Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
I would guess that at least 90% of the objections I read about Mitt Romney boil down to the charge that he keeps changing his positions, i.e. he's a flip-flopper. I think it is overblown but I agree it is something to be concerned about. What does it say in the book of James 1:8? "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." It certainly behooves us to decide what positions Romney (or any candidate) genuinely holds.
What I find ironic is that those who accuse Romney of this sin are, many times, casting stones in glass houses. First their enthusiasm lands on Trump, then on Bachmann, then on Perry, then on Cain and now on Gingrich (not to mention those who chose not to run such as Christie and Ryan). One would think that those who find flip-flopping so abhorrent in Romney would exercise more permanence themselves.
- Comment (119)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (6)
Comments :
Dec '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
The only thing consistent in this race is that the voters do not want Romney. They'll settle for him as a last resort, but that's no way to pick a president.
Sep '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
The phrase "flip-flop" is misleading. There is a difference between doing a flip-flop and being serially unable to hold onto a principle. Every politician, sooner or late,r has to make some compromises. Once it starts to look like a pattern that always hinges on the politician's personal political success, and especially if it is done in anticipation of something rather than a result of real world politics, then we are in a different level of the charge.
The difference is in degree. Romney looks much worse in this department than the others.
Mar '11
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Franco: The phrase "flip-flop" is misleading. There is a difference between doing a flip-flop and being serially unable to hold onto a principle. Every politician, sooner or late,r has to make some compromises. Once it starts to look like a pattern that always hinges on the politician's personal political success, and especially if it is done in anticipation of something rather than a result of real world politics, then we are in a different level of the charge.
The difference is in degree. Romney looks much worse in this department than the others. · Nov 14 at 4:01pm
“Flip-flop” may be misleading but it is the term commonly used when describing Romney. I think the charge against him is overblown. In a previous thread Ricochet contributor ParisParamus posted a couple of links to Romney’s flyers describing his position which he used in his run against Senator Kennedy. Here and here. I found them fascinating. He was a conservative (with some exceptions) then and is today.
Mar '11
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Romney hasn't just flipped. He's changed his tune multiple times on the same controversy. First he was pro-life. Then when he ran for governor of Taxachussetts, he changed to pro-choice, Now he's back to pro-life again.
Simply put, no one believes the guy has any principles but getting elected.
Aug '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Ah, but you're forgetting that it's the politicians' job to court the voters, not the other way around. It is our privilege to take our sweet time making up our minds. The politicians are there to woo us.
Dec '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
The knock on Romney is not only that he's changed his positions, but that he seems to do so for entirely political reasons. He gives the impression that he's not guided by principle, and that, to the extent he has principles, they are not necessarily conservative or reliable. Flip-flop is kind of a catchall phrase, a shortcut for I don't trust him. I see this reflected even in the way he's run his campaign. He seems much more intent on playing it safe -- doing or saying nothing bold, making no unforced errors in order to make sure he's elected -- than proposing bold solutions to solve the big problems we're facing. He's been forced out of that strategy a bit by the other candidates, but people sense the timidity and that's why he's not generating any excitement. Other candidates, flawed as they are, seem to "get it" where Romney doesn't. He's walking on egg shells while others are showing a sense of urgency about laying out a new vision and taking a new path. Romney seems content just to get elected.
Dec '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
There's a difference between holding one's finger in the air to test the political winds (fair or not, and I think it's fair, that's the perception) and shopping around for the best candidate.
May '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Seriously? Another 'Romney victimization' post? Only now it has devolved into the old Pee Wee Herman line: "I know you are but what am I?"
If the electorate is not wholly supporting your guy, and you're trying to convince them to, it is usually not a good tactic to insult them. People are allowed to deliberate on their choice before making it, even if you chose not to.
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Kofola:
If the electorate is not wholly supporting your guy, and you're trying to convince them to, it is usually not a good tactic to insult them. People are allowed to deliberate on their choice before making it, even if you chose not to. · Nov 15 at 8:37am
Agreed. I have been encouraging people to just repeat saying "President Romney" until it doesn't make you want to vomit so much, but the taunting doesn't help. I'd wish that Romney and his supporters instead listened to those of us that don't think he's that great -- and worked to overcome our objections.
Dec '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
I know one endorsement Romney probably won't get: Thomas Sowell.
Dec '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Straw man argument. The voter is asked: Given what you know now", for whom would you vote?. It is assumed that your opinion can change with more information. A platform position is one that is arrived at after the facts are in.
Nov '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Someone, I don’t remember who, said Romney has to constantly be pushed to do the right thing, i.e, the conservative thing. Without sustained pressure he will drift leftward. That may be the basis of Professor Jacobson’s “operation countereweight” proposal, an effort to elect the most conservative candidates to Congress so that they can keep the pressure on Romney in the event he becomes the next president.
This is discouraging. First of all, it’s uncertain that a Republican Congress, even with a lot of conservatives in the ranks, could ever be counted on to act as a counterweight to a Republican president. But worst of all is, why would conservatives ever want to help elect a president that is no way a conservative?
Flip flopping is just a symptom of the main problem and arguing over the amount of flip flopping is missing the point.
Roger Kimball made the point succinctly: “Mitt Romney is our Bob Dole, a company man at a moment when the problem is the company.”
Mar '11
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
I am also troubled by Romney's "moving" positions. I am nonetheless willing to cut him some slack. You cannot run as a "pure conservative" in Massachusetts and win. My hope is that Romney has always been a conservative--especially given his Mormon faith--yet he had to make a few "compromises" to seek elective office in the most liberal state in the union. Romney was never my first choice, but, frankly, no one else running for the Republican nomination can win the general election. No one else.
In a perfect world, Mitch Daniels or Paul Ryan would be on the primary ballots. They are not. We conservatives can either circle the wagons around Romney or be prepared for four more years of President Obama. There are no other viable options. I'll take my chances with Mitt.
May '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
Kofola:
If the electorate is not wholly supporting your guy, and you're trying to convince them to, it is usually not a good tactic to insult them. People are allowed to deliberate on their choice before making it, even if you chose not to. · Nov 15 at 8:37am
Agreed. I have been encouraging people to just repeat saying "President Romney" until it doesn't make you want to vomit so much, but the taunting doesn't help. I'd wish that Romney and his supporters instead listened to those of us that don't think he's that great -- and worked to overcome our objections. · Nov 15 at 8:49am
Although, to be fair, many of them have been trying hard to do so, and in a reasonable manner. I recognize that frustration does come into play, which I think reflects in some of these posts. We've all been pretty frustrated during this election cycle in one way or another.
Oct '11
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
I thought that flip flopping is when you go back and forth between two choices. I would say that enthusiasm for various candidates before settling on one does not qualify as flip flopping.
Edited on Nov 15, 2011 at 9:30amJul '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Funnily enough, I find myself squarely in the camp of Thomas Sowell on this subject.
Anyone but Mitt. No flip flops there.
May '10
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
I am approaching this primary election from the point of view of a "buyer". There are also those approaching the election from the point of view of a "supporter". I think the majority of changing in the polls relates to "buyers" getting more information about the products. The "supporters" waiver less, most likely, probably explaining the relatively static levels of Romney's performance in the polls. I have to admit that I was close to becoming a Cain supporter, but as I have discovered more about the product (particularly in the foreign policy area), the less I like. I think it is reasonable for some primary voters to be supports with relatively little flip-flopping, and others to be buyers in the market for the best candidate for which to vote.
I would expect in general that the policy positions of the candidates ought to be relatively stable, with some allowance for a change of mind based on new information. My main objection to Romney is not that he has changed parties or policy positions. I object to his tendency to convey that he thinks the government can fix things.
Apr '11
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Franco: The phrase "flip-flop" is misleading. There is a difference between doing a flip-flop and being serially unable to hold onto a principle. Every politician, sooner or late,r has to make some compromises. Once it starts to look like a pattern that always hinges on the politician's personal political success, and especially if it is done in anticipation of something rather than a result of real world politics, then we are in a different level of the charge.
The difference is in degree. Romney looks much worse in this department than the others. · Nov 14 at 4:01pm
Than Newt? On which policy has Mitt flip flopped that Newt has not? There are a host of issues where Newt has shifted that Mitt has not (fairness doctrine, laptop for every child, Americans With Disabilities Act, Libyan intervention, choice of wife, choice of second wife....)
Admittedly, on abortion his moves have been smaller than Mitt's move, but on all other issues they've been bigger.
Apr '11
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
We get it - Romney's base really likes Romney.
Mar '11
Re: Flip-Flopping and the Hypocritical Electorate
Please, brothers and sisters in liberty, don't force me to vote for Mitt H.W. McDole.