Posted on 11/29/2007 9:37:20 PM PST by ellery
Changes on abortion and other issues continue to tag Republican candidate as a flip-flopper
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has a growing John Kerry problem, and last night's CNN/YouTube debate underscored a stark reality the former Massachusetts governor faces as he battles for his party's nomination.
Rudy Giuliani (R) and Mike Huckabee (L) listen as former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney makes a point during the CNN/YouTube debate. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)Related News CNN/YouTube Debate Guide Is YouTube a Better Way? (Jul. 24) A Hair-Raising YouTube Duel (Jul. 29) YouTube Guru Teaches Hopefuls (Jun. 12) Video: Web World Meets Reality Kerry was famously dogged during a failed presidential run in 2004 by his equivocating statement on his position on the Iraq war—"I voted for it before I voted against it." It infuriated Kerry's Democratic base and provided endless fodder for Republicans to mock him as a flip-flopper.
Last night, immigration bickering with Rudy Giuliani aside, Romney was forced to explain yet again his recent conversions from supporting legal abortions to stridently opposing them and from endorsing gay rights to rejecting them in favor of a "family values" platform that appeals to the party's conservative evangelicals.
On abortion, Romney said, "I was wrong."
When moderator Anderson Cooper pressed Romney to say whether he still agreed with his own 1994 statement that he looked forward to a day when gays could serve in the military without controversy, he equivocated. Not at this time, during this war, Romney said, who added that though he initially thought the military's practice of "don't ask, don't tell" wouldn't work, he now believes it does.
But what about gays in the military in the future? Cooper persevered. Do you still look forward to that day you referred to in 1994?
Romney said he'd listen to his military advisers.
It was the same answer he gave when asked whether the interrogation practice called waterboarding constituted torture, which prompted an impassioned outburst from Sen. John McCain, who pronounced himself "astonished" that Romney was unable to state a position on the controversial simulated-drowning technique.
All this adds up to some difficult footing ahead for Romney. The race has heated up, the attacks sharper and more personal. And the question of what he really believes, and where he'll stand if elected, is bedeviling many conservative GOP voters—particularly those in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, where Romney has staked his future. That uncertainty has contributed to Mike Huckabee's rise in the Iowa polls. Huckabee, an evangelical ordained minister, has also benefited from the migration to his campaign by evangelicals who supported Sen. Sam Brownback, who withdrew from the nomination race.
Republican voters in Iowa find Romney attractive on many levels—and he has consistently led in the polls there, although Huckabee is now within striking distance. But enough of them are uneasy about his turnarounds to make what early on looked like a cakewalk for the well-financed Romney in Iowa and, even, New Hampshire far from a sure thing. Endorsements from a handful of leaders in the conservative evangelical community have not made those niggling concerns disappear.
Near the close of the debate, Romney made a case for himself with a now familiar disparaging reference to Democrat Hillary Clinton and a pitch for himself as this campaign's Ronald Reagan. But when a candidate has a Kerry problem, winning will take straight, tough answers—and more than comparisons to a party icon.
[When moderator Anderson Cooper pressed Romney to say whether he still agreed with his own 1994 statement that he looked forward to a day when gays could serve in the military without controversy, he equivocated. Not at this time, during this war, Romney said, who added that though he initially thought the military’s practice of “don’t ask, don’t tell” wouldn’t work, he now believes it does.]
I think that puts the nail in the coffin (along with Romney saying he’d ask the lawyers before going to war). Along with the abortion flip-flop, just too many signs of insincerity.
Now to take on Huckleberry!
Is he an unafraid and unapologetic politician, can he be a ruthless SOB to our enemies here and abroad?
At least Mitt came out and flat-out confessed to being wrong. That was kind of refreshing for a politician.
But it still doesn’t get rid of the perception and feeling that he shifts positions depending on the electorate he’s trying to convince and please.
I would agree with your assesment.
I found some respect in his answer, which was the only thing he could rationally say.
Now, if only the Huckster would be as honest about his big spending, taxing, illegal alien loving past, I would have an easier time believing him when he says he is a Christian.
My guess is that Liz Halloran does not wish the Republican Party well...the word “stridently” is a giveaway...along with the scare quotes around the phrase “family values.”
“Not at this time, during this war, Romney said, who added that though he initially thought the military’s practice of “don’t ask, don’t tell” wouldn’t work, he now believes it does. “
He wrote a letter on this very subject to a gay activist group, where he is pleased with Clinton’s don’t ask don’t tell, but wants to take it further to full acceptance, and that is his goal.
That was in 1994, he made up this new thing about thinking it would not work, laughing at it, etc.
If others do their job right, Huckabee’s views on amnesty are going to be ringing in the ears of iowa voters and it WILL hurt him if that happens.
With Romney I would seriously like to know what substances certain elites on the right have been indulging in that they, with a straight face, offered Romney as our alternative to Rudy and McCain.
Four years after Kerry was rightly taken down as an out of touch flip flopper from Mass, they go and duplicate him on the right???
Are people like K-Lo nuts? Really?
How in the hell could they not see they were supporting the Republican John kerry and think this wasn’t going to bite us all in the butt if he’s the nominee? It would destroy our credibility to defend him against those chargaes in a national election. the same way the GOP can no longer claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility given their spending, electing Romney as a nominee would call our own sincerity into question.
It clearly was not one of his better moments.
What a depressing pack.
Well let’s hope that the Huckster at least wins Iowa and puts a damper on Mr. Perfect’s so called inevitability .
The most troublesome thing about Romney in the debates is his excessive caution. Let's talk to the lawyers before making a military strike, let's talk to the advisers first about waterboarding, let's take a poll before I use my left or right hand to wipe my butt.
He clearly hasn't had a "change of heart" on these issues. You can see it in his equivocating and calculation of his words. His change is motivated because he wants the Republican nomination and he's simply not looking ready for the big job.
And his fans call this leadership.
Anderson Cooper is a FAG! Enough said.
Seems simple enough. Romney has severed his beliefs from his practice. He will take the advice of lawyers and military advisors, and likely do the same in other fields as well. It all comes down to who will choose these people. I guess Mitt Romney will. On the basis of good advice of course.
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