If Romney wins, I predict the greatest case of buyer's remorse in political history. It will make the liberals' disappointment in Obama look like child's play.
As Romney walks back every one of his campaign promises, it will be hard not to say "I told you so." This process which has already started will accelerate if Romney wins. Here's what I think will happen: Romney's history suggests that he doesn't want conservatives - he'll just use us if he can. Once elected, Romney will run to the left where his political philosophy resides and then form a left-of-center coalition with the Democrats and RINOs. Angering conservatives will play right into the great reconciler role that Romney wants to play. He and his people will point to conservative opposition to bolster his claim to occupy the reasonable middle and his claim to political courage in fighting the Radical Right. In terms of partisanship, Mitt Romney reaching across the aisle will make John McCain look like Rush Limbaugh in comparison.
I pray that enough Americans vote third party that the next president goes into office on vulnerable defense because the overwhelming majority rejected him at the ballot box. Such a plurality hurt Clinton enough in 1992 to give us the Republican Revolution, and Clinton was fairly popular.
Imagine if narcissist Obama, who (unlike Clinton in '92 and '96) has become despised by many former supporters, had to face the humiliating spectre of having nearly two in three vote against him. Any claim of "mandate" would be mocked because the numbers proved otherwise. Moderates in the Republican party would have the fear of God put in them having seen Romney kicked to the curb.
On the other hand, if GOD FORBID Romney wins with a landslide, the fact that the numbers represented a referendum against Obama, would be perverted into a popular mandate FOR Romney's "progressive style of governing" by Romney, moderates, the GOP-e, and Democrats, and the numbers would back them up. It would disarm conservatives.
This is why I'm voting for a plurality. I'm voting third party, and it will be a vote FOR a plurality win for either socialist authoritarian statist tyrant. Because thinking in terms of voting "against" is misleading at best.
Once elected, Romney would run to the left where his political philosophy resides and then form a left-of-center coalition with the Democrats and RINOs.
Angering conservatives would play right into the great reconciler role that Romney wants to play. (Oh, MAN, Commerce, you called that one spot-on.)
He and his people would point to conservative opposition to bolster his claim to occupy the reasonable middle and his claim to political courage in fighting the Radical Right.
In terms of partisanship, Mitt Romney reaching across the aisle would make John McCain look like Rush Limbaugh in comparison.