This is the first election cycle that I have been following since its beginning, and in the process both of the Republican candidates I have supported have dropped out.  I supported Rick Perry from the time he entered the race until he left it; I then supported Rick Santorum.  I met Senator Santorum on the campaign trail and after speaking with him I was wishing I had supported him through the entire process.  Now that both of my choices have dropped out, however, I am not fond of any of the remaining candidates.  It doesn’t appear that my preferences will make any difference now, however, because Mitt Romney is going to be our nominee.  I need some convincing as to why I should feel comfortable supporting him when he secures the nomination.

This isn’t meant in any way to be a piece bashing Mitt Romney or taking anything away from his record, neither is this me saying that I would choose President Obama over Romney.  I simply want to convey my thoughts regarding Romney’s record and some of the things that make me very apprehensive to support him.  First, the life is the most important to issue to me when I research a candidate.  If that candidate does not have a solidly pro-life record, I cannot support them (I know it may sound extreme, but that isn’t the point of this post; that’s my personal opinion).  Governor Romney has changed positions on this issue.  While running for Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994, Romney said (emphasis mine):  “I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years that we should sustain and support it.  And I sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice.”  Later on, while running for President in 2007, he said (emphasis mine):  “And that is why, as a pro-life Republican, I am in favor of having the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade.”  Which quote am I supposed to believe?  With life as the most important issue to me, this makes me question Governor Romney’s real beliefs on the issue.  The latest action of his that I can look at to determine which quote is true is his healthcare plan in Massachusetts (which I’ll address later); his healthcare plan provided state funding for abortions.

The government-mandated healthcare plan Governor Romney instituted in Massachusetts was, technically, constitutional according to the 10th Amendment.  Governor Romney says that quite often when he is criticized for that plan, and states that the people of Massachusetts voted for the plan.  However, the people would have never had the chance to vote for that plan had Romney not proposed it.  His explanation of the need for his plan was that he found a way to cover virtually every citizen of Massachusetts; however, when the plan was enacted, 92% of Massachusetts citizens were already insured.  Why a government-mandated plan to cover that last 8%?  I don’t have any way to know Romney’s true intentions when he created this plan, so I won’t say what his motivations were.  All I can say is, I don’t agree with his plan mainly because it was a mandate and because it provided taxpayer money for abortions, as well as provided insurance for illegal immigrants in Massachusetts.

Those are my biggest issues with Romney; his flip-flops actually matter to me more than the healthcare plan, because I know as President he could not create a plan like that for the whole nation.  His position changes in many important areas, not only abortion, do not sit well with me; issues such as immigration, healthcare, the payroll tax cut…even flip-flopping itself.  Today he says that Ronald Reagan’s policies were great; but he has changed positions on that as well.

Honestly, I don’t find too much to like in Mitt Romney.  I realize that he is going to be our nominee and that really, nothing will change that now.  I really do want to support Romney because I believe President Obama will thoroughly destroy my future in a second term; but I need some explanations and/or help in settling these issues I have!  Any takers?