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Primary Colors: No more Massachusetts liberals
By punch bowl | December 31, 2007
There once was a presidential candidate from Massachusetts. He had enormous ambition, and had run for office several times in his home state. But in his campaigns, this candidate constantly flip-flopped on critical issues. He would say one thing, and then contradict himself by saying another. It seemed that he would say anything to win election.
You could call that candidate John Kerry. Or you could call him by his Republican pseudonym, Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney is defined best by Mitt Romney. He attempts to present himself as the perfect candidate: perfect looks, perfect hair, perfect speeches, perfect conservative stances.
But it is that strive to be the perfect candidate that has exposed his greatest imperfection: a willingness to reverse core convictions to fit a desired mold. Running for office in Massachusetts? Must be a liberal. Pro-choice. Pro-gun control. Against Reagan and the “Contract with America.” Running for the Republican presidential nomination? Must be a conservative. Pro-life. Pro-gun rights. Hail Reagan and the issues espoused in the Republican Revolution.
Such dramatic changes cannot be explained away by education, revelation or evolution. Put simply, Mitt Romney was a liberal when running in a liberal-dominated state, and a conservative when running in conservative-dominated primaries. Will yet another course be charted, if Romney is given the nomination and faced with a divided electorate? Will he move to the middle, remaining conservative on some positions and returning to his liberal positions on others?
And so the question is raised: Will we ever know the real Mitt Romney? And yet we already do know him well. Mitt Romney is a man listing in the wind, a banner that flaps in the direction public opinion is blowing. The one goal is winning, and any value changes that must be made along the way are just necessary sacrifices. Personal victory comes at the price of a soul devoid of conviction.
The Republican Party worked many long hours to defeat a liberal from Massachusetts in 2004. We do not need to spend long hours working to elect a liberal from Massachusetts in 2008.
Topics: Presidential Primary, Campaign 2008, Republican Presidential contenders, Mitt Romney, Primary Colors |
December 31st, 2007 at 10:15 am
Good title.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:04 pm
A straw man by any other name is still a straw man. Give the candidate a fair chance.