Romney Judged by a Different Standard
It seems every time I listen to a Ricochet Podcast I come away shaking my head, not quite getting the rabid antipathy toward Mitt Romney. For some reason he is judged by a different standard than everyone else. “He’s not a true conservative,” they rant, despite the fact that he’s landed smack on the conservative position on almost every issue. "Yes, but he’s only posturing," they add.
Then what follows is a list of supposedly authentic conservatives you can trust in, e.g. Herman Cain. The same Herman Cain who wouldn’t mind turning over the Guantanamo detainees in exchange for a captured American soldier, who leaves it up to the woman and her family to decide if an abortion will happen, who supports TARP, who blasts his opponents for leveling unsubstantiated charges and, in the same breath, charges others without an iota of evidence, not to mention his vacuum of knowledge about so many issues. Of course he almost immediately walks these positional gaffes back. In his case that doesn’t constitute flip-flopping. Instead it is a charming example that he’s not a canned politician. What does he have going for him? 999! That trumps everything. He hasn’t thoroughly considered its implications but never mind, it’s BOLD!
Or there’s Newt Gingrich. The same Newt Gingrich who did an ad with Nancy Pelosi about global warming, who favored the idea of a federal health insurance mandate (not just a state one), who co-sponsored the 1987 Pro-Fairness Doctrine Bill, who’s advice to Fannie Mae that they shouldn’t back mortgages to insolvent homeowners was somehow worth $300,000 of the taxpayers’ dollars, who flip-flopped on his sacred commitments to his previous spouses. Not to worry! He’s full of great ideas expressed with consistent contempt for everyone else. Best yet, as James Delingpole says - he’s not Romney!
The same litany could be recited about Perry, Huntsman, even Ron Paul. The only candidates who can genuinely call themselves consistent conservatives (and are actually running) such as Santorum and Bachmann get no traction from the party.
So how did Romney land in this quicksand of unfavorable opinion? I’ll admit I don’t entirely get it. Beyond his change in positions, which is often handily exaggerated to conform to the accepted stereotype, some of the reasons mentioned are that he’s too smooth, too good looking, too rich, too smart, too awkward (don’t ask me how that jibes with too smooth). Perhaps mediocrity is what we’re searching for.
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Dec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Palaeologus
James is brilliant and funny, but the lessons of a parliamentary system aren't necessarily applicable to a two-party constitutional republic.
It's a long march. It starts with one foot in the right direction.
Mitt can be that big toe leading the way.
Oh no, Palaeologus. You haven't listened to the podcast. It isn't what Delingpole says about British politics. His guests discuss the history and facts of the one-world-order conspiracy which now is in plain sight in the EU. Did you know that auto manufacturing standards have been written and handed down to sovereign governments by an agency at the UN for years? I didn't.
I think that's why Romney supporters and the rest of us can't seem to find common ground. You lack our sense of urgency.
Oct '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Richard Young
So how did Romney land in this quicksand of unfavorable opinion?
Romney is a skilled executive who has been all over the place with his policy positions over the years. His campaign against Ted Kennedy did irrepairable damage to his national image with conservatives and he'll never be able to fully recover from that. It's that fallout from that campaign that you are seeing, Richard.
He made his decisions on what positions he would take and when he would take them so now he, and his supporters, have to accept the consequences of his actions.
The good news for Romney is that it appears likely that he'll be considered the least bad option in a field of seriously flawed contenders for the GOP nomination. Remember the GOP loves to nominate the next guy in line and that's Mitt Romney this time around.
"Romney in 2012, I guess." is pretty much going to be the attitude of most conservatives if he's nominated. He'd be well served to pick a VP candidate that the conservative base is excited about if he makes it that far.
Jun '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
To me, Romney's conservative policies don't feel so much like a list of heartfelt principles. They feel like an expert salesman's poll-tested product line. Go back ten or fifteen years, and most of them disappear.
Mar '11
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Most of the posts seem to miss the point I tried to make (poorly perhaps). I'm not defending Romney by trying to suggest he's always held conservative positions. My point is that the others being propped up by the so-called conservative wing of the Republican party are not consistent conservatives either. The only ones who are (Santorum and Bachmann) are not held in high favor. So there must be something else going on that I'm missing.
Aug '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Western Chauvinist
Oh no, Palaeologus. You haven't listened to the podcast. It isn't what Delingpole says about British politics. His guests discuss the history and facts of the one-world-order conspiracy which now is in plain sight in the EU. Did you know that auto manufacturing standards have been written and handed down to sovereign governments by an agency at the UN for years? I didn't.
I think that's why Romney supporters and the rest of us can't seem to find common ground. You lack our sense of urgency. · Nov 11 at 6:24am
John Bircher alert!
Dec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
No mystery there. RomneyCare, RomneyCare, RomneyCare. The others don't have legislative records to prove their lack of conservative convictions.
Dec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Frozen Chosen
Western Chauvinist
Oh no, Palaeologus. You haven't listened to the podcast. It isn't what Delingpole says about British politics. His guests discuss the history and facts of the one-world-order conspiracy which now is in plain sight in the EU. Did you know that auto manufacturing standards have been written and handed down to sovereign governments by an agency at the UN for years? I didn't.
I think that's why Romney supporters and the rest of us can't seem to find common ground. You lack our sense of urgency. · Nov 11 at 6:24am
John Bircher alert! · Nov 11 at 7:54am
I suppose you think that's funny. I don't.
Jan '11
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Richard, I couldn't agree with your post more and have made the point myself several times. I've not been as restrained as you, though, and I think I've been tuned out by the contributors. There is a double standard regarding how these candidates are assessed, most certainly, and it comes from an emotional, not rational, place.
In the case of our benefactors on the podcast, I think they all know that Romney will win and that the other candidates have shown themselves as jokers, but they don't want to admit it too loudly because so many of the members are staunch tea partiers and the hosts fear upsetting too much of the audience. The perfect example is Rob, the self-described squish, who says he supports Romney, but when given the opportunity to make the case bravely hides behind Ann Coulter's skirt with the convincing argument, "Ann says we should vote for him."
They know that support for Romney is tepid and still a minority on this board, so they are hedging until the voters in the early primaries give them cover to start getting behind Romney in a real way. It's very politic of them. I'm personally disappointed.
Edited on Nov 11, 2011 at 9:12amDec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Would it hurt anyone's feelings if I said that if McCain was in the race this time I'd pick him over Romney again? We know McCain's no conservative, so it has to be something other than just the doubts of Romney's conservative positions.
Apr '11
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
The King Prawn: All of us pining for a non-Romney just don't like Mormons. There can't be any other answer.
/sarcasm off
He's simply the only one who ever tried to run for anything even with, or to the left of, Teddy Kennedy. It's hard to get over that. Even if he was lying through his teeth just to get elected it only creates a different set of problems for him. · Nov 10 at 3:47pm
BS. Perry ran to Kennedy's left in 1988 with the Gore campaign. Newt ran to Kennedy's left on a wide variety of idiosyncratic issues. It is true that Cain, by dint of not being in politics for long, has avoided requiring a double standard, but this comment is a perfect example of the problem.
Or, it could be that you think that rather than having 1 issue on which he ran to Kennedy's left (and even there, not really, if you look at the positions rather than the debate), that he was running as a whole to Kennedy's left. Assuming that absurdly ignorant position, Newt gets a pass, and Perry is debatable.
Apr '11
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Have you read National Review's account of the race? Or the Boston Globe's? Or any of the books on the topic? He was for small government, deficit cutting, capital punishment, school choice, a balanced budget amendment, welfare reform, immigration restrictionism, low taxes, and defeating Hillarycare's successors.
I honestly don't understand how people can complain about the 30 second debate format dumbing things down, and then solidly refuse to use superior information sources when they're available.
Dec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
James Of England
BS. Perry ran to Kennedy's left in 1988 with the Gore campaign. Newt ran to Kennedy's left on a wide variety of idiosyncratic issues. It is true that Cain, by dint of not being in politics for long, has avoided requiring a double standard, but this comment is a perfect example of the problem.
Or, it could be that you think that rather than having 1 issue on which he ran to Kennedy's left (and even there, not really, if you look at the positions rather than the debate), that he was running as a whole to Kennedy's left. Assuming that absurdly ignorant position, Newt gets a pass, and Perry is debatable. · Nov 11 at 8:16am
Perry was a Democrat at the time. He held the positions of his party. Apply the same standard to Romney. Newt is Newt, which is a big part of why I haven't seriously considered him. He's disqualified in my mind before I get to positions.
As to my "absurdly ignorant position," I suppose hyperbole does not translate as easily in writing as the grandiose hand gestures don't really come through the computer.
Apr '11
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Severely Ltd.:
There's a Time magazine cover with Romney on it from May 21st, 2007 with this on it: 'Sure, he looks like a president, but what does Mitt Romney really believe?' Yes, it was probably a typical MSM hit piece, but doesn't it sound like every other commenter here on Ricochet? Anyone arguing against this common perception would have a stronger case if his changing positions on abortion weren't in living color on Youtube and in print.
Video, May 27, 2005; abortion should be legal.
The fact that, as you say, some commenters on Ricochet sometimes sound like Time magazine is not one of the best things about Ricochet.
He didn't advocate abortion in 2005. He said he wasn't going to try to change the law, consistent with his preconversion commitment in 2002. If you think that the 85% Democratic legislature might have changed the law in a pro-life direction, this is a big problem. If you think that that was not a possibility, and that people were bringing up abortion in order to obstruct his deregulation drive, it's less so. He's been solidly politically prolife since 2004, but not stupid.
Dec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
James Of England
Have you read National Review's account of the race? Or the Boston Globe's? Or any of the books on the topic? He was for small government, deficit cutting, capital punishment, school choice, a balanced budget amendment, welfare reform, immigration restrictionism, low taxes, and defeating Hillarycare's successors.
I honestly don't understand how people can complain about the 30 second debate format dumbing things down, and then solidly refuse to use superior information sources when they're available. · Nov 11 at 8:22am
So I should believe what my educated betters said about him instead of listening to the man himself? Why don't I just mail my primary ballot to you and let you fill it out for me?
Apr '11
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
The King Prawn
James Of England
Perry was a Democrat at the time. He held the positions of his party. Apply the same standard to Romney. Newt is Newt, which is a big part of why I haven't seriously considered him. He's disqualified in my mind before I get to positions.
As to my "absurdly ignorant position," I suppose hyperbole does not translate as easily in writing as the grandiose hand gestures don't really come through the computer. ·
When I wrote that, I felt confident that you did not hold that position; if you do, my words were intemperate.
If you do, do you hold it because you believe that the many positions that Mitt held on the right (listed above) don't matter, or because you believe that in 1994 he was insincerely pretending to be a conservative? Do you believe that he was to the left of Kennedy on something other than gay rights (while being against gay marriage?)
I don't understand the "Perry was a Democrat" defense. Our party flows from our principles, generally, rather than vice versa. If this is not true of Perry, how is that a virtue?
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Severely Ltd.:
I don't care for his evoking FDR, the father of so many of our current woes....
Edited on Nov 11 at 06:01 am
Ronald Reagan sometimes evoked FDR, for heaven's sake....
Apr '11
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
The King Prawn
James Of England
Have you read National Review's account of the race? Or the Boston Globe's? Or any of the books on the topic? He was for small government, deficit cutting, capital punishment, school choice, a balanced budget amendment, welfare reform, immigration restrictionism, low taxes, and defeating Hillarycare's successors.
So I should believe what my educated betters said about him instead of listening to the man himself? Why don't I just mail my primary ballot to you and let you fill it out for me?
Listen to the man himself, but in long form, rather than a youtube video. Read a book, read the long articles. If you're not willing to do research, and not willing to turn to people who have, but wish to pontificate from deliberate ignorance, then you're considerably less of a man than I had thought you to be.
Dec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
James Of England
If you do, do you hold it because you believe that the many positions that Mitt held on the right (listed above) don't matter, or because you believe that in 1994 he was insincerely pretending to be a conservative? Do you believe that he was to the left of Kennedy on something other than gay rights (while being against gay marriage?)
The big picture is that Mitt either held positions antithetical to conservatism for real or he pretended to hold them in order to get elected. The problem is that we really can't know which is true. If he really did believe those things and had an epiphany, great! However, his conduct since that time does not appear to confirm a real conversion experience. It makes him come off as being insincere on conservatism. From a personal stand point I really, really wish it was not so. Romney hits so many wickets for me on a personal level that it pains me to come to the conclusions I have about him.
Dec '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
James Of England
Listen to the man himself, but in long form, rather than a youtube video. Read a book, read the long articles. If you're not willing to do research, and not willing to turn to people who have, but wish to pontificate from deliberate ignorance, then you're considerably less of a man than I had thought you to be. · Nov 11 at 8:40am
There is value in the shotgun questions as well. I know what he purports to stand for. The problem is I don't know whether I can believe him or not.
Oct '10
Re: Romney Judged by a Different Standard
Richard, I think the problem is that Romney doesn't seem to be a reliable conservative going forward. That is, once he's in office which Romney are we going to get? I haven't seen many write about this but I think there's a serious risk that Romney doesn't have his heart set on repealing Obamacare. Right now it seems he's going to be another Bush, who runs conservative but governs further to the left than what conservatives can handle. I hope that addresses your question to some degree.