Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
One of the chief conservative critiques of Mitt Romney is that he rarely misses an opportunity to miss the opportunity to challenge this or that liberal assumption. For the latest example, let us turn our gaze from RomneyCare toward the minimum wage.
Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he supported tying the federal minimum wage to inflation, a move that would result in automatic increases to the pay rate. The position is a break from fiscal conservative orthodoxy — which generally seeks to eliminate the minimum wage — but could help Romney rebound from damaging comments he made earlier Wednesday when discussing the "very poor" in America.
"I haven't changed my thoughts on that," Romney told reporters aboard his campaign plane on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. He was apparently referring to a statement he made in 2002 when running for governor of Massachusetts, when he advocated an increase in the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation — a proposal President Obama touted in 2008 during his presidential run.
There Mitt goes, speaking truth to power--he seems awfully effective at challenging "conservative orthodoxy" doesn't he?--in order to combat the impression that he is out of touch with ordinary Americans. Tactically, Mitt's answer is probably sound politics. But in providing the easy soundbite Romney does nothing to move the ball downfield, failing to make any philosophical argument for firing an incumbent president.
Why can't Romney take a page from the Reagan playbook and challenge the planted axiom? Something like this:
REPORTER: Have you changed your mind on indexing the minimum wage to inflation?
ROMNEY: Let's step back for a moment. Wages and employment are critical. We need and want a high-wage full-employment economy. How do we get there? First we need to restore a private-sector where people who want a job can find one. Right now millions can't and as a result their maximum wage is zero. It's pretty depressing and a national disgrace that so many of our fellow citizens remain unemployed and without hope of finding work.
Barack Obama's record on this is a disaster: millions of people have dropped out of the labor force on his watch because of the president's single-minded fixation on implementing his ideology-- spend, borrow, tax and regulate--rather than shifting course and pursuing growth-friendly policies aimed at putting Americans back to work.
REPORTER: But what about your earlier support for indexing the minimum wage to inflation; you backed this in 2002 in Massachusetts?
ROMNEY: Look, this isn't 2002. Right now the problem facing millions of our fellow citizens isn't the minimum wage, it's a maximum wage consisting of an unemployment check and foodstamps. We need to focus on the big picture here and get this economy growing again.
REPORTER: So if you don't support a higher minimum wage, doesn't this mean you don't care about the poorest among us?
ROMNEY: If the federal government could create prosperity simply by commanding it, I guarantee you Barack Obama would have done it and it would be Morning in America today. One thing the president could do to increase wages is control the border. A flood of low-skilled illegal immigrants depresses the wages available to American citizens and legal aliens alike. Yet President Obama not only refuses to enforce our immigration laws but actively fights states like Arizona trying to step in and fill the gap. How is putting Americans on the dole and welcoming illegals to take their former jobs helping any of the poorest among us?
Getting the private economy growing again is the way to bring jobs and wage growth back. That's what this campaign is all about.
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Oct '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
The idea that you can increase everyone's income by raising the minimum wage is about as silly as printing diplomas in order to educate them.
Aug '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Good to see B's fans here. Got the famous photo of the Sanderson to Orr to the air 1970 cup winning goal here on my office wall as I type.
Whiskey Sam: Milton Friedman once described the minimum wage as "the most anti-black law on the books." I guess Romney disavows him, too?
The only positive in this thread is finding out Troy Senik is a fellow Big, Bad Bruins fan. · 7 hours ago
May '11
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
George Savage
And if the minimum wage is so great why settle for indexing to inflation? Why not usher in universal prosperity by jacking it up to, say, $100 per hour in one fell swoop? · 7 hours ago
Finally! George, I have been saying this for years. Every time someone raises the question about minimum wage it should be turned around asking why those stingy so-and-so's want to keep it to less that $100. If a small minimum wage is good, a huge minimum wage should be great.
Oct '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
George, if Mitt were your sock puppet I'd be out campaigning for him now.
Oct '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
That's very subtle. You give in to your opponents demands and you've got them flummoxed! What more can they ask for? Brilliant! The Romney strategy in a nutshell.
Edited on Feb 2 at 5:30amMay '11
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Just read an article over at NRO, "Here’s what he should say" about ObamaCare.
I keep hearing and reading these articles about what Romney should have or have not said. Each one points to something that speaks to his lack of Conservative ideas and his lack of Conservative intentions.
Those of you that support Romney, what am I missing?
Dec '11
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Listening to Romney sometimes just makes me want to put my head on my desk and cry great big unmanly tears of despair.
Aug '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
It could be worse. He could be stumping for that ever-present utopian fantasy, the mandatory "living wage".
Sep '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Your comment reminds of that great Thomas Sowell video where a leftie tries to convince him that she just "wants to eliminate the bottom 20% of poverty" and Sowell's rejoinder: "You will always have a bottom 20% in any population of human endeavor unless everyone makes exactly the same amount of money always and everywhere."
Dec '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Oh come on. Stop reflexively attacking every statement Romney makes. How hard is it to see that he just wants to make sure poor people can continue to take advantage of the safety net instead of drifting into the middle class which has suffered so much under Obama.
Dec '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Pilli: Just read an article over at NRO, "Here’s what he should say" about ObamaCare.
I keep hearing and reading these articles about what Romney should have or have not said. Each one points to something that speaks to his lack of Conservative ideas and his lack of Conservative intentions.
Those of you that support Romney, what am I missing? · 6 hours ago
That's the genius of Romney. He's already tricked enough conservatives to win him the nomination. Now if he just spouts enough liberal talking points between now and November, he's in! The the real, conservative Mitt will then reveal himself and save this great nation.
"Romney '12 - Real Hope for a Change!"
Dec '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Freeven
Oh come on. Stop reflexively attacking every statement Romney makes. How hard is it to see that he just wants to make sure poor people can continue to take advantage of the safety net instead of drifting into the middle class which has suffered so much under Obama. · 58 minutes ago
Besides, Romney doesn't want them moving out of Fishtown and buying houses next door to us beleaguered middle class folks in Belmont.
Sep '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
George,
This unforced error is much worse than the continuing healthcare debacle. If he can't make a straightforward defense of this rather uncomplicated notion, how on earth can he be expected to advance the much more complicated notion of Romneycare versus Obamacare?
Oct '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
DrewInWisconsin: Also, I did not know this until I read the York piece above, but in the week prior to the Florida primary, 100% of Romney's campaign ads were negative.
One hundred percent! That is astounding. No message about why voters should pick him. Just attack ads -- largely lies -- about why they shouldn't pick Newt (or, I assume, Obama, but it sounds like Newt was the main focus).
This isn't negative.
Nov '11
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Freeven
Oh come on. Stop reflexively attacking every statement Romney makes. How hard is it to see that he just wants to make sure poor people can continue to take advantage of the safety net instead of drifting into the middle class which has suffered so much under Obama. · 7 hours ago
Very nice. You forgot to remind me to stop whining and/or crying, though. Also, criticizing Romney about the minimum wage is probably "Attacking him from the left", which as we all know is a much worse sin than telling lies. Telling lies is perfectly acceptable, as long as they come from the right direction.
Dec '11
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Look, we can all keep wishing Romney will yet magically transform into the second coming of Reagan, but I think it's setting the bar unrealistically high. Ultimately, Mitt doesn't have to be perceived to be as good as Reagan, just better than Obama.
Dec '10
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
If the only goal is to beat Obama, sure, but Obama isn't really the problem. This is the mistake Mitt makes in constantly saying "Obama is a nice guy. He's just in over his head." This sends the message that if we just get someone competent in office (perhaps even a competent liberal, moderates might conclude) things will be okay. That's not the right message. As Milton Friedman pointed out, you don't want a system that depends on the right guy being in charge to work. This system is broken. It's stuck on autopilot and taking us steadily leftward. Obama managed to stomp down on the accelerator a bit, but dumping him isn't going to fix the underlying problem. That's the message we need to be sending and Mitt isn't getting it done. We need someone who will.
Dec '11
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
I, too, truly wish we had a candidate as experienced, as confident, as credible, as articulate and as inspiring as Reagan, but the simple truth is, we don't, not in this election cycle. We can't elect someone who isn't there. If that makes me a Pollyanna, then so be it.
Oct '11
Re: Immanentizing the Eschaton, Romney Edition
Pseudodionysius
Your comment reminds of that great Thomas Sowell video where a leftie tries to convince him that she just "wants to eliminate the bottom 20% of poverty" and Sowell's rejoinder: "You will always have a bottom 20% in any population of human endeavor unless everyone makes exactly the same amount of money always and everywhere." · Feb. 2 at 11:06am
Sowell misspoke. Given exactly even distribution of income, some would make better spending and saving choices than others, and would therefore live better. It would then be necessary to make them correspondingly more equal.