I find it amusing that all these conservatives are so excited about someone whose biggest achievment while Governor was instituting Hillarycare statewide.
Romney’s Mormonism doesn’t matter to me. Mormons may have some odd religious ideas (IMHO) but many of them are reliably conservative.
But Mitt Romney has a lot of strikes against him. He seems willing to say whatever it takes to please people, and then to shift and change as soon as people want to hear something else. I just don’t trust him.
Giuliani could have been the best candidate IF he had changed his positions on abortion, guns, and a few other things. He didn’t. I think he blew it. I hope Fred Thompson has got what it takes when the heat is on, because he’s the last one left at this point.
>>I don’t think Romney’s Mormonism is the issue: I think people simply don’t see any reason to vote for him. No need to ascribe bigotry—just because some of us see him as great, doesn’t mean one’s anti-Mormon for not voting for him.
I find it amusing that all these conservatives are so excited about someone whose biggest achievment while Governor was instituting Hillarycare statewide.<<
First of all, Romney’s healthcare solution is the single most workable, best attempt to fix healthcare that I’ve seen presented. This is not state run healthcare. It is mandatory insurance, much like that supposedly required to drive a car. It forces EVERYONE to pay into the system—even the poor. The state is picking up at least part of the tab on these bills for years. And frankly, doctors and nurses shouldn’t be doing work for free, particularly given the long hours they put in. Take a look at his plan. It’s a heck of a lot different than Hillary’s, and it still ties the system to the market.
Second, Romney has been an exemplary executive, no matter what position you put him in. When working for an investment company, he rises to the top. When put in charge of the Olympics, he cuts out all the crap, overcomes a sagging deficit, and turns a profit on the games. Now, tell me, how many other Olympic Games do you know of that have generated revenue for the host city? Barcelona is still paying off debts. So is Athens. Atlanta ran a debt. On top of that, he donated his salary for that job to charity.
In Mass, he balanced the budget and turned a deficit into a surplus, despite a massively liberal legislature. Without raising taxes.
Romney is also the only candidate in this race to have vetoed a measure (well, multiple measures) on the grounds that it was a far cry from socially conservative. Unlike Bush, he hasn’t been afraid to veto bills. At all.
When I see someone who is willing to address the problems we’re going to face down the road in competing with Asia, who is interested in providing not only a viable fix to the illegal immigration problem but provide a much-need fix to our legal immigration system, my ears perk up. And yes we have problems. Big problems. I have friends in Eastern Europe with masters degrees in engineering and PhDs in the sciences, and they can’t get over here after trying for years—some all but giving up. But George Bush, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain want to legalize Jose the poolboy, who is going straight onto the public dole, having waltzed across the southern border, breaking the law.
If conservativism is about small government and the market economy, there isn’t a candidate in this race more qualified to lead than Romney, and certainly not one with half the experience.