If Mitt Romney isn’t conservative enough for editorialists in Boston, he won’t be conservative enough for the GOP as a whole.
If Mitt Romney, the Republican Governor of ultra-liberal Massachusetts, harbors presidential aspirations — and he almost certainly does — now is the time to cut the subtlety and start campaigning. Playing hard to get isn’t working.
The Boston Herald, one of the finest publications in the country as far as I’m concerned, has come out with a report card for Romney — and let’s just say that, if it was for high school rather than the State House, the Governor would not have the Ivy League in his future. (On the other hand, it definitely represents a GPA that John Kerry could be proud of!)
On economics, the Herald gives Romney a D. He also gets a D on taxes. While he’s avoided the temptation to raise them (he promised he wouldn’t), he hasn’t cut them, either. When a Republican doesn’t try to lower taxes, we’ve got problems.
What makes Romney’s tax policy more troubling is that Massachusetts could easily move toward tax relief without placing the current budget at risk. Last year, sales tax revenues were $136 million greater than originally expected, and income tax revenues were $275 million more than expected. Corporate taxes beat the anticipated sum by $20 million. That’s a lot of extra money. If corporate tax rates were cut to — I don’t know — 0%, jobs would surge and so would sales tax and income tax. If Romney made such a move — even if it was merely an attempt — conservatives would rally to his side. Romney will never be president unless he can fix his reputation on taxes.
On the bright side, the Governor has indicated that he will support a bill which would suspend the sales tax for one day — a glorious August 13 — for all purchases less than $2,500. It’s a bit of a cheap offer, but it’s better than nothing.
On health care, Gov. Romney’s grade is a B-, but it should be lower. I think a D is generous. As the Herald asks indignantly: “Since when do conservatives propose government mandates and oversight as solutions to market-based problems?” The only way Romney could get an A on health care is if Hillary Clinton had the red pen.
On the very important issue of financing higher education, Romney earns another D from the Herald. “Setting rules that made college more affordable for upper-middle-class white students isn't exactly boosting opportunity for the underprivileged.”
Finally, on “Advancing the conservative agenda” — arguably an important subject with Republicans voting in primaries — Romney gets an F. The reasons for this are irrelevant. If he isn’t conservative enough for editorialists in Boston, he won’t be conservative enough for the GOP as a whole. If Romney’s goal is the Republican nomination, a post which will likely pit him against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he needs to be at least to the right of Bob Dole. The last Massachusetts liberal to run for president didn’t do so well.
But Romney is a Republican. Sometimes, he even acts like one. He just vetoed $1 million earmarked for the prevention of teen pregnancy, for example. (I didn’t know condoms cost that much.) He also cut $175,000 which was supposed to protect gay and lesbian youth. I guess straight youth was protected enough.
Still, perhaps the greatest barrier for Romney will be that he is, like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a self-appointed “fiscal conservative.” In Republican-speak, “fiscal conservative” is defined as a liberal who doesn’t like to pay taxes. Of course, in Romney’s case, he doesn’t even like to cut taxes.
And we know Republicans like to talk about the a-word, abortion, which also poses problems for the Governor. Whereas in 1994 he was certain that the procedure should be “safe and legal,” now he tells us he’s “in a different place.” That sounds like a — what did we call it? — a flip-flop, maybe?
Romney is a nice fellow with good skin and great hair. He looks very much like a president ought to, and he may even get to prove it someday. But he needs to settle down. He should go to Massachusetts and say something Republican. Tell the Legislature to forget about all those pet projects — it’s time to cut taxes. He’ll get laughed out of town, but at least he will have tried. A Republican New Englander would be very good for the Party, but not if we have to abandon our defining values.
Isaiah Z. Sterrett, a resident of Aptos, California, is a Lifetime Member of the California Junior Scholarship Federation and a Sustaining Member of the Republican National Committee.
isterrett@hotmail.com
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