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PATRIOT CANDIDATE PROFILE: MITT ROMNEY
By Mark Alexander
(Publisher's Note: The Patriot's editors have provided Presidential
Candidate Ratings (http://PatriotPost.US/papers/#anchor29) on our
Patriot Policy Papers (http://PatriotPost.US/papers/)
page. These ratings are based on comprehensive analysis of many
factors, including each candidate's record, experience, capability,
character, leadership qualifications and, of course, their
demonstrated ability to grasp the plain language of our
Constitution (http:/PatriotPost.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=487)---and
promote it accordingly.)
Once again, risking a mix of approval and disdain from our Patriot readers,
I offer another candidate profile from The Patriot's perspective---this one
on Mitt Romney.
Let me start with the obvious: Romney's record in the private sector is
outstanding.
He holds post-graduate degrees in both business management and law (cum
laude)
from Harvard. Despite that deficiency (as my friends at Yale and Princeton
would say), he led Bain & Company management consultants out of financial
woes between 1978 and 1984. He then founded Bain Capital, a successful
venture-capital firm.
He was recruited in 2002 to salvage the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics,
which had run up $380 million in debt, and turned that fiasco into a $100
million profit maker. He then returned his salary as a measure of good will.
Unlike John
McCain (http://PatriotPost.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=578), the other
leading
contender for the Republican nomination, who has a substantial congressional
voting record for examination, Mitt Romney has but one term as governor of
the People's Republic of Massachusetts from which to glean some
understanding
of his public-policy record.
Romney's record as governor is a source of both contentment and concern
for conservatives.
To his credit, Romney helped turn Massachusetts' $1.2 billion deficit into
a surplus over the course of his four years as governor, though credit
for that success is shared by an upward economic trend and, accordingly,
increased tax collections.
However, his recent campaign promise to implement a $233-billion stimulus
package, sans any spending cuts---a package far larger than the $145 billion
in largess proposed by President George W. Bush---certainly implies that he
would not take federal-deficit reduction any more seriously than would the
current Beltway politicos.
Social conservatives can't overlook his 1994 stump speeches, when Romney
attempted to unseat Sen. Ted Kennedy (notably, coming closer to ridding the
nation of that disgrace than any Republican ever has).
Back then, Romney supported abortion on demand and special rights for
homosexuals.
After being elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, though, Romney
opposed
so-called "same-sex marriage" and, after closer study of the abortion issue,
became decidedly pro-life, even opposing cloning and embryo farming.
On the subject of cloning, Romney told The Boston Globe in 2005, "Once
cloning
occurs, a human life is set in motion. Calling this process 'somatic cell
nuclear transfer,' or conveniently dismissing the embryo as a mere 'clump
of cells,' cannot disguise the reality of what occurs."
The nation's leading abortion advocate, NARAL Pro-Choice America, criticized
Romney, writing: "[A]s governor he initially expressed pro-choice beliefs
but
had a generally anti-choice record. His position on choice has changed. His
position is now anti-choice."
Constitutional constructionists also take note of Romney's
support for extra-constitutional initiatives undermining
the "palladium of all other rights," the Second
Amendment (http://PatriotPost.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=559). He
supports the Brady law and
Feinstein-Schumer (http://PatriotPost.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=270)
gun-control regulations, going as far as to say that he, like President
Bush,
"would have signed the [so-called] assault weapon ban" if it had passed
Congress for his signature. He signed a similar bill in Massachusetts.
He now says, "I do not believe we need new [federal] legislation. I do not
support any new legislation of an assault-weapon-ban nature, including that
against semiautomatic weapons. I instead believe that we have laws in place
that, if implemented and enforced, will provide the protection and the
safety
of the American people."
In his last year as governor, Romney proposed and signed into law what he
describes as market-based reforms to provide every Massachusetts citizen
with health insurance---without raising taxes. However, a plan that neither
allows individuals to opt out nor deregulates the insurance industry is not
exactly "free market." The outcome of those reforms, as with most states
which have implemented such reforms, is mixed, though one outcome is clear:
Insurance in Massachusetts has about the highest price of any state.
Also in 2006, affirming his standing among his peers, he was elected to
chair the Republican Governors Association and raised some $27 million for
State House contests around the nation.
Of vital significance to his prospective role as Commander in Chief,
Mitt Romney gets high marks for his grasp and support of critical
national security initiatives, and the threat posed by jihadi
terrorists (http://PatriotPost.US/papers/primer01.asp) and Islamic fascism.
His positions on border security and immigration are consistent with those
of mainstream Republicans.
Romney is, unquestionably, a man of strong faith. He is a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religious sect that includes
about two percent of the U.S. population.
Mormons are a decidedly conservative lot, albeit with some regrettable
exceptions, such as Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid (http://PatriotPost.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=342).
Understanding that few Americans outside of Utah know much about Mormonism,
Romney spoke plainly about his faith on 6 December 2007 at the George H.W.
Bush
Presidential Library at Texas A&M University: "I do not define my candidacy
by my religion," he said. "A person should not be elected because of his
faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith. Let me assure you that
no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will
ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs,
within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the
nation begin."
He continued, "I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties
of the office and the sovereign authority of the law. My faith is the faith
of my fathers. I will be true to them and to my beliefs... I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind."
He concluded his comments by noting that during the First Continental
Congress in Philadelphia, there were objections to a call from the floor to
prayer. "Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone
of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot. And so together
they prayed."
Personally, I would not be inclined to subscribe to the extra-biblical
prophecies of the Mormon Church, but then, I am a fifth-generation
Episcopalian who checked out of that institution about ten years ago because
of extra-biblical doctrines. Though I would not be a good prospect for
Mormon
proselytizers, I have no reservations about Romney's reliance upon the
Gospel
of Christ over and above any church doctrines.
Finally, unlike some other notable Republicans, Mitt Romney is still devoted
to his first wife. Romney has a great marriage, according to his closest
friends, and is part of a large, loving and caring family.
Perhaps the greatest of Romney's endorsements, though, is the utter
contempt with which he is regarded by the mainstream
media (http://PatriotPost.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=570). I subscribe to
the old maxim, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," because
knowledge of your enemy's objectives is critical to his defeat. To that end,
as Leftist talkingheads and scribes swoon over McCain and Huckabee, while
expressing their contempt for Romney, take note.
The bottom line: Romney rates a somewhat
respectable "7" in our Presidential Candidate
Ratings (http://PatriotPost.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=550) compared to
McCain's decidedly unflattering "5" rating.