President Mitt Romney?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Elections
Could the Massachusetts Governor have the ear of the Religious Right?
The tall barrier many see as blocking his acceptance by evangelical voters–the fact that many Americans view Mormonism with suspicion or worse–may prove to be a mirage. “Everyone I talked to said they didn’t have a problem with it,” one attendee told me. “If enough people say that to each other, Romney creates a virtuous circle in which evangelical activists decide he’s acceptable.” Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, notes that something similar has happened in recent years as devout Catholic and evangelical Protestants have increasingly focused on areas of agreement. “Romney won’t be the ideal choice for evangelicals, but against a McCain in the primary or a Hillary Clinton in the general election there’s no doubt where most would go,” he says.
Keep your eye on Romney since he a) comes from a very liberal state and b) recently signed legislation that would give every single person in his state health care. A crossover contender? Signs are pointing to yes.
Oh, but wait…he’s a lawyer. Well, there goes that conservative base…
In any event, if you want to learn more about the man and his time as Governor, try the Wikipedia article.
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September 26th, 2006 at 5:02 pm
It’s not just a case of Evangelicals choosing A or B, it’s about the degree of excitement. As a Democrat I’m fine with a GOP candidate who evangelicals kind of like but aren’t thrilled about.
September 26th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Although Romney has a law degree, he has never practiced law.
I find it very comforting that he has the smarts necessary to get a law degree and the morals necessary not to use it.
September 26th, 2006 at 9:15 pm
You must have some extra-special super-duper insight here that I am completely missing. The “conservative base” is strongly represented with lawyers in organizations like the Federalist Society, as well as, a bunch of conservative-oriented public interest groups. Maybe you are operating on a misconception that the “conservative based” sees all “lawyers” as John Edwards, slickster plaintiff trial lawyers with exceptional hair and a honey-smooth southern parlance that melts the heart. I don’t see any reason why him have a law degree detracts him from a conservative base at all.
That being said, thank you for the post JG. I did some research on the guy and I like what I see — so I share your hopeful enthusiasm.
Murphy, you are either naturally ignorant or under the influence of some ignorance-inducing drug when you pecked out this charmer. From hence forward, I would like you to write comments on paper and show them to five people before you post your comment. If 3 out of the 5 people use the words “ignorant dumb ass” or “I told you never to talk to me again” — Do Not Post It.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:44 am
Hey DosPeros,
Before you get your panties all up in a knot, try considering the possibility that I posted that tongue-in-cheek. No need to whip out the flamethrower.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:00 am
“Its about Leadship stupid” I am not saying that to anyone, but just saying what and why I think Romney will Win in 08.
September 27th, 2006 at 7:30 am
Regardless of what Evangelicals think of him I don’t believe Mitt will be the repub nominee in 2008. His Lt. Governor is running Mitt’s job and she is getting the stuffing beaten out of her for the Romney Administrations role in the latest big dig fiasco. my guess is Mitt will suffer the same fate. I have respect for Mitt’s business prowess but he hasn’t done much of anything as a politician. The Dems have a veto proof majority in the Mass House and Senate and Mitt just never had the power and/or ability to do anything in his one term as Governor.
If there is a Repub President in 2008 I think you can expect to see Mitt in his/her cabinet. He might even make a half way decent Treasury Secretary, but he won’t be President anytime soon.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Although Romney will most likely run in ’08 (He goes up to NH quite often now), I highly doubt he will make it all the way. He is a morman, which can swing him away from the right wing christians. I think he should have taken one more term in MA and then made the switch to go to the top.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Blue Neponset,
Romney’s actually gotten more done in his single term against veto-proof opposition than most governors get done in their entire careers.
His footprints are all over MA fiscal discipline (balanced $3B deficit, pushed for lower taxes), health care reform (health care for everyone without new taxes or government), disaster preparedness (MA now gets DHS highest ranking), etc. His handling of the Big Dig should be written as the how-to guide for politicians…remember that he has only gotten the authority to go after it in the last few months.
The fact that the legislature overrides his vetos on a weekly basis is a good reason not to elect the MA legislature for president. Romney falls on the right side of the issues.
Political Grind,
More and more right wing Christians are saying values count more than theology. On values and social politics, mormons and evangelicals stand side by side. Just ask Chuck Colson, Jerry Falwell, and Ted Haggard, who have all said they would have no problem voting for a mormon. Here’s a good site on the issue:
http://www.evangelicalsformitt.com
September 27th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
By the way – he is not a lawyer. He did his undergrad at Brigham Young and got his MBA from Harvard Business School.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
He got a J.D. from Harvard too.
From the Wikipedia link:
And DP, so we’re distinguishing between the lawyers who look out for the little guy and the lawyers who look out for the corporations. Oh! I see…my bad. Corporate lawyers are okay with Republicans, but persona injury aren’t because they believe in social justice. TORT REFORM HO!!!
September 27th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
In terms of tort reform JG, you and I see more or less eye-to-eye. I worked for a short time with a law firm that defended insurance companies. I found it tedious, boring and a small percentage of the time, morally repugnant. I didn’t last long there, in part because one of the partners had a border-line personality disorder, but mostly because I didn’t really like the clients. And yes, the asshole partner was a “country club” Republican, as well as, the other four partners.
By far my best boss was also a Republican, but not a “country club” Republican, but an Evangelical. His favorite entities to sue are 1) insurance companies and 2) state administrations/municipalities. He was all about fighting “The Man” because he only answered to his Man. He is all about social justice; the social justice just includes the unborn and his social justice means a libertarian government and strong Christian citizenry dedicated to making a “just” society through volunteerism.
While I made fun of John Edward’ss hair and such, I think his job as a plaintiffs lawyer is far more noble that his bid for VP. His “2-America’s” thing was a good trial theme, but it was bad bad bad bad politics and it bit him in the ass.
September 28th, 2006 at 1:47 am
As one of the nation’s most influential businessmen in the 80′s and 90′s, Romney carries unbeatable business credentials and clobbers Hillary and most Republican contenders on global trade and the economy. Likewise, his gubernatorial performance qualifies him as a political force while avoiding Clinton and McCain’s toxic D.C. insider reputation. I concur that he got more done in the bluest of blue states than any other politician in Mass. history.
And Romney’s record stands toe-to-toe with other candidates on limiting government, reigning-in spending, or standing up to entrenched power — all of which will be keys to beating Clinton in 08. On social issues, Mitt is best positioned to draw a stark comparison between family values and Hillary’s liberal ideologies. He can actually turn gay marriage and judicial activism into a galvanizing issue for swing voters.
The Mormon things will be an asset against Clinton. Most folks will think of him as a highly ethical guy (a good thing in Washington right now) and the perfect foil to Hillary’s perceived ethical problems.
His main opposition will come from Giuliani (please don’t let him run). At that point, Mitt will have to hammer the social platform and hope evangelicals come out to vote for a real social conservative.
September 28th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Justin Gardner
You’re right… He did get his JD from Harvard. But he has never practiced any kind of law. He has never been a corporate lawyer.
October 6th, 2006 at 10:12 am
No doubt, after the GOP and Dem nominations are finalized, the only way to beat the democrats is by surprizing the country by placing a new face in front of the TV camera’s and reporters. Even though I really like both McCain and Romney, I think John McCain has become boring to many Americans. If a republican is to win this election, he has to appear totally detatched from the Washington DC social scenes and corruption. With the recent Folley scandal, we are seeing that neither Republicans nor Dems are immuned to the moral demise of Washington and only someone who comes in looking almost “independant” will charm the majority of both the Repulicans who feel disinfranchised and lied to by the current administration, and the democrats that sit near the center…Lets face it, to the Hollywood liberals, Hillary is God, but the average democrat, she is a bit scary. I personally could care less about the religious background of the nominee, as long as their morals and ethics are unwavering. Afterall, those mormons, even though they may be a bit strange, have voted identically to me in most elections- and they didn’t seem to care that the canidate was of a different religion than them.
October 8th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Hey Guys — know I’m coming late to this discussion, but please feel free to check out
http://www.EvangelicalsforMitt.com
to read about why Evangelicals will not only support Gov. Romney, but LOVE him.
Thanks,
Nancy
October 23rd, 2006 at 2:12 am
Mitt Romney,… whew, he’s the man for 2008. His character is fitted to be the next president. Fearless, bold, principled and and smart, he exactly knows his stand. And that’s the criteria every American is looking for to a great leader. Probably, he’s the next in line. 100% I know, he can lead the country in glory as what he did in the 2002 Winter Olympics. He’s our man! I don’t see his religion a problem. In today’s standards, he exemplifies the role of a great leader.
December 24th, 2006 at 1:44 am
Who cares what Ted Haggard thinks? By their fruits ye shall know them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard