Mitt Romney's candidacy

ThomasT

We've had threads on Gingrich and Paul -- so I thought I'd start one on Romney, since he seems, arguably, the most likely GOP candidate.

Do you like, or not like, Romney? Would you vote for him? What do you think about his positions on various issues? Basically, anything pertaining to Romney's candidacy.

Currently, I don't like Romney and wouldn't vote for him. But I'm hoping to learn more about him via this thread.

daveb

I know it's a knee-jerk reaction, but Romney sometimes reminds me of a used car salesman who's trying to sell me my own car.

Evo

Should we start a Santorum thread, he won the Evangelical toss and that's scary to me. It appears this will be a fight between Romney and Santorum, IMO.

phinds

and doing it badly

Evo

But look at what there is to choose from.

turbo

That's the scary part. Where are the GOP heavyweights? Smart people without a lot of baggage that would kill them in the general election?

Probably the most competent, intelligent person in the GOP race is Huntsman, but he doesn't stand a chance of getting the nomination. That is so sad.

Evo

Perhaps too many smart people are staying away due to the exposure they will get from the internet and how much easier it is to get dirt on someone.

turbo

IMO Romney will probably get the nomination, but how can he contrast himself vs Obama and win the general election? He already signed MA universal health coverage into law and has been back-pedaling to distance himself from that to appease the right wing of the GOP. Is he going to be able to attack "Obamacare" as the FOXies like to call it without looking like a total hypocrite?

As the head of Bain, he oversaw the "downsizing" of thousands of jobs while raking in millions in consulting fees. That might not sit well with out-of-work voters.

turbo

I should add that his father was at least (on the surface) a well-informed, principled politician. Mitt doesn't give me any confidence in his consistency or character.

turbo

This article is a pretty fair assessment (IMO) of Romney and his chances at the presidency.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert...b_1183197.html

Oltz

I am dissappointed by our options I wish somebody competent would step forward with the minimal backing needed to sweep in and take a strong hold.

We can not afford more of what we have, but no one currently running has the potential to over come the zealots who remain and the whipping the media will give them.

Romney gives me an icky feeling and being from PA I know Santorim is a joke(I have voted for him but again options not so much)

We need a true fiscal conservative who is socialy moderate to come out of the weeds and show some leadership. With out honest policy changes we will not recover in the next decade and in 30 years we will be destroyed by the spending commitments we have already made.

Even the "hard line" Dems here have to see we need a course correction.

I mean be honest the current administration has not even approved a single budget while it has been in office. Our government needs to run on budget in fact under budget that is impossible if you do not even have a budget to start with.

Can anyone think of a politician at the state or federal level that could be an option?

Evo

LOL, I added my post as an edit to yours and made you look crazy turbo. SORRY!

My post below.

If it's a choice between Romney or Santorum (Santorum got the Evangelical thumbs up and is, don't laugh, endorsed by the christian reality tv couple The Duggars, 19 kids and counting), who would you choose, I'd have to go with Mitt.

turbo

That's OK Evo. I figured it out after a bit. If I was a mentor, I might use that power for humor, or to ill effect.

Evo

For mentors, the edit button is right next to the quote button, too easy to hit the wrong one without realizing.

turbo

And yes, Santorum has been endorsed by the Duggars, who had their tour-bus wrapped in Santorum graphics. That might play well in SC a bit later, but it's not going to do a lot for him in NH or in the general election. He can stay in as long as he has money and keeps hammering Romney, but this one is Romney all the way, IMO.

Oltz

Just to refresh everyone on the Romney plan. Ohh and to mention that he actually has a fairly detailed plan something that we still have never seen from the current administration unless we "pass it so we can read it".

I have just re read the PDF detailing each of these points and must honestly say I can not out right shoot down any of them which I was suprised by. Can someone like Evo or another more "liberal" person please actually read the 59 points and maybe even the entire PDF and give a real "dem" review ?

I still am not sure what I think of Romney, but these seem like sane and reasonable points. The simple existance of a coherent plan makes me feel better about him and his team.

http://mittromney.com/sites/default/...rowth-Full.pdf

59 Policy Proposals That Will Get America Back To Work
1. Maintain current tax rates on personal income
2. Maintain current tax rates on interest, dividends, and capital gains
3. Eliminate taxes for taxpayers with AGI below $200,000 on interest, dividends, and capital gains
4. Eliminate the death tax
5. Pursue a conservative overhaul of the tax system over the long term that includes lower,
flatter rates on a broader base
6. Reduce corporate income tax rate to 25 percent
7. Pursue transition from “worldwide” to “territorial” system for corporate taxation
8. Repeal Obamacare
9. Repeal Dodd-Frank and replace with streamlined, modern regulatory framework
10. Amend Sarbanes-Oxley to relieve mid-size companies from onerous requirements
11. Ensure that environmental laws properly account for cost in regulatory process
12 Provide multi-year lead times before companies must come into compliance with
onerous new environmental regulations
13. Initiate review and elimination of all Obama-era regulations that unduly burden the economy
14. Impose a regulatory cap of zero dollars on all federal agencies
15. Require congressional approval of all new “major” regulations
16. Reform legal liability system to prevent spurious litigation
17. Implement agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea
18. Reinstate the president’s Trade Promotion Authority
19. Complete negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
20. Pursue new trade agreements with nations committed to free enterprise and open markets
21. Create the Reagan Economic Zone
22. Increase CBP resources to prevent the illegal entry of goods into our market
23. Increase USTR resources to pursue and support litigation against unfair trade practices
24. Use unilateral and multilateral punitive measures to deter unfair Chinese practices
25. Designate China a currency manipulator and impose countervailing duties
26. Discontinue U.S. government procurement from China until China commits to GPA
27. Establish fixed timetables for all resource development approvals
28. Create one-stop shop to streamline permitting process for approval of common activities
29. Implement fast-track procedures for companies with established safety records to conduct
pre-approved activities in pre-approved areas
30. Amend Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide from its purview
31. Expand NRC capabilities for approval of additional nuclear reactor designs
32. Streamline NRC processes to ensure that licensing decisions for reactors on or adjacent to
approved sites, using approved designs, are complete within two years
33. Conduct comprehensive survey of America’s energy reserves
34. Open America’s energy reserves for development
35. Expand opportunities for U.S. resource developers to forge partnerships with neighboring countries
36 Support construction of pipelines to bring Canadian oil to the United States
37. Prevent overregulation of shale gas development and extraction
38 Concentrate alternative energy funding on basic research
39. Utilize long-term, apolitical funding mechanisms like ARPA-E for basic research
40. Appoint to the NLRB experienced individuals with respect for the rule of law
41. Amend NLRA to explicitly protect the right of business owners to allocate their capital as they see fit
42. Amend NLRA to guarantee the secret ballot in every union certification election
43. Amend NLRA to guarantee that all pre-election campaigns last at least one month
44. Support states in pursuing Right-to-Work laws
45. Prohibit the use for political purposes of funds automatically deducted from worker paychecks
46. Reverse executive orders issued by President Obama that tilt the playing field toward organized labor
47. Eliminate redundancy in federal retraining programs by consolidating programs and funding streams,
centering as much activity as possible in a single agency
48. Give states authority to manage retraining programs by block granting federal funds
49. Facilitate the creation of Personal Reemployment Accounts
50. Encourage greater private sector involvement in retraining programs
51. Raise visa caps for highly skilled workers
52. Grant permanent residency to eligible graduates with advanced degrees in math, science,
and engineering
53. Immediately cut non-security discretionary spending by 5 percent
54. Reform and restructure Medicaid as block grant to states
55. Align wages and benefits of government workers with market rates
56. Reduce federal workforce by 10 percent via attrition
57. Cap federal spending at 20 percent of GDP
58. Undertake fundamental restructuring of government programs and services
59. Pursue a Balanced Budget Amendment

Evo

I'm not liberal and I'm not a Democrat. I've been called conservative and a Republican, and I guess I often do lean a bit conservative if it makes sense. I'm really middle of the road and will vote for the candidate I think is less of a danger. I have no party affiliation. Sorry.