Romney Tries To Steal McCain's Thunder
SALEM, N.H. -- John McCain may be well known for fighting excessive government spending, but Mitt Romney is not ready to cede the fiscal responsibility mantle to his main GOP rival in New Hampshire.
"Now pork is, of course, a dish which is served all over Washington, D.C., and it's served with great relish for a couple of reasons," Romney said at a town hall meeting here. "One, it helps the home district and helps strengthen the politician. Number two, it's a wonderful topic to rail against. Every politician gets up and rails against the pork in Washington. But somehow with all 500 plus of them railing against the pork, they keep spending more and more and more of it."
Romney argued that tax reductions help grow the economy and chastised McCain for being one of only two Republicans to oppose the Bush tax cuts.
"He was wrong on that," the former Massachusetts governor said. "He continues to think that was the right vote. It was the wrong vote."
Romney, who has been accused of taking positions for political expediency rather than true conviction, argued that he put his neck on the line by pushing through a universal health care plan in Massachusetts.
"It is true that some folks, The Wall Street Journal, friends there, and the Cato Institute, are very critical of me that I went to work to get insurance for everybody," Romney said. "But I did it in a way that I think is true to my conservative principles, even though I knew there would be a political price to pay for doing it, and I'm proud of what we did. And I want to be able to accomplish the same thing for the entire nation."
