Posted on 12/29/2006 8:33:19 AM PST by teddyballgame
As he ponders whether to seek the presidency in 2008, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday took a break from his family vacation in Utah to talk exclusively to HUMAN EVENTS about the War on Terror, his conservative beliefs and the role bloggers are playing in politics. He also clarified his views on abortion and gay marriage and addressed concerns about his healthcare plan.
Romney’s term as governor ends on January 4, 2007, and he’s expected to announce his future plans shortly thereafter. Recently he’s reached out to conservatives, including National Review Online and talk-show host Hugh Hewitt to discuss his political views.
A complete transcript of our interview follows.
(Excerpt) Read more at humanevents.com ...
Personally, I like the guy and he's my front runner.
Great interview. He answered a lot of questions that I have seen raised here on FR. As far as I am concerned, he is the front runner.
I agree. And I think the RATS know that this could be the man. They hit him right off the bat with both barrels and tried to trash his religious belief. And it is puzzling how many thing that have been said about his religion and it shows their ignorance. RATS could twist anything to make a person look bad and it will never let up no matter who is selected except McNut. He is a RAT in disguise.
I agree. Have tracked Romeny's career since he spoke at HBS in 1985. To me, he is the leadership candidate on the Republican side offering an alternative to the better known McCain and Guiliani. (Obama is in the same postion on the Dem side offering an alternative to Clinton, Edwards, Biden, etc.). I am glad to see him in the race but not sure if I'll vote for him in February 2008...
I do like the answer to this question. Talk is cheap and actions count:
"Now on domestic issues, in a recent interview with National Review Online, you addressed concerns that conservatives have raised about your previous views on abortion. I’m wondering, why should conservatives believe you when you say you’re now pro-life despite some previous statements you’ve made on that subject?
Conservatives, of course, can make their own assessment. But the great thing is people don’t have to look at what people say, they can look at what they do.
When I was running for office 12 years ago, there were a number of things that I said and felt at that time that, with the benefit of experience, I have a different view today. One of those is abortion.
As governor, I’ve had several pieces of legislation reach my desk, which would have expanded abortion rights in Massachusetts. Each of those I vetoed. Every action I’ve taken as the governor that relates to the sanctity of human life, I have stood on the side of life.
So talk is cheap, but action is real. And people can now look at my record."
BZZZZT! That money has already been taxed. Someone dies, leaves the money to their kids, and the government taxes them again...at a higher rate then the money was taxed in the first place.
That is what isn't fair.
Pretty good interview though. I couldn't zing him on much else, and I wouldn't expect him to present a platform or plan until he officially announced.
Unless someone better comes along...but I think he is the real deal. I think we all have had chnages in our views on different issues over the years; most of us are lucky enough not to have those views be a matter of public record. Therefore, Romney is correct in asserting that his actions as Governor speak louder than his words nearly thirteen years ago.
In my opinion, he has governed as a conservative, fighting the liberal legislature and Supreme Court in MA. He has shown leadership in many areas; marriage, stem cell research, spending, taxes. He also has a solid background as a successful businessman and has shown success fighting for reform with his oversight of the Olympics. He cannot be attacked on a Senate voting record. All the left have on him is his Mormonism. Bottom line, he's a leader with strong family values.
I'm pullin' for him.
I'll give him a chance. McCain is my only "flat no".
The FairTax solves that problem.
Note, however, he doesn't say that it's unfair, he says there are many who would feel that it isn't fair. He didn't say he was one of them.
I'm sure once he actually announces his candidacy he'll streamline his stance on issues and we can evaluate from there.
If there is anyone that can please the base, while at the same time be a viable national candidate, put Hildebeast in her place and neutralize the Obama juggernaut, it's Romney. Sounds like he has a sound foreign policy in regards to the War on Terror as well as Asia, namely China as they grow to become the economic power house of the next decade.
I like his idea to free up businesses and corporations so that they can compete on an international level and are not hobbled domestically by unfair tax laws.
I would like to hear him elaborate on simplifying the tax code, which, by the way, was one of the reasons I voted for George W. Bush. I hope this includes doing away with the IRS and privatizing partially or wholly the Social Security System.
If Romney took a workable healthcare solution for Massachusetts and immediately claimed it a panacea and model for the nation it would be very troubling. That's the type of shallow thinking one would expect from a career politician with no business experience; to fixate on one system and think it solves everything under all situations. I was eager to hear what Romney would say about the MA approach and its application to the entire nation.
Then along comes this excellent interview with Mitt Romney and a response, excerpted below, to the exact question I needed answered about his CEO skills and approach regarding healthcare solutions for the nation.
It is exactly the response I would have expected from a highly competent and effective CEO. I'm very impressed.
Question: One of the other things you accomplished as governor was a healthcare plan for Massachusetts, which has been both lauded and criticized by some libertarians and conservatives. Is this something you would consider proposing for the federal government as well?
"My current thinking on that is that the states as laboratories really play a very useful role for the nation. There are some aspects of what we proposed and put in our health plan that actually could be helpful for the entire nation and may well figure into national legislation. But there are others that really are peculiar to the state of Massachusetts, and I’d like to see how they work in Massachusetts, and frankly to see what other states do. Because I wouldn’t be surprised if some other states came up with ideas, borrowing from our own experience, that could be better than ours."
"I don’t think we’re ready as a nation to adopt a Massachusetts plan for the entire nation. I’d like to learn more from other states, perhaps take some things that we found and get them under way right away. For instance, all the mandates we put on insurance—that just makes insurance more expensive than it ought to be. There’s a need also to allow people to own their own insurance policy rather than having a company decide which insurance you get. There are features in our plan that I think could be helpful, but time’s going to tell, because we want to hear what other states have to say."
I must admit it was impressive that Mitt Romney proposed a healthcare solution that didn't put higher taxes front and center in a state that is hopelessly liberal. That's political heresy for a state that has the likes of Kerry and Kennedy as Senators. Furthermore, he actually got the plan approved in MA, which required some formidable leadership and communication skills.
Two of the reason I voted for Bush in 2000 were IRS and SS. Granted since then there are definitely more pressing issues but both of these the ball got fumbled, it's still out there rolling around on the field and nobody has picked it up yet.
Romney conservative?
Not on your life.
http://romneyisaliberal.com/
"abortion rights"
Romeny's use of this phrase implies a certain position on the issue. His people need to fix this, ASAP. (IMO.)
Why should it be fixed, if it accurately portrays his mindset? Would it be better for him to lie about his stance on abortion? Does he have something to hide?
So what's your point? He said in the interview that he was then and still is now, trying to define who he is. There is nothing contradictory about what he said then to what he has said now.
Nominating John McCain will give us the same result that nominating Bob Dole did.
Guiliani is all symbolism.
Romney has nearly all of the intangible qualities one would want in a President, and the practical business and political experience that no other candidate has.
I think he looks good, and he's already proven that he can get himself elected. He has a national reputation based on his rescue of the Olympics.
As for the flat tax, as he says, it's politically impossible. But we can move in that direction, which is the only way it's going to be done. Simplification, removal of complicated loopholes, flattening of the tax rate, lowering of capital gains. All those things can be done, and will move us in the right direction.
Maybe if we got far enough down that road, we could achieve a flat tax in the future. That's the only way it could ever be done.
And the info is well sourced.
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