Romney's potential rocky relationship with Congress

Mitt Romney headshot over capital dome / CBS/AP

(CBS News) If Mitt Romney wins the presidency, his closest governing partners - Congress - could quickly become either his allies or his adversaries. Even with a Republican majority in Congress, a unified government can quickly become a coalition of the willing or battle for survival with no guarantee Romney will be able to implement everything he wants. Why? Most importantly, it's because Republicans in Congress continue to shift to the right and they might not always agree with Romney's moderate ways.

"The nature of the Republican Party is more conservative," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said in an interview Monday.

While the Republicans' prospects of taking over the Senate are up in the air, across the Capitol in the House, it is very likely that the party will maintain control with fewer moderates and a much more conservative mindset. Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, anticipated this and when he announced his retirement last month he said he was leaving office because "the reality that exists in the House of Representatives no longer encourages the finding of common ground" as a reason for his exit.

2010 was the beginning of this rightward shift, Sabato points out, as many Tea Party-backed candidates won, helping Republicans pick up 89 seats. And this year, Republicans winning primaries across the country are more conservative. In two high-profile intraparty Senate primaries this year, Tea Party-favorite Ted Cruz won the GOP nod in the race to replace moderate Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Richard Mourdock beat long-time moderate Sen. Richard Lugar in Indiana for the Republican nomination there. Both candidates are heavily favored to win in November.

A more conservative Congress will "make it very difficult for Romney," American University congressional historian Allan Lichtman told CBSNews.com. Licthman argued that a conservative Congress intent on maintaining their all-or-nothing approach can be a challenge for a president. Governing is more "very difficult," Lichtman said, and the president's relationship with Congress either "creates a lot of havoc in the party or goes along" with the party. In other words, Romney would have to choose if he will lead or be led.

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His only track record as a political leader is his time as Massachusetts governor from 2003 to 2007. In one of the most Democratic states in the country with a heavily Democratic legislature, Romney governed from the center. He passed a health care mandate and raised $700 million of revenue through additional fees and taxes. These past positions are ones that Romney has taken great pains to avoid during his campaign.

A conservative Congress "could push Romney to the right," Lichtman argued, saying he could take the "path of least resistance." He says Romney has "not been someone who's taken strong stance on principles," indicating that he might be easily persuaded to listen to political whims and govern from the right.

During the primaries, Romney was like many candidates from both parties and took positions that appealed to the party faithful. Since he clinched the nomination in April, Romney has deliberately avoided giving detailed specifics of his policies or how he will govern while he has spent much less time discussing red meat, conservative issues.

"The last thing you want to be is at odds with your own party," Licthman said.

"We will be looking to the president for the leadership that President Obama lacks," Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., told CBSNews.com. She is "incredibly optimistic" that Romney will fall in line with Congressional conservatives.

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[duncer]

What does get along mean? They are coequal branches of government, a government designed with checks and balances that this administration has subverted. Contrary to the idea of the current occupant we have no king, no emperor, no dictator, no great leader, nor do we want one. These last elections put term limits effectively in place forcing our representatives to monitor the pulse of the people. We do not need people in Washington that think they have been endowed with great wisdom and will ignore us as ignorant masses and even think they are more gifted than our founders that fashioned our constitution.

[CaptainSmollett]

The headline is very slanted and suggestive partisan journalism. But given that the author was a former aid to Harry Reid, I guess it is expected.

[mary-miami]

Romney cannot govern the USA like he governed a corporation because he needs Congress approval to implement whatever. Democrats will never agree to any fascist dictatorial ideas that GOP Romney wants. GOP has been the party of NO from the start and Democrats will say NO to anything that tries to destroy rights and freedom. Romney is a fascist.

[CaptainSmollett]

...comments from an angry misguided leftist, analagous to saying Obama is an radical anti-American socialist committed to imposing big-government authority to destroy our individual liberty. Goes to show how extreme that radical Left thinking can be.

[CaptainSmollett]

The headline is suggestive partisan journalism, but given that the author once worked for Harry Reid, I guess that explains the slant.

[CaptainSmollett]

Zionist...how does that explain the increase in poverty to its higlest level in 50 years?

[lesserof2evil]

A more appropriate question is if a tax-dodging one-percenter get along with Congress.

[CaptainSmollett]

This is another reprehensable example of partisan journalism.
The headline is slanted and suggestive. Shame on you, CBS!

Where is your article about the scandal regarding Obama's Joe Soptic ad - how it was a fabricated pack of lies, how Obama's close advisors were caught in lies, and how it reflects on the President's lack of moral character? That is newsworthy, not your suggestive, slanted speculation.

[Eriverq]

To know Mitt Romney is to hate him and everyone that ever worked with him has disliked him and even his own party most of them dislike him so what would make anyone think he would not be despised by congress? Nobody likes a pompous rich guy who bought his way into any political office.

[sjc_1]

Mutt Robme did not get along with the Massachusetts legislature, there is no reason to believe that he will get along with Congress. He wants an imperial presidency where he gets what he wants, he has all his life.

[Rafterman11]

Our GOP House is too right wing even for Romney.

[temple1962]

As evidenced by Harry Reid's resistance to passing a administrative budget with a Democrat President and Democrat controlled Senate, the answer is "No". And that will only be viewed by the liberal left and lap dog journalists as Romney's fault. Romney will need to start using the phrase, "That's Obama's fault" as Obama has done by blaming George Bush for failed Obama policies.

[smagboy1]

Yes, because W's policies were perfect, had us on the glide path for economic prosperity, and all was well until the last two years of his presidency when Dems got the majority in Congress and ruined us all. Sure.

You'd be far more credible to us lapdog liberals if you could see even the slightest flaws in conservative policies, candidates, representative and positions. Most liberals, as this article clearly states, have issues with Obama's decisions and policies and plenty of disappointments (most of them based on his Centrist positions), but at least we're willing to recognize that none of it's absolute and that it's all a very complex situation. If you aren't willing to admit that things really *were* a mess when Obama took over, or that things really *are* starting to improve now, your commentary carries as much weight as Al Sharpton's would. Radically political without a hint of moderation, analysis or actual thought.