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Romney: Out of Position

By: quill67 (Diary)  |  November 13th, 2011 at 12:39 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I watch Romney and being a baseball fan I’m reminded of Michael Young: all-star, solid defender at 2nd, short-stop and 3rd base (albeit without great range). He is most comfortable on the left side of the infield. But in the World Series, he had to play first base. The right side of the infield. He tried his best but the perspective was a little different– The positioning was a little different. He just wasn’t comfortable defending this new position.

This is how Romney appears to me. He may be solid. Just. Not. Comfortable.

This is understandable. As governor, he:

Raised fees for driver’s licenses, marriage licenses, and gun licenses

Romney was at the forefront of a movement to bring near-universal health insurance coverage to the state
—- Despite not having campaigned on the idea of universal health insurance

In particular, Romney successfully pushed for incorporating an individual mandate at the state level

In 2005, Romney revealed a change of view regarding abortion, moving from an “unequivocal” pro-choice position expressed during his 2002 campaign to a pro-life one where he opposed Roe v. Wade

Maybe his views changed on these issues or maybe he changed to help his chances in Republican primaries. Either way, it does not matter.

I prefer governors in presidential primaries. Not only have they gained executive experience, but most importantly, state-wide campaigns force governors to defend their actions and views to the electorate. Romney has not faced this challenge. His big government views were appreciated in Massachusetts so he never had to defend his newly found conservative views.

Some might point to Reagan or Perry as people used to hold opposing views. But both changed their views BEFORE they were elected to governorships. They had to defend their views against the liberal onslaught.

While Romney has served as governor, he is not the same person he was then. He only defended views that he no longer holds. He never had to defend his record as governor up for re-election. Nor defend his conservative ideas against liberal opposition. Maybe this is why his responses seem so “forced”–even “wooden”.

Romney’s views are so new, he has not developed a strong sense of how to defend them. He, like Michael Young, is out of position and it shows. I do not trust him to be able to properly defend conservative ideals. Worse. I’m not sure he really holds conservative views. Will he betray us like he did so many people in Massachusetts when he pushed RomneyCare even though he never campaigned on the issue?

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  • nathanalbright

    And I think that is a big reason for why this site and many of the people on it (myself included) don’t trust Romney. The Bible has a saying that one doesn’t ordain a novice to office because he might get puffed up. That’s very much the problem of Romney. He’s so much of a novice in terms of conservatism that he really need to pay his dues before he receives support for the big offices. The fact that he’s not willing to pay his dues suggests he is too puffed up to be a loyal conservative foot soldier, or a loyal conservative at all.

  • iidvbii

    I am a firm believer in paying ones dues. It not only embeds a sense of accomplishment but also serves to truly prepare a person for their chosen profession. Let’s face it high school state champion quarter backs don’t start in the NFL the year after winning their championship. Actually if you look at a whose who of NFL quarterbacks you find a list of no names at draft. Tom Brady comes to mind here. Romney seems to think he is American Royalty, unfortunately for him we as a people rejected the idea of “Royalty” some 250 years ago.

    If you want to be president Mitt, go back, do the things necessary and run in the democratic primary like all the other libtards…. Sorry but daddy can’t buy you the presidency, he couldn’t even buy it for himself…..

  • pttx333

    IMHO, Mitt is entirely too self-absorbed to be a viable candidate. He flip-flops to fit the current situation, etc. I’ve always felt that for him, winning any political position was another trophy for the mantle. He thinks he can buy such things. And maybe he can, but I don’t think so. People just do not like him and neither do I. Oh, he has all of the social creds, I suppose – one wife, kids, dogs, no dirt that anyone can find, etc. But, are they props or the real thing. Sometimes I wonder about some of the politicians and wannabes. But that is just me.

  • nathanalbright

    …before they adopted a minimum age rule of 19, forcing players to play a year overseas in Europe or in college. It’s not a question of talent, but rather a question of seasoning. Sometimes you just need a little bit of time to see the field and respond intelligently. The reason we praise experience (and this applies to Cain and Obama as well) is that experience allows others to see how you respond to crises and trials, and to gauge a measure of character, and for the candidates themselves to overcome enough adversity to draw upon that strength when they face it as a leader at the highest levels. Have forgotten that it is necessary to be prepared to lead?

  • nathanalbright

    …when he’s driving to hang out with his lib friends in California. That’s all I need to say.

  • pttx333

    I read about that and wanted to gag. He doesn’t care one fig about his dog and that was further proof to me that at least the dog(s) was nothing but a prop. Where was PETA? I think they are a bunch of loons, but why have they not screamed about that? Grrrrrr ….

  • nathanalbright

    You would think that a dog would be a lot more enjoyable for him (to say nothing of his family) if it was in the car. If you wanted to have him in a pet carrier with a litter box to keep the mess down, I understand that. But to subject a pet to the elements like that is really cruel. At least get a pickup truck so he can be in the back :B.

  • pttx333

    his sweet supposed “pet” to the top of the car is akin to beating it. The wind whipping that baby around up there, THEN stopping to hose off the top of the car because the dog made a mess??? ‘Scuse me? I did laugh about that part, though. What else it says to me is that the poor baby doesn’t ever get to ride in his car. Oh, can you envision Mitt in a pick-up – unless it is used as a photo op? I can’t. Can you see him in a little boat with a troll motor going fishing? Cleaning the fish or even touching it? I can’t. When I was growing up, we had the sweest little dog and she went everywhere we went. She lived to be 17 yrs. and, to a person, we cried our eyes out for several days. Most loyal little thing she was.

  • nathanalbright

    …one of the surest ways to determine our character is to see how we treat waitresses, pets, and small children. I just don’t see Mitt as a down home type of person. I mean, I’m a pretty intellectual fellow, but I grew up in a pretty poor rural family–I have spent many trips riding in the back of a pickup truck. But never on top of the truck. The only thing that should go there is something that one has hunted and killed, like an eight-point buck :B.