Mitt Romney is a True Conservative, His Moderate Reputation is Not Deserved

Mitt Romney should be going bald from all of the head scratching that must be taking place. Four years ago he was the conservative’s choice. Pundits like Rush Limbaugh lauded him as the most conservative in the field, and he was decried as the person who was too conservative to win. Senator John McCain, (R-Ariz) who became the eventual nominee, was declared to be the only one who could win. (Remember how well that worked out?)

Now Romney is a RINO (Republican In Name Only), Liberal, and the epitome of the Washington establishment (Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul had more than 20 years in Washington, Santorum had 16, while Romney spent none in Washington, but who’s counting?). Mitt Romney has spent no time in elected office in D.C., especially when compared to his competitors, and just because some in the D.C. establishment are backing him, does not make him one of them any more than a former Speaker, or Senate leader.

True, Romney was a more liberal guy when he was younger, and yes he has grown more conservative as he has gotten older. If libertarian and Tea Party conservatives are going to hang someone for that, are they then precluding the possibility that anyone can grow, change their mind, learn, and discover new things? Maybe it appears too convenient, but others have followed a similar path, including Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. 

Reagan was once a proud Democrat, and even as a Republican Governor of California, he signed into law one of the most liberal abortion laws at the time. He later regretted that decision, and led a pro-life charge while president. 

Romney once said that he “didn’t want to go back to the era of Reagan,” (Of course, Newt Gingrich once said “The era of Reagan is over,” but who’s keeping track?).

Romney’s only experience holding political office was as the governor of Massachusetts. He worked with a legislature that was over 85% Democrat and could overturn him at will, which they did many times.

Texas Governor Rick Perry fans love Perry’s 10th Amendment stance, yet they balk when Romneycare is invoked. It’s time for some conservatives to grow up and realize that the chances of Romney getting into office and saying how much he really likes that national health care law his buddy Barack put in place are probably pretty low, as in nonexistent. Romney is a states-fix-themselves guy, and if you’re looking for consistency on this issue, clips are available from his 1994 debates with Senator Kennedy, which might surprise some people.

Just because someone believes something is good for a state doesn’t mean that he or she will have a compulsive urge to enforce it nationally.

Romney’s stances today are almost identical to where he stood in 2007. If anything, he has moved more over to the right. Here is where Romney stands today:

Pro-Life

We all understand that no one wants to be bamboozled, but there comes a point when you have to take a step back and realize that every candidate is going to have things in their past that you won’t agree with, and everyone has made mistakes. The candidate who has never had to change their mind on anything was either born incredibly lucky or incredibly stubborn. It is unlikely to exist and would be impossible to believe.

Romney calls himself a conservative businessman. Maybe he’s not a Marco Rubio or Jim DeMint, but that’s okay. Romney is nobody’s idea of a savior, which in the end is a blessing. The real ones are in heaven and the rest only disappoint.

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