Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
An interesting aspect of the Republican nomination for President has been the idea that Mitt Romney is not a conservative candidate, or at least not conservative enough. This has been the drumbeat of the mainstream media, as the non-Romney candidates have been rotated through the media spotlight. First it was Michele Bachmann, then Rick Perry, then Herman Cain, then Newt Gingrich, and now Rick Santorum. The justification for Romney not being the obvious choice around which Republicans are to rally is that Romney does not really mean what he says or he was too liberal when he was governor of Massachusetts.
The idea that Mr. Romney flip-flops on issues and therefore is not to be trusted is an argument that galls me. Ludwig von Mises, in his 1927 book, Liberalism in the Classical Tradition, explained that the West could be defended only by winning the battle of ideas. He called upon those who believe that market capitalism is the only system capable of creating wealth for the masses to convince others of the importance and truth of such beliefs.
If we are to engage in persuading other people to change their minds about issues, ought we then to chastise them if they come to believe us and call them flip-floppers and state that we can never believe anything they say in the future because they have been persuaded by us?
I am more than willing to believe that Mr. Romney is firmly pro-life, for example, despite the fact that at one time he was pro-choice. The priest at our Catholic church in Hillsdale began studying for the Lutheran ministry when he felt called to become a Catholic priest. I have not heard anyone in our parish call him a flip-flopper.
There are a number of issues in which Mr. Romney has shown his conservative principles, including his strong defense of the 10th amendment, his turning a billion dollar deficit in Massachusetts into a $2 billion rainy day fund when he was governor, and his reining in of an activist legislature by vetoing more than 800 bills. His tax proposal, the highpoint of which is a 20% reduction in all marginal tax rates, shows he understands that incentives matter in people’s willingness to produce, work hard and innovate. Romney’s plan does not attempt to use government tax policy to favor one set of industries over another, but lets the market decide what will be successful.
The fact that the Democratic Party in Michigan has given its members freedom to vote for Mr. Romney’s chief opponent in tomorrow’s Republican primary and return to the Democratic party for its caucus voting gives a hint that it is Mr. Romney that is likely to be the strongest threat to President Obama in November. The longer the media can give the impression that Republicans cannot be happy with Romney the more expensive and divisive the Republican nominating process will be.
Those who wish to end the Obama march towards further government intervention in the economy and the rest of our lives should not be confused by the media hype that the strongest candidate in the Republican field is somehow not conservative enough or not principled enough. There may be reasons that Republican voters may choose among the various candidates, but no one should be deterred from voting for Romney because of the picture of him painted by the mainstream media.
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Nov '11
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
I'm all for accepting honest changes of heart. But I think with Mr. Romney the question is whether it is an honest change of heart, or a politician says what he needs to say to get elected.
Jun '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Could he be elected Governor of Massachusetts today? No? Why not? Has something changed...?
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
What are your thoughts on Romneycare? What does Romney's pride in this accomplishment tell you about his conservatism?
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Romney is not criticized as unconservative simply because he has changed positions, but because he is perceived to have dramatically changed positions just when it was advantageous to do so. The informed voter cannot help seeing a trace of opportunism in his pro-life conversion just as he was considering a jump to the national stage, where a pro-abortion position would be lethal.
Others see shortcomings in his continued defense of Romneycare, and more just see him as not ideologically conservative in the broad sense. Consider, for instance, his apparent unawareness of Griswold v. Connecticut's constitutional importance in the debate last month. Romney may spout conservative talking points but he hardly seems like the type to be conservatism's opinion leader for four or more years.
Edited on Feb 27 at 12:31pmMay '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
The simple changing of position is not the issue here. To make it so is a straw man argument.
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Romneycare differs from Obamacare for me because it is a 10th amendment issue. In the debate over Obamacare Congressman would remark that Obamacare must be constitutional because states require individuals to purchase car insurance. But of course states have powers that the federal government does not. I am not an expert on the conditions of the Massachusetts health care market prior to Romneycare and whether Romneycare was worse or better than what the alternative was. I would prefer that health care be provided through the market system. It clearly is one of the most government-interfered industry in the economy, so I doubt the alternative to Romneycare was a free market in health care. I do know that Romney has stated numeroud times that he would repeal Obamacare as his first priority in Washington. That leads me to believe that if a Republican Congress passed a repeal of Obamacare, Romney would sign it.
The question really is whether Mr. Romney is conservative enough. We may prefer Ron Paul, but Congressman Paul is not going to win the nomination. In 2008 Senator Santorum endorsed Romney stating that Romney was a conservative. I think he is conservative enough.
May '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
It is the relative number of changes, politically timed, and the apparent relative lack of true conviction behind the changes, that leads us to believe he is simply saying what is politically expedient at the moment.
If we are not to be able to judge a politician's authenticity, any pandering politician must be taken at their word.
It is our judgment that Romney is inauthentic, based on a pattern of behavior. It is not about holding him to an impossible or a double standard; it is not about a change on one or two issues.
Edited on Feb 27 at 1:13pmMay '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Plus, Romney's "flipflops" are not even the biggest issue for me. They are a problem, but as I wrote on the Member Feed entitled "Why I Am an ABR," the biggest issue is Romneycare, and this goes back to 2008 for me.
We cannot run successfully against Obamacare with Romneycare's governor on the ticket. Anyone who's not a policy wonk will have trouble distinguishing the two, and Romney thus cannot run hard against Obamacare. Not to mention what its passage says about his conservative instincts.
Edited on Feb 27 at 1:25pmRe: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
What do you make of the fact that Romney recommended Romneycare as "a model for the [other] states?"
Oct '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Gary, I think you misunderstand your audience here. Some of us support Romney, but only because the other candidates are unacceptable. We have no illusions on Mitt's character flaws; he is a terrible candidate. But all the others are even worse.
Still, if the economy slows down in the late spring/early summer, Mitt might win. And if we retain the House and take back the Senate, we'll be in a position to advance our agenda.
Dec '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Gary Wolfram:
If we are to engage in persuading other people to change their minds about issues, ought we then to chastise them if they come to believe us and call them flip-floppers and state that we can never believe anything they say in the future because they have been persuaded by us?
The problem for me is that it looks like Romney wasn't persuaded by the ideas of the Right but by the poll numbers produced by his campaign consultants.
I am really not convinced of the conservative credentials of a candidate who says, "I'm not concerned about the very poor - we have a safety net there." That seems to me to be a profoundly unconservative point of view.
Oct '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Paul A. Rahe
What do you make of the fact that Romney recommended Romneycare as "a model for the [other] states?" · 2 minutes ago
What's especially horrible is that RomneyCare never included real insurance market reform. They didn't create a newly functional market in healthcare, so much as a federally-subsidized universal coverage scheme. In that respect, ObamaCare is more conservative than RomneyCare (though in other respects it is not, of course).
Feb '12
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
No state -- not a single one of the 56 states -- requires "individuals to purchase car insurance." If you own a car, and only if you own a car, AND if you will drive said car on public roadways, and only if you will drive said car on public roadways, states require that you purchase liability insurance to cover and protect OTHERS. No state requires that you insure against either damage to yourself or your car.
Whoever the "congressman" is that you cite is both an order of fries AND a Coke short of a Happy Meal.
May '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
This must be considered in relation to Romneycare. Duane has argued before that the alternatives were worse, but the fact remains that Romneycare introduced long-term economic problems for his state. It forces insurers to cover pre-existing conditions and sets other price controls, thereby undermining the very basis of medical insurance as a viable industry — affecting the bottom lines of all other industries and individual citizens' freedom of service.
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
I'm all for people becoming more concerned with the sanctity of life, no matter where they start out. And I am glad that Romney self-identifies as a pro-lifer right now.
While I think that pro-lifers do accept Romney and are thankful for his current statements, there is undoubtedly a lack of trust or camaraderie regarding the change.
For more on this, I might recommend this piece in Slate which catalogues the complicated history of Romney's views on abortion:
The Conversion How, when, and why Mitt Romney changed his mind on abortion.
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
I just want to add that I think most people are all in favor of changes in heart. Most of the candidates they support have had changes in positions that bring them closer to the voter's ideal. Therefore, there must be something additional that causes people to be cool toward Romney. I myself am a fan of Jonah Goldberg's "Transactional Case for Romney." The subtext to that argument, of course, is that Romney's something of a conservative of convenience but that this can be worked with.
Dec '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
The problem with the transactional case is that Goldberg assumes that Romney is a party to the transaction. Unless some type of promise is extracted from him before we give him our votes, why would we expect Romney to listen to us and support us once he' s in office and our votes are no longer needed?
I remember George H.W. Bush receiving a crate of broccoli from farmers who naturally assumed he would accept the gift graciously and extol the benefits of cruciferous vegetables. He said instead, "I've never liked broccoli, I'm the President, and I don't have to eat it!"
May '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
No candidate is ever perfect, but relative to McCain, Romney was more conservative. Most Republicans saw Romney as the conservative alternative to McCain in 2008. I'm sure Santorum was one of them.
In the intervening period, the passage of Obamacare has made many more people realize how un-conservative Romneycare really is. It also makes it hard for Romney to strike a contrast to Obama.
Now, in 2012, we have more conservative options than either McCain or Romney. Again, no perfect options, but better (that is, more conservative).
The recent USA Today poll (not that I put that much stock in polls anyways) suggest Santorum can do just as well or better than Romney in the swing states, and that both of them can beat Obama. It also says Obamacare is in trouble with voters in swing states. But Romney won't be as strong running against it as Santorum!
Again, polls are just polls, but I don't buy the argument that Romney is more electable. Given that, I'll take Santorum over Romney as the better, more believable and more conservative option.
Edited on Feb 27 at 1:57pmOct '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Silver Lining Alert!
Yes, this is looking for the best in a bad situation, but if Romney is our candidate he will probably get the vote of most right-leaning independents and, given the fact that the media has covered him as too mainstream for Tea Party Republicans, he might not be too poisonous for left-leaning independents leery of more Obama.We can't win without the squishy middle. Having someone like Paul Ryan actually convince the middle would be optimum, but at least Romney won't scare them too badly.
It is a problem if he hasn't really internalized conservative principles, but he does seem like a man of integrity and perhaps he'll govern as he has presented himself. This might be naive, but again, I'm looking for the silver lining. There's no knowing how black--or white--the heart of the cloud is.
May '10
Re: Romney: Conservative or Flip-flopper
Conventional wisdom that I strongly challenge on two grounds: