It's tough not to feel some measure of sympathy for Mitt Romney these days. Here is the ostensible front runner for the GOP presidential nomination, a man who has spent much of last two decades building a impressive conservative political resume, and who can't seem to gain any traction in popular opinion for his presidential aspirations. Along with his Mormon faith, itself a significant drag on his conservative appeal, Romney is widely viewed as a flip-flopper, who cant make up his mind on the issues.
None other than GOP maven George F. Will criticized Romney's flexibility on the issues in a recent op-ed titled "Mitt Romney, The Pretzel Candidate" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/...). Will complains about Romney's changing stance on ethanol subsidies, TARP funded bailouts for GM and Chrysler, and bargaining rights for public employees in the state of Ohio. Will sums up this opinions of Romney by saying: “Romney, supposedly the Republican most electable next November, is a recidivist reviser of his principles who is not only becoming less electable; he might damage GOP chances of capturing the Senate.” Ouch!
But Romney is not the only flip-flopper in the conservative ranks. Herman Cain has also been know to change sides on an issue. Cain recently created a flap after a flip-flop on abortion, saying almost in one breath that women should have a right to choose, and that he would outlaw abortions. This may have been less of a flip-flop and more of a “I endorse both sides of the issue” stance. Sincc then, Cain has unequivocally stated that he would outlaw abortions in all circumstances. Similarly, Cain has shown himself to be on the fence on the issue of building US-Mexican border fence, first for it, then saying he was joking, but then again maybe it was a good idea.
However, Romney, Cain, and the other conservative aspirants are not campaigning in a vacuum, and their changing positions may simply represent the fickle and shifting opinions of the conservative movement in America. When it comes to flip-flopping, the conservatives themselves seem to have a problem.
Nothing demonstrates the flip-flopping nature of the conservatives themselves than the healthcare debate. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney passed a law that provided for the healthcare needs of all Massachusetts citizens while being the very model of conservative ideal: the plan relied on private insurance rather than government to accomplish the goal of universal coverage. Romney's healthcare plan was widely applauded by conservatives around the country. But when that same plan became a blueprint for a democratically-controlled congress to reform national healthcare policy, conservatives disparaged the plan as a socialized medicine and a government take-over of healthcare. Rather than proudly pointing out his signature piece of legislation on the campaign trail, Romney is reduced to quietly and sheepishly admitting he favored the healthcare plan, but that it is not right for everyone.
Conservative leader John Boehner famously proclaimed the 2010 congressional elections were all about “jobs, jobs, jobs”. So when Pres. Obama, a democrat, proposed a bill aimed at increasing employment that included tax cuts on some employers, you would expect that conservatives would climb on-board quickly. Yet the proposal received a nay vote from every conservative in the senate. The conservatives as a whole appear to have flip-flopped not only on the issue of increasing employment, but on instituting tax cuts as well.
So it is easy to see why Romney may be confused on the issues. Like the seasoned politician he is, Romney has seen the shifts in conservative thinking, and is adapting to his political environment. Yet, among his peers he is seen as an object of scorn, a flip-flopper without principles. Or perhaps Romney is mindful of what happens when conservatives stick to their principles and refuse to change their position.
Rick Perry was for a short period widely popular among conservatives, at times beating the front-runner Mitt Romney in polls of voters' favor. Then it was revealed during one of the televised debates that Perry had supported the use of state funds to allow children of illegal immigrants to attend state colleges in Texas. Perry was widely criticized for this policy, but Perry refused to back down, saying he acted on his principles and it was “heartless” to refuse aid to the children of illegal immigrants. Perry's favorability ratings in the polls dropped by over 50%, and his status in the GOP presidential campaign went from “front-runner” to “quixotic” almost overnight.
Surely Romney has noticed what happens when presidential aspirants refuse to change their positions to match the public mood. And I can't but help to imagine that right now Mitt Romney is asking himself “what have I got to do to win favor with this crowd?”. Because Romney appears ready to take whatever position is asked of him. He can rightfully wonder why he is being singled out as a flip-flopper, when flip-flopping seems to be the prevailing ethos of the conservative politician and voter. Romeny has taken every position as the GOP base on the issues and yet is criticized for doing so.