Republican-establishment member these days is simply someone who has made peace with his disappointment prematurely."
This is another trick I see moderates using all over the place. "I'm a Romney supporter, and I haven't been to any of those Georgetown cocktail parties, therefore there is no 'establishment'".
But then, why would people who basically have no political principles be any good at logic?
Jul '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
jhimmi
I think of the selection process as a series of sieves, or filters. The first and foremost one is "Can the candidate beat Obama?" all else is secondary. .
I agree with the filter premise; I disagree with Romney's passing through it. Obama has spent the last 3 years building a case against Romney, knowing Romney would get the nod. · 6 hours ago
If Romney can't pass through it, no one else can either. In my opinion he has the demeanor to defeat someone as likeable as Obama undeniably is; you certainly aren't going to defeat him with the belligerence of a Newt Gingrich, who has 60% negatives and a media champing at the bit to destroy him for his past sins against Bill Clinton, among other things.
Jul '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Ed G.
That wasn't Stuart. That was me. Capt Schettino does not have the American MSM behind him.
What would you do when the media paints Obama as the victim of the bully Gingrich? In the general election facts don't matter nearly as much as feelings, and the media will be only too happy to elicit the sympathy of moderates and indies against "mean old Newt Gingrich" who is "attacking poor Obama" who's "only doing the best he can dammit!"
Jan '12
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Gus Marvinson
... JG too often makes his money on his name and not on substance. Contrast VDH or Thomas Sowell. Could you imagine either of these men writing Jonah's article? · 4 hours ago
Edited 4 hours ago
JG's style is a bit flip for my taste. (So is Mark Steyn's, but he at least is witty.) VDH and Thomas Sowell exhibit far more gravitas and commitment to conservative principles.
Both in elegance of language and soundness of political philosophy, NR has lapsed from its Garden of Buckley.
Feb '11
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Waynester
.....
That wasn't Stuart. That was me. Capt Schettino does not have the American MSM behind him.
What would you do when the media paints Obama as the victim of the bully Gingrich? In the general election facts don't matter nearly as much as feelings, .....
You may have misunderstood the post. I responded to Stuart who apparently quoted you. Also, Stuart isn't claiming that Schettino has support, he was referring to the coast guard commander who was yelling at Schettino. And yes, I see your point that facts won't matter as much as feelings in the general, but doesn't that count as yet another mark against Romney who'll have a hard time generating positive feeling?
Dec '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Waynester
That wasn't Stuart. That was me. Capt Schettino does not have the American MSM behind him.
What would you do when the media paints Obama as the victim of the bully Gingrich? In the general election facts don't matter nearly as much as feelings, and the media will be only too happy to elicit the sympathy of moderates and indies against "mean old Newt Gingrich" who is "attacking poor Obama" who's "only doing the best he can dammit!
When the mentally-challenged bag boy at our local supermarket has trouble with packing our groceries, we are certainly willing to cut him the slack of "he's only doing the best he can."
When the man who ran for the job of leader of the free world on the basis of his supreme competence and confidence in meeting America's economic and foreign policy challenges asks to be re-elected after demonstrating arrogance and incompetence, the only people who will cut him slack are Yellow Dog Democrats and people who can't admit that he can't do the job for fear of making it harder for the next Black Presidential candidate.
Dec '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Ed G.
Waynester
.....
That wasn't Stuart. That was me. Capt Schettino does not have the American MSM behind him.
What would you do when the media paints Obama as the victim of the bully Gingrich? In the general election facts don't matter nearly as much as feelings, .....
You may have misunderstood the post. I responded to Stuart who apparently quoted you. Also, Stuart isn't claiming that Schettino has support, he was referring to the coast guard commander who was yelling at Schettino. And yes, I see your point that facts won't matter as much as feelings in the general, but doesn't that count as yet another mark against Romney who'll have a hard time generating positive feeling? · 12 minutes ago
I think Waynester meant Obama has the MSM excusing his incompetence, where Schettino has not. But if and when the GOP nominee makes Obama's incompetence undeniably plain to see, the MSM will have to use absurd and hypocritical means to try to protect him. I am sure they are willing to do that, but it will actually give our side more tools to use against them and, by extension, Obama.
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
BThompson: You're a smart lady, Mollie. You've seen all the debates, the campaign videos of the candidates. You've read article after article and listened to the pundits. As editor you've read all the arguments made here ( you do read them right? ;) ) You and others like you are bright enough to be able to assess the candidates at this point and figure out which one can win and deserves your support.
I don't feel compelled to say the things I've been saying for weeks if not months over and over again to persuade those who should be able to see things for themselves. If you and those on the fence can't figure it out by now, with all that's been said, written, analyzed, spun, and argued over, why do you expect those of us on Romney's band wagon have some magical capacity to convince you of something you should either already be convinced of or to have rejected?
If I didn't know better, I'd say you're playing hard to get, BThompson!
Jan '11
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
Me?! You're the one who keeps on asking the Romney supporters to woo you even thought you insist on posting "this is why I can't stand, Romney" posts time and again.
:p
May '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
I have advocated (before) a two-step process.
Step 1. Elect Romney. He is a competent, fixit man, and he racks up a record of moderate success, leading wishy-washy middle-of-the-road independents to grow accustomed to the idea of a Republican president and hesitant to replace him with a Democratic.
Step 2. Elect a conservative in eight years.
Patience is the key. Rome was not dismantled in a day.
Dec '10
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
outstripp:
Step 1. Elect Romney. He is a competent, fixit man, and he racks up a record of moderate success, leading wishy-washy middle-of-the-road independents to grow accustomed to the idea of a Republican president and hesitant to replace him with a Democratic.
In recent history, we elected a strong Conservative who racked up a record of moderate success. leading wishy-washy, middle-of-the-road independents to grow accustomed to the idea of a Republican President. They were hesitant to replace him with a Democrat and instead elected his Republican Vice-President, a competent, moderate type named George Herbert Walker Bush.
George H.W. Bush sought to close the deficit by cooperating with the Democrats on a bipartisan tax increase, and he competently conducted the war to drive Saddam out of Kuwait. But his blandness and moderation made those independents believe that a moderate Democrat would be just as good, so they made the competent moderate Republican a one-termer.
Mar '11
Re: A Transactional Case For Romney
outstripp: I have advocated (before) a two-step process.
Step 1. Elect Romney. He is a competent, fixit man, and he racks up a record of moderate success, leading wishy-washy middle-of-the-road independents to grow accustomed to the idea of a Republican president and hesitant to replace him with a Democratic.
Step 2. Elect a conservative in eight years.
Patience is the key. Rome was not dismantled in a day. · 9 hours ago
Let's say you are marketing a new soft drink, would your pitch be that folks should mix it with a well known competing brand first, just to get used to the flavor, before switching to yours? Of course not. If you believe in something, sell it, man! Sell it!
Edited on Feb 4 at 7:10am