The Many Editions of Mitt Romney
With Fred Thompson out of the race, some of his Tennessee supporters have signed on for Mitt Romney. I understand why they have; as has been noted before, the current crop of GOP candidates leaves much to be desired. I don’t think Romney was a terrible governor, and he does have an impressive resume. There are certainly worse candidates out there than him.
But having said that, I just can’t bring myself around to support Mitt Romney. The primary reason being you never know what you’re going to get. Romney has completely morphed at least four times over the past 15 years. He tends to support whatever positions tend to be most convenient for whatever office he is seeking at the time he holds them. I don’t like that.
It all started in 1994 with his race against Ted Kennedy for the US Senate. It was during this race that the first political incarnation of Romney was first glimpsed: Mitt 1.0. In this edition, Mitt Romney was an unabashed Massachusetts liberal. He favored abortion rights. He didn’t much like Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately for him, he did not unseat Kennedy.
A few years later, noting the failure for version 1.0, Mitt Romney launched Mitt 2.0. In this new and improved edition, Romney portrayed a centrist, pro-choice, pro-universal healthcare Republican. He emphasized his business experience, but also was careful not to veer too far right, as evidenced by his opposition to the Bush tax cuts.
It’s no secret that Mitt 2.0 was very successful in Massachusetts, at least for his first term. But Romney wanted to take his product national, and knew he needed to be retooled yet again in order to do it. So with some retooling, Romney relaunched himself as Mitt 3.0. This new and improved Mitt Romney was often at odds with previous editions, but consistency is far less important than power. Mitt 3.0 was an unlikely social conservative, staunchly pro-life and anti-gay marriage, completely at odds with Mitt 1.0, and, to a lesser extent, Mitt 2.0. But Mitt 3.0 did impress some influential people, and immediately emerged as a top contender for the GOP nomination. Yet this edition was never as popular with average Americans, as evidenced by its marketing failure in Iowa and New Hampshire, and yet again Mitt Romney had to pretend to take new positions.
And so it was that Mitt 4.0 was born. In this edition, Mitt Romney backs away from conservatism. Instead, he borrows heavily from Mike Huckabee and embraces economic populism. He promises to use the power of government to revive the Detroit auto industry. Mitt 4.0 was very successful in Michigan, but it remains to be seen how well it will sell elsewhere. Should Mitt 4.0 fail, look for Romney to relaunch Mitt 1.0, and position himself for a VP slot on a Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama ticket.
For me, it’s not Mitt 4.0 that is scary, although it is certainly worrisome. What concerns me is if Romney does get elected president and finds his poll numbers down. What will Mitt 5.0 look like? Given his history, it could be anything.
Cross posted at Appalachian Scribe
[…] Sarah Wheaton wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWith Fred Thompson out of the race, some of his Tennessee supporters have signed on for Mitt Romney. I understand why they have; as has been noted before, the current crop of GOP candidates leaves much to be desired. … […]
Mitt is open minded. Subject to changing his mind. To the point you have to wonder.
With no conservatives left it is a Hobbesian choice. But staring down the barrel of Clinton or Obama does snap reality back into focus rather quickly.
McCain or Romney. I would never say never to either one. They are both awful, but superior to the other alternative.
It is too early for polls, but the polls show now McCain is the better bad choice.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/national.html
This will be a pragmatic election. You may want one of these:
http://www.sicksaver.com/
Cowboy up and vote, even if you have to vomit just a little.
I can’t wait for Romney XP. Let’s just hope he doesn’t do a Romney ME.
What Askimet level are we running? I have two links in a post and I am awaiting moderation.
Comparing Mitt’s rhetoric to Huckabee’s economic populism? Really?
That is a stretch. I am not pretending Mitt Romney has moved to a different ideological position than, say, 1994. But that’s not the real point. The result is a well-prepared candidate, equipped with the business acumen to change the way the federal government operates.
I like Mitt. I liked him before Fred got into the race. Now Fred is out. It’s every Republican’s burden to support someone to lead this country. Take your pick of the four real candidates remaining - mine is Romney.
Sorry 9.
I agree with Nathan. The guy is highly successful in everything he has done. Plus he has actually presided over something, met a budget, etc. Every President we have elected in the last 32 years was a former gov. except for Bush 41, who was VP and basically won on Reagan’s popularity.
[…] John Norris Brown wrote an interesting post today on The Many Editions of Mitt RomneyHere’s a quick excerptWith Fred Thompson out of the race, some of his Tennessee supporters have signed on for Mitt Romney. I understand why they have; as has been noted before, the current crop of GOP candidates leaves much to be desired. … […]
[…] John Norris Brown wrote an interesting post today on The Many Editions of Mitt RomneyHere’s a quick excerptWith Fred Thompson out of the race, some of his Tennessee supporters have signed on for Mitt Romney. I understand why they have; as has been noted before, the current crop of GOP candidates leaves much to be desired. … […]
I didn’t much mention it in my post, but one thing that really makes it hard for me to support Romney is his healthcare plan he instituted in MA. It’s debatable as to whether or not it’s socialism, but it certainly gets the government more involved in healthcare. This is a trend that will almost certainly lead to socialized medicine, and Romney’s plan is a step in that direction.
This is the devil and the deep blue sea. Hillary makes either McCain or Romney look a whole lot better than they are.