Mitt Romney For President

National Review Online: The Republican Is A True, Viable Conservative Voice Deserving Support

(National Review Online)  This column was written by the editors of National Review Online.

---

Many conservatives are finding it difficult to pick a presidential candidate. Each of the men running for the Republican nomination has strengths, and none has everything - all the traits, all the positions - we are looking for. Equally conservative analysts can reach, and have reached, different judgments in this matter. There are fine conservatives supporting each of these Republicans.

Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative: a supporter of free-market economics and limited government, moral causes such as the right to life and the preservation of marriage, and a foreign policy based on the national interest. While he has not talked much about the importance of resisting ethnic balkanization - none of the major candidates has - he supports enforcing the immigration laws and opposes amnesty. Those are important steps in the right direction.

Uniting the conservative coalition is not enough to win a presidential election, but it is a prerequisite for building on that coalition. Rudolph Giuliani did extraordinary work as mayor of New York and was inspirational on 9/11. But he and Mike Huckabee would pull apart the coalition from opposite ends: Giuliani alienating the social conservatives, and Huckabee the economic (and foreign-policy) conservatives. A Republican party that abandoned either limited government or moral standards would be much diminished in the service it could give the country.

Two other major candidates would be able to keep the coalition together, but have drawbacks of their own. John McCain is not as conservative as Romney. He sponsored and still champions a campaign-finance law that impinged on fundamental rights of political speech; he voted against the Bush tax cuts; he supported this year’s amnesty bill, although he now says he understands the need to control the border before doing anything else.

Despite all that and more, he is a hero with a record that is far more good than bad. He has been a strong and farsighted supporter of the Iraq War, and, in a trying political season for him, he has preserved and even enhanced his reputation for dignity and seriousness. There would be worse nominees for the GOP (see above). But McCain ran an ineffectual campaign for most of the year and is still paying for it.

Fred Thompson is as conservative as Romney, and has distinguished himself with serious proposals on Social Security, immigration, and defense. But Thompson has never run any large enterprise - and he has not run his campaign well, either. Conservatives were excited this spring to hear that he might enter the race, but have been disappointed by the reality. He has been fading in crucial early states. He has not yet passed the threshold test of establishing for voters that he truly wants to be president.

Romney is an intelligent, articulate, and accomplished former businessman and governor. At a time when voters yearn for competence and have soured on Washington because too often the Bush administration has not demonstrated it, Romney offers proven executive skill. He has demonstrated it in everything he has done in his professional life, and his tightly organized, disciplined campaign is no exception. He himself has shown impressive focus and energy.

It is true that he has less foreign-policy experience than Thompson and (especially) McCain, but he has more executive experience than both. Since almost all of the candidates have the same foreign-policy principles, what matters most is which candidate has the skills to execute that vision.

Like any Republican, he would have an uphill climb next fall. But he would be able to offer a persuasive outsider’s critique of Washington. His conservative accomplishments as governor showed that he can work with, and resist, a Demo¬crat¬ic legislature. He knows that not every feature of the health-care plan he enacted in Massachusetts should be replicated nationally, but he can also speak with more authority than any of the other Republican candidates about this pressing issue. He would also have credibility on the economy, given his success as a businessman and a manager of the Olympics.

Some conservatives question his sincerity. It is true that he has reversed some of his positions. But we should be careful not to overstate how much he has changed. In 1994, when he tried to unseat Ted Kennedy, he ran against higher taxes and government-run health care, and for school choice, a balanced budget amendment, welfare reform, and “tougher measures to stop illegal immigration.” He was no Rockefeller Republican even then.

We believe that Romney is a natural ally of social conservatives. He speaks often about the toll of fatherlessness in this country. He may not have thought deeply about the political dimensions of social issues until, as governor, he was confronted with the cutting edge of social liberalism. No other Republican governor had to deal with both human cloning and court-imposed same-sex marriage. He was on the right side of both issues, and those battles seem to have made him see the stakes of a broad range of public-policy issues more clearly. He will work to put abortion on a path to extinction. Whatever the process by which he got to where he is on marriage, judges, and life, we’re glad he is now on our side - and we trust him to stay there.

He still has some convincing to do with other conservatives. Romney has been plagued by the sense that his is a passionless, paint-by-the-numbers conservatism. If he is to win the nomination, he will have to show more of the kind of emotion and resolve he demonstrated in his College Station “Faith in America” speech.

For some people, Romney’s Mormonism is still a barrier. But we are not electing a pastor. The notion that he will somehow be controlled by Salt Lake City or engaged in evangelism for his church is outlandish. He deserves to be judged on his considerable merits as a potential president. As he argued in his College Station speech, his faith informs his values, which he has demonstrated in both the private and public sectors. In none of these cases have any specific doctrines of his church affected the quality of his leadership. Romney is an exemplary family man and a patriot whose character matches the high office to which he aspires.

More than the other primary candidates, Romney has President Bush’s virtues and avoids his flaws. His moral positions, and his instincts on taxes and foreign policy, are the same. But he is less inclined to federal activism, less tolerant of overspending, better able to defend conservative positions in debate, and more likely to demand performance from his subordinates. A winning combination, by our lights. In this most fluid and unpredictable Republican field, we vote for Mitt Romney.

[kiskis1]

Sunday is the day targeted by GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul''s supporters for another fundraising push.



So, I''ll be sending my money in on Sunday for the simple reason Ron Paul is an honest man among charlatans and power seekers. And he gives me hope when it is in short supply.

It is also fun to think of what a Paul administration would do if the establishment allowed him to get that far.

Hope, truth and justice are in short supply in what is now the United States. When they are offered, they should be grabbed and protected like the rare treasures they have become. Ron Paul offers those things.

Certainly it is another David and Goliath struggle, and the Davids have rarely won since the original face-off. But, that is why we have hope.

[quatrops]

Romney, Rudy, and the Huckster! If this sad trinity exemplifies the political, moral, and intellectual values of the Republican party today, I suspect it will be a VERY long time before we elect a GOP president.

That being said, can someone enlighten me as to what Osama Bin Laden might be doing today? The neo-cons like to posit that their cojones are bigger than anyone elses on the block, but they fear anyone even mentioning that name.

Do they think the electorate has forgotten Bin Laden? Can any of you on the right explain why the MSM, who you constantly describe as "liberal biased", has followed the lead of the neo-cons by failing to keep the name of mastermind of 9/11 in front of us?

Just asking !

[guysdigdirt]

jmcgilvray,
posting the quotes you do makes no sense here, they are not applicable to the issue. or are you saying a religion or clergy memeber is running for president?

[guysdigdirt]

This country cannot survive ANOTHER religious nut in the presidency. Mitt Romney is a follower of the CULT leader, Joseph Smith. Smith was twice convicted of embezzling money, involved in bank fraud and a polygamist. Smith was twice hospitalized for schizophrenia in Illinois and could not keep his hands off minor girls. Why Mitt Romney would be considered for any public office is more a function of his lust for power, personal wealth and money from fellow cult members than qualifications. MITT ROMNEY IS A FOLLOWER OF A CULT, NOT A LEADER.
Posted by jmcgilvray

Someone forgot their pills this morning. I hope one day this person will come out of their fog long enought to understand they cannot believe everything they read on a site dedicated to destroying whatever it is they are looking into.

If you want to know about the Mormons go to their web site or ask one you might know. If you know a Mormon who is active in their religion watch their actions and base your judgement on how they are as a human being. I know many and they all impress me.

[guysdigdirt]

Mitt,a male Hillary.Amazes me that nobody else sees that they''''re from the same lying,graft taking,voter thwarting,waffling,fence stradling,say anything to get elected tribe.
Posted by lexluthor5

So Freud, explain how you came to such enlightenment? How did you come to such conclusions, give us substantiation.

[guysdigdirt]

There is no way Mitt Romney will ever be elected. This country is way too full of bigots to ever elect a mormon.
Posted by TrangoTower1

That statement sucks, not becasue of what it says, but because it is true.

[guysdigdirt]

IF THE NRO IS SUPPORTING HIM THEN HE HAS BEEN BOUGHT BY THE ISRAELI LOBBY GROUPS.

HE HAS PROMISED TO MAKE SURE THAT AMERICA KEEPS SENDING MONEY TO THESE ANIMALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND KEEP US IN THEIR WARS!
Posted by bluestardad

Bluetard,
Your statement is much like me saying if your name has a blue in it you are a moron. As applicable as that might be in some situations, it is not always true. Find out about the person before you start comdeming them.

[one_american]

Liberals are the worlds biggest bigots, outside of the radical Islamists, that is.

[roger_inkart]

"Romney has President Bush%u2019s virtues and avoids his flaws."

If Romney has one single virtue, he''s already ahead of Mr. Bush.

[Razzl]

In the end the NRO neocon hypocrites even sell themselves out! We all know that the neocons don''t give a fig about values voters or religion--it''s war all the way, baby, and Giuliani is the big war candidate. It''s comforting to know that conservative incompetence is so systemic that even its most evil brain trust is incapable of furthering its own interests...

[tyjohn47]

A propaganda rag like NRO endorsing Romney is just one more reason NOT to vote for him.

Romney is as phony as a $3 bill.

[grumpas]

Mitt Romney is a very "moderate" conservative. posted by perception5

There is no such thing as a ''moderate'' conservative anymore. If they are they don''t get very far in the Republican party. All the moderate ones have left the party a long time ago like me and been forced by circumstances into the liberal camp. If he were moderate he would not have gotten this far in the party.

[brianbwb-2009]

National Review Online: The Republican Is A True, Viable Conservative Voice Deserving Support

International Brian Online: The Repubiclickeran Is A True, Fascist Conservative Voice Which Is Why He Is The Last Thing America Needs

[perception5]

HE HAS PROMISED TO MAKE SURE THAT AMERICA KEEPS SENDING MONEY TO THESE ANIMALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND KEEP US IN THEIR WARS!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by bluestardad at 06:01 AM : Dec 13, 2007

............bluestarday, still out here pushing your propaganda.

Now for the facts:

Mitt Romney, in an interview with the Associated Press, has indicated that he is against any permanent US bases in Iraq. Mitt wants to expedite the turnover of security to Iraqi forces.

Mitt Romney is a very "moderate" conservative.

Mitt''s father, George Romney, marched with Martin Luther King Jr. when he was a popular 3-term Governor of Michigan.

When Mitt becomes our next president he will govern from the "center".

No one else running from either party has the cross-functional success experience in private, non-profit, and pubic sector as Mitt.

That''s why I''m voting for Mitt Romney.

[bluestardad]

IF THE NRO IS SUPPORTING HIM THEN HE HAS BEEN BOUGHT BY THE ISRAELI LOBBY GROUPS.

HE HAS PROMISED TO MAKE SURE THAT AMERICA KEEPS SENDING MONEY TO THESE ANIMALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND KEEP US IN THEIR WARS!

[trangotower1]

Mediaprechr is right. There is no way Mitt Romney will ever be elected. This country is way too full of bigots to ever elect a mormon.

[kansas1946]

Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative: a
***************************************************

Boy, you can say that again, NRO. Full-spectrum is right. From pro-choice to anti-choice, for stem-cell research to not for stem-cell research, from civil unions to gay lynchings. Yes, this is your guy, and your Republican right-wing readers do need some direction. With the sorry lineup the Republicans have scraped together, I guess the Mormon does look the most normal. I am not sure the rest of those guys are even from the planet earth.

[incog-nito]

I thought I read an article on NRO some time ago touting Giuliani. Or was it Thompson? In fact it''s hard to keep track of these myriad "endorsements" from them. If Huckabee jumps in front, expect to hear a new, revised endorsement coming out of NRO.

[mediapreachr]

Much ado about nothing-Romney will never be president.

[johnshaft4]

It is obvious that the folks at the NRO need more potent anti psychotic meds.