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10 Reasons why I might support Mitt Romney

By: tooncesthecat (Diary)  |  June 8th, 2011 at 11:31 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I’m not a fan of Mitt Romney.  There is a great deal about him that I just don’t like.  Romneycare and his refusal to denounce Romneycare–to name two.  Some of it is visceral–as an evangelical Christian, I am bothered by the fact that he is a Mormon.  But then I remember that I’m not choosing a pastor, but a President.  As the field shapes up, and as more and more of the candidates that I really want to support take a pass on running, I am beginning to confront a harsh reality–I might have to support Mitt Romney.

And here is the ultimate reality–unless you live in Iowa or New Hampshire, the field is going to be significantly diminished by the time most of us get a chance to vote.  I live in South Carolina, which means that my vote will count, but I may not get either my first or second choice.  I will in all likelihood have to choose between 3 or 4 candidates–one of whom will be MItt Romney.  In that eventuality, here are ten good reasons why Romney could get my support and my vote for the Republican nomination:

1.  He’s not Barack Obama.

2.  He can beat Barack Obama, which may not be the case with other possible nominees–Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, for instance, both of whom I like, are probably unelectable.

3.  When it comes down to it, fully one half of the other choices are extremely unappealing–Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, Gary Johnson, and Rudy Giuliani, for example.

4.  It would be best to avoid a protracted nomination fight.  If Romney emerges as the clear frontrunner, there will be a “Stop Romney” movement.  I don’t think that will be productive for the party.

5.  He has a MIdwest Connection, having been born and raised in MIchigan where his father was governor.  I am convinced the Midwest will determine this election.

6.  He will make a smart choice for his running mate–probably another governor with Pawlenty, Jindal, Daniels, and Christie in the mix.  This choice will significantly help the ticket.

7.  He has Executive experience, unlike many of the other candidates.

8.  He has Business experience, unlike almost all of the other candidates, and the economy will be the deciding factor in this election.

9.  He has campaign experience, which will help him avoid making costly mistakes and blunders, like those we have already seen from other candidates.

10. His proposal to grant waivers for Obamacare to all 50 states on his first day in office is one of the best ideas that I’ve heard from any candidate.   It shows he has an actual plan to effectively eliminate Obamacare, even if it can’t be repealed by Congress.  It also shows he understands the role of the President.

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  • Josh LeGuern

    Is because we’re not standing up for them when the MSM and liberals try to slander them.

    Sorry, I’m not going to vote for Mitt Romney, not in a primary election.

    • d_lamar

      but since I’m in Kentucky, by the time we vote here, it’ll be over, so my vote doesn’t matter.

      However, because of his stance on Romneycare and support for ethanol subsidies, and presumably cap and trade to stop global warming, I can’t get excited about him.

    • Remington_Steele

      MSM will always roast Sarah and Michele for any reason under the sun.

      So who is not standing up for them in your proverbial “we”? Fox News has consistently defended them. Conservative Radio never misses an opportunity to cry foul and counter attack. If you look at the top 10 recommended diaries on Redstate, over half of them are currently written to defend Sarah.

    • David123

      At general election time, the voters have two realistic choices – the Democrat, presumably Obama, and the Republican. One of the biggest issues is Obamacare and death panels. Sarah Palin is one of the most vocal opponents of Obamacare and death panels. Mitt Romney takes this issue off the table. With Romney as the nominee, we run the risk that single-issue “healthcare conservatives” will sit out the election. Not only is Palin more electable than Romney – so is Pawlenty. Palin, Pawlenty, and Romney all have executive experience and private sector experience. Palin and Pawlenty both governed more conservatively than Romney. Palin and Pawlenty both can make Obamacare and death panels a major issue in the election.

      Romney would have a similar problem to McCain – by nominating McCain we encouraged “immigration conservatives” to sit out the election.

      2008 also gives us some data on electability. Romney turned out to be less electable than McCain and McCain turned out to be less electable than Obama – logic cautions that Romney seems less electable than Obama. Most polls showed McCain as more electable than Obama from the time he put Palin on the ticket until the financial collapse – Palin helps electability.

      If Obama truly tanks, the Dems may pull a Torricelli or a back room deal on us, and we may be facing Hillary Clinton instead of Obama in 2012. Now a Clinton – Romney match-up also takes away Obamacare as an issue. The most important issue, at least if the MSM gets to define it, will be the historic opportunity to end sexism and get our first woman president – so Romney would lose. Palin can demolish either Obama or Clinton.

      Now, all that said, Romney is vastly better than either Obama or Clinton. If he’s the nominee, I’ll certainly vote for him in the general. But remember conservative in the primary, Republican in the general. You should only vote for Romney in the primary if you think he really has better positions than Palin or Pawlenty or other primary candidates. Don’t hold your nose and vote for Romney in the primary only because you think he is the most electable – he isn’t.

  • Kyle-MI

    I voted for Romney in the MI primary but more as a way to try to stop McCain. He certainly isn’t my first choice at this time. He is about in the middle of my preference list. There is no perfect candidate.

    I am concerned about some of our base who may be completely writing him off and developing a bias against him when there is a possibility of him being our nominee.

  • azaeroprof

    in the general election if he is our nominee, without hesitation. You make several good points. However, I have to comment on a few things.

    1. While you MAY be right about Palin, Bachmann, etc, I do believe we should support our best conservative candidates and, if one emerges, make that person electable by getting behind them 100%.
    2. If Romney does win the nomination, he will need to pick a running mate that excites conservatives. We will be fairly demoralized at that point. While I would like that to be Sarah Palin, my suggestion would be Rubio, or perhaps Bachmann if she has run a good primary campaign.
    3. The 50-state waiver is a good idea, but #1-I don’t trust Romney to actually do it, and #2-there will undoubtedly be a few states that will not request a waiver. IMHO, Obamacare MUST be repealed, period.
    4. Even if Romney wins, and wins, we must keep a sharp eye on him. No matter what he may say today, he is a liberal Republican, plain and simple. His father was an enemy of conservatism, and his mother was quite liberal in her political dabblings (ran for Senate?). The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, he is just smart enough to figure out he needs to conceal this fact to win the nomination in 2012.

    • http://www.tooncesthecat.wordpress.com tooncesthecat

      Conservatives are going to be fired up about defeating Obama regardless of who is on the ticket. Rubio has effectively ruled out being Veep. Bachmann is, for me, too risky, which is why I don’t think cautious Mitt will choose her. Plus he’ll be much more comfortable with a guy on the ticket. My personal favorite would be Christie, but I think Romney won’t pick him unless pushed to do it. If Pawlenty makes a good showing and ends up in the final 3, then I think he’s probably a shoo in as the Veep Pick–Safe, Midwestern, and a good fit for Romney.

    • Kyle-MI

      Keep in mind that if Romney wins the general election, we most likely will have control of the House and the Senate. I don’t see how the vote could go any other way. These will also be more conservative bodies because of the Tea party influence. They should keep Romney in line.

      I don’t think Romney is liberal. I don’t think he is a strong conservative either. He strikes me as a conservative Bill Clinton, generally supportive of his party’s direction but willing to stab it in the back for political gain.

    • acat

      If not, then I’m not sure a repeal is actually needed.

      If so, then .. yeah, it’s gotta go.

      Mew

      • azaeroprof

        what was reported at the time the bill passed was that they would start collecting taxes for several years before the actual plan was implemented in 2014. So I’m guessing we are already paying for this now (or will soon).

        • acat

          All that ends up creating is a pool of money in D.C. that you just know they’ll find some way to spend .. twice over at least…

          Obamacare must be repealed. If Romney won’t say that, then .. {spit}

          Mew

          • silentcal2012

            Quite often and forcefully.

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ek7huco-7Q

            http://mittromney.com/issues/health-care

          • http://www.tooncesthecat.wordpress.com tooncesthecat

            Obamacare must be repealed. There is the reality, however, that a Democratic minority in the Senate could block repeal. What then? There has to be a Plan B and Romney is the only candidate that I have heard offer an alternative that the President alone controls. That’s why I give him props on this issue.

  • aesthete

    though in fairness, it seems like you made the list more out of desperation than out of any genuine desire to prop up Romney.

    1-5 boil down to “He’s not X and might win the general if we support him uncritically”.

    6 is irrelevant in the context of the traditional duties of the VP. VPs like Cheney are the exception, not the rule, and we shouldn’t expect much from a VP choice, smart or no.

    7, 8 and 9: What good is experience if it only shows a record of failure? Romney can by no stretch of the imagination have been considered a success in MA; he did very little to stem the tide of typical MA politics (when he wasn’t joined to the hip with it, that is), Republicans/conservatives in MA did not make gains, and the less said about his immediate successor, Deval Patrick, the better. As for his campaigning skills, he lost in a weak field to the guy who lost to Bush while spending shovelfuls of his own money. He has an excellent record in business, but quite frankly that just makes me concerned that he will treat government like his own personal business and attempt to expand it effectively.

    10: I have no reasonable certainty of believing that Romney’s plan will come to pass due to his failures in the course of #7 and 9, respectively.

    • luvnthebigsites
      • YnotNOW

        Sure, there are possible worse choices than Romney, but there are a lot better in the primary, as well.
        I will support Romney in the General, if that’s who R’s select (over my objections). And the reason will be #1 above.

    • acat

      At least Toonces didn’t go with the “he’s squishy” defense…

      Mew

      • http://slcliberty.blogivists.com randy streu

        nt

  • http://theminorityreportblog.com Repair_Man_Jack

    He is a warmist. He must be laughed out of serious consideration until he alters this point of view in a substantial manner. He also is a big fan of the ethanol boondoggle.

    http://www.c3headlines.com/2011/06/romney-embraces-californias-destructive-environmental-regulations-to-conquer-faux-global-warming.html

    http://www.redstate.com/dhorowitz3/2011/05/27/mitt-romney-still-loves-his-ethanol-especially-in-iowa/

    http://www.c3headlines.com/2011/06/romenys-carbontax-obama-made-energy-prices-skyrocket-mitt-wants-to-boost-them-into-orbit.html

  • luvnthebigsites

    The plastic smile is bad enough, at to that the global warming hoax capitulation AND food to fuel??? Romney’s run has been over… There is no “walking back” that idiocy.

    • luvnthebigsites
    • Kyle-MI

      He has the tools to win the nomination. If he does, are you:
      1) voting for Obama?
      2) voting for a 3rd party (which is essentially voting for Obama)?
      or 3) not voting (which is essentially voting for Obama)?

      I am worried that a lot of voters on our side have talked themselves out of voting for Romney in the primary in a way that leads them to not vote for him in the general.

      • luvnthebigsites

        The “establishment” such as yourself.

        I’m voting for:

        4) Somebody else.

        • http://www.tooncesthecat.wordpress.com tooncesthecat

          In the general election is it Obama? Of course, not. See reason #1. So it’s Romney if he’s the nominee.

          In the primary how can you be sure that your candidate will still be in the running when it comes time for you to vote, unless you’re from Iowa or New Hampshire? I can say I’m for Chris Christie, but the last time I looked he wasn’t going to be on the ballot. Ditto for Palin at this point. So who are you for and who else won’t you vote for. Because if it comes down to Romney, Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman–I think I know how 98% of the RedStaters are going to vote. I’m just admitting that given some possible forced choices, that I would support Romney. Not that he’s my preferred candidate.

  • Finrod

    Then again, I’d vote for pretty much anyone that’s running, save for Luap Nor.

    What I want to hear from Romney fans is that they’d vote for Sarah Palin, or Herman Cain, or Michelle Bachmann, if one of them is our nominee. It goes both ways.