Then why pray tell do the polls almost always showing only Romney beating Obama? Answer my points instead of giving me simple declarations.

No I haven’t forgotten or run away from your question. I just figured you should know the facts.

Salem News – Feb 16, 2007 (archived copy on cltg.org)

By the time Mitt Romney took office as governor of Massachusetts, the current budget was running a deficit of approximately half a billion dollars [1], with about $650 million of deficit spending left to go before that budget expired. And the upcoming state budget for the year would have a deficit of nearly $3 billion if the budget was not cut or taxes increased. [2]

Senate President Robert E. Travaglini expressed the view that

?taxes will have to be raised to cope with the budget crisis, and said he and his Senate colleagues will lead the charge for new revenues…

?Travaglini’s remarks point toward an almost inevitable collision between the new Senate leader and the governor, since Romney has vowed to veto any tax hike that reaches his desk.?

Boston Globe – Jan 29, 2003 (archived copy on cltg.org)

Governor Romney held firm and balanced the budget every year without raising taxes. [3] He fought to roll back the state income tax from 5.3% to 5.0% and created budgets based on a 5% income tax rate. [4] The legislature refused to reduce the tax rate, and by the end of his term, he had taken “Massachusetts from billions in deficit to billions in surplus”. [5]

Although he did not succeed in cutting the income tax for everyone, like he wanted, he was able to get income tax cuts for many of those with the greatest need for tax relief. For example, in order to aid older homeowners and young families, he created an $800 tax deduction for home heating expenses for individuals with less than $50,000/year income or families making less than $75,000/year. [6]

Jim Cramer – TheStreet.com
Plays Hardball about Romney

Jim Cramer – Mad Money
Assesses Mitt Romney

Romney

2008

Record on Spending
Record on Taxes
More on Spending record

And he also succeeded in getting other tax cuts. USATODAY reported “Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, signed a law that creates the nation’s biggest tax holiday. All retail sales under $2,500 will be exempt from the state’s 5% sales tax Aug. 12-13.” [7] And when the legislature tried to raise the capital gains taxes, he not only successfully opposed it, [8] but he also got the capital gains taxes cut. [9]

But Governor Romney did raise some fees. Some critics have overstated the impact this had on the taxpayer, most of whom were not directly effected if effected at all, with one exception, as raising broad-based fees were avoided. Fees were raised on some business or individual services in an effort to cover the cost of services the fees were charged for, as in this case:

?Governor Mitt Romney is raising fees on the use of state golf courses … it’s fair to ask golfers to pay for the cost of maintaining these facilities rather than expecting taxpayers to subsidize them.?

Citizens for Limited Taxation – Fees or Taxes – March 7, 2003

However, until he was able to implement his healthcare reform, he also raised a fee to health insurers which upset the Citizens for Limited Taxation. [10] When all was said and done, Barbara Anderson, Executive Director of Citizens for Limited Taxation concluded, ”I’ve never liked most corporate loopholes anyhow — especially when the corporations oppose “people tax cuts.” And while I don’t like fees on top of all our taxes, I don’t equate them [taxes] with user fees.” [11] As National Review reported,

?He [Gov. Romney] says, “we stayed away from broad-based fee increases such as driver’s-license registrations.” He says that balancing the budget without a tax hike has been his most significant accomplishment as governor. “We couldn’t be happier with him,” says Barbara Anderson of Citizens for Limited Taxation, the state’s leading taxpayer group. Steve Adams of Boston’s Pioneer Institute, a think tank, concurs: “Without Romney, we would have been slapped with a lot of new taxes.” ?

National Review – Matinee Mitt – Dec 14, 2005

Under the governor’s leadership, the people in the state benefited not only by increased employment through the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs [12] and not having their taxes raised, but they also saw several more tax cuts by the governor, as the following article pointed out:

?He cut capital gains taxes, benefiting well over 150,000 residents. Thousands more are currently benefiting from new jobs in the biotech field because of Romney’s manufacturing tax relief and because he made the investment tax credit permanent. Thousands of Massachusetts families saved their hard-earned dollars when Romney enacted sales tax holidays. Seniors are benefiting from property tax relief proposed and signed into law by Romney. Our honorable veterans and National Guard members have several new tax breaks because of Romney’s belief that they should be taxed less. Commuters can now deduct expenses for travel because Romney believes they shouldn’t be penalized for helping increase commerce.?

Boston Globe – Romney is the kind of leader we need – Dec 14, 2007

GETTING THE FACTS (ONE EXAMPLE)

WHAT WAS DONE: (Commuter Costs)

?Commuters can now deduct expenses for travel because Romney believes they shouldn’t be penalized for helping increase commerce.?

Boston Globe – Romney is the kind of leader we need – Dec 14, 2007

You can bury your head in the sand to the reality that only Romney is competitive against Obama but I and millions of other Republicans won’t. If these polls were insignificant then why wouldn’t they show Perry winning against Obama? The point is well taken, Romney right now is beating Obama and no one else is. You can’t dismiss this fact because you don’t like it. You are looking at this from your eyes and not the objective eyes of the mainstream voter. You don’t like the fact that Independents and Democrats are going for Romeny over Perry and Gingrich.

I can’t argue with something that you refuse to see. Only point to the many many people including those who worked directly with him who repeatedly and consistently say this. Krauthammer also points this out and has a lot of respect from conservatives as he is a leading conservative talking head. Also, you didn’t address the adulterous hypocrisy of Newt and some of the Evangelicals who overlook this, nor the homewrecking cheating wife who would be first lady. How in the world would you offer up that disaster to the electorate and hope to beat Obama? What a dream!

Thankfully there aren’t enough Romney haters like you heraklios. Your irrational and exaggerated hatred for Romney knows no bounds and is completely distructive. The third party won’t be a threat because Obama and the Democratic Senate is a much greater threat than Romney could ever be. Your concerns about Romney are completely baseless. George H. Bush, a moderate, was governing in a different time when entitlement programs and spending were not the potential disasters that they are now. Everyone, including Romney recognizes this. That is why Romney contrasts his very conservative vision with Obama’s entitlement vision. Now you can have your concerns about just how conservative Romney would be, but make no mistake, it will be a conservative administration because of the times we are living in. Just ask the socialist ex Prime Minister Papendreou of Greece how conservative their austerity measures had to be. Romney knows the country’s finances are broken and need fixing. Something you fail to see.