Conservatives Know Mitt Romney. That's His Problem!

Conservatives know everything about Mitt Romney.  We know all of his press releases and talking points.  We know of his resume highlights about Bain Capital and “saving the Olympics”.  We know Mitt Romney well from the last time he ran back in 2008 when he actually had most of our support over John McCain.  We’re told to look at Mitt Romney as a business man from the private sector.  We’re told that he has the best “executive experience” because he was governor of Massachusetts.  We’re told he’s a nice guy with a great family.  We’re told that Mitt Romney is a Conservative and Romney proves it by spending millions of dollars from fundraising and his Super PACs on negative attack ads focusing on his Republican rivals.  Especially if those candidates are considered conservative or tea party or anything like that. 

On paper, Mitt Romney looks like he has everything and the media plays up his looks like a president, has lots of money, great organization and name recognition from 2008 run but what Mitt Romney is lacking is Conservative principles.  Mitt Romney is not winning over his Conservative base that he desperately needs to beat Obama in the general election to become President.  Just as McCain had Amnesty through immigration reform that he never admitted to, Romney has forced an individual mandate of health insurance on his citizens as governor of Massachusetts that he still refuses to admit was wrong or a mistake.

Here’s my problem with Mitt Romney.  Mitt Romney is not a Conservative.  When Conservatives have looked into Romney’s “executive experience” as governor of Massachusetts, Conservatives find Romneycare.  The Obamacarebefore Obamacare.  As Conservatives, We must Naturally reject and object to Romneycare and the individual mandate that Romney supported, fought for and signed into law with a big smile and clapping standing right next to Senator Ted Kennedy.  Here is actual video from that bill signing with Liberal Senator Ted Kennedy.  Romneycare is not a State’s Right Issue or a 10^th Amendment Issue.  An individual mandate is an individual mandate.  For Romney to stillnot admit that Romneycare was a mistake or wrong just makes Conservatives even angrier.  Romney upsets Conservatives further by defending it and trying to make it out to be something we know it is not.  Romneycare is a disaster.  Romneycare is as big government as big government gets.  The National Conservative Tea Party Movement was created, in large part, to Obama fighting as long and as hard as he did to get Obamacare finally passed against the wishes of the American people and with no support from Republicans.  Romneycare takes over 1/6^th of Massachusetts’ economy forcing every citizen to purchase health care insurance or pay a fine whether they want to or not.   Whether they can afford health care insurance or not.  Romneycare is a nightmare destroying health care in Massachusetts.  The whole premise of why Mitt Romney felt that he needed to enforce Romneycare on the people of Massachusetts is ridiculous.  Romney says he needed to pass Romneycare to cut down on the “free riders” that were taking advantage of the existing system.  Mitt Romney actually suggested three times in 2009 that Obama imitate Romneycare.  Mitt Romney's urging Obama to embrace the individual mandate is well documented by Erick Erickson of Redstate and well known among Conservatives.  Mitt Romney actually advocated for Obamacare and then lied about it as reported by Jon Chait of New York Magazine and posted on RealClearPolitics.  Virginia Attorney General, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli fears Romney nomination would neutralize health law as issue.  I know I am not alone in this insecurity about Romney vs Obama on health law issue. 

Conservatives know there is a solution to this problem already.  It is called Medicaid and a portion of our hard earned tax dollars goes to funding it every paycheck.  Every state has Medicaid and it’s designated purpose is to insure the poor and needy.  Every governor in every state in America faces these same kind of financial hardships in health care in their respective states.  Mitt Romney is the only governor to force an individual mandate in health care on the people he was elected to represent.  If You ever listen to or get a chance to actually hear Mitt Romney talk about what he did as governor in respect to Romneycare, you'd hear with your own ears and see with your own eyes exactly how proud and excited he gets when the subject does come up.  IF Mitt Romney is so proud and so confident about his role in passing Romneycare, Where are all of his campaign ads where he is describing how good and positive Romneycare is for Massachusetts and America?  They don’t exist.  They are not coming either. 

The pure and simple truth is that Romneycare is a huge government intrusion into the Massachusetts health care system.  That is neither Conservative or fiscally responsible.  Did Mitt Romney know and understand exactly what he was doing when he signed Romneycare into law as governor of Massachusetts?  Was Romney forced into it or bullied into signing Romneycare by the over 85% Democrat legislature he faced in Massachusetts?  The answers to these questions are hard for Republicans and especially Conservatives to stomach.  Mitt Romney is in his 60’s now while running for President.  He was in his 50’s, married with grown children and over 25 years of private sector experience when he passed Romneycare into law.  I’m 34 going on 35.  I’m also married with two great kids and over twenty years of experience in the private sector.  If I know at 35 it would not be Conservative or in line with the Republican Party Principles to sign a massive individual mandate on health insurance as governor representing your party as head of your party of your state, Romney was older, wiser and further set in his ways when he fought for, championed and passed Romneycare.  Conservatives are supposed to ignore that fact and act like that is not significant or a monumental decision that ultimately defines what kind of governor he actually is.  Not what he says or pretends to be on the campaign trail.  Politicians twist themselves into pretzels trying to be all things to all people.  They do this in hopes for gaining as many votes possible for them to win the office they are running for.  Mitt Romney is this kind of politician.  Not all politicians are like this but Mitt Romney certainly does fall just perfectly into this category of politicians running for office.   Many analysts have called campaign 'plastic and dishonest'.  Conservatives have a great quality for spotting these kinds of fakes or phonies.  Conservatives are not fooled because they know the issues and stand by their principles.  They study and evaluate every candidate on the issues and principles.  I know Conservatives do this research of the candidates because I am such a Conservative.  I vet all of the candidates running because I want to know which one is best and most qualified to be in office representing me and my Conservative Principles.  I’m a Conservative that is not necessarily loyal to a particular candidate or party running for office.  I look for the best overall candidate who best represents my Conservative Principles that I can trust to follow through once elected into office.  The snag for many voters is they think certain candidates are best because of the way they look or talk or carry themselves in public.  While those are important, that is all style over substance.  Conservatives don’t believe the hype or settle for anything less than candidates championing their Conservative Principles.  Nothing less will do for us.  The other snag for some people are those who think a candidate who is well known and well liked by the Republican Party Establishment should be the candidate that all Republicans should line up behind and get on board with.  Again, Conservatives don’t necessarily go with the flow or follow the pack.  They tend to be Independent Free Thinkers who know and understand exactly what they want and expect out of their candidates in every election no matter what election it is.  We don’t base our opinions off what others do or think.  We make up our own minds based on our principles.  That’s it.   

Romneycare is not the only problem that Conservatives have seen in Mitt Romney’s extensive resume in public office.  Romney is also on record of supporting Manmade Global Warming even after climategate, Ethanol Subsidies, classwarfare rhetoric and mandatory minimum wage increases.  Romney also has no problem ruthlessly attacking his Conservative rivals calling Newt Gingrich “mentally unstable” and Rick Santorum an “Economic Lightweight”.  Then Mitt Romney is very careful when he marks his words when speaking about Obama.  This only helps remind Conservatives how Senator John McCain choose to run his Presidential campaign back in 2008.  In 2008, McCain never batted an eye when he criticized his GOP competitors in the primary leading up to his nomination but would chastise and dismiss any level of negative attacks on Barack Obama.  McCain rejected those kinds of comments even calling Obama “a good man who would make a good president”.  His words.  They still suck and are dead wrong.  So here is Mitt Romney who apparently learned right out of John McCain’s playbook to have no mercy on fellow Republicans but keep the gloves on to Obama.  Great strategy except it didn’t work out too well for John McCain in 2008 and it won’t work out well for Mitt Romney either.  You would think that the same Republicans that voted to nominate Senator John McCain in 2008 would have learned their lesson by now four years later after an Obama Presidency that has increased our National Debt, total size of government and no end in sight for an out of control government hell bent on spending the next generation’s future on today’s whims.

If you are a Mitt Romney supporter reading this, please understand that we  know the good, the bad and the ugly about Mitt Romney.  We reject him and everything he stands for.  Romney does not stand on our Conservative principles.  We’re not dumb or ignorant when it comes to who and what Mitt Romney really is.  We know.  Maybe you need to re-evaluate the Mitt Romney you think you know and trust.  We don’t trust Romney because we know his history and reject his “executive experience” as governor of Massachusetts.  Romney’s over twenty five years in the private sector experience at Bain Capital and his saving the Olympics didn’t help or serve his well as governor.  Why should Conservatives think Mitt Romney has finally learned how to be a Principled Conservative now if elected president?   Does that sound logical at this point in Romney’s career?  Not to mention that he has every Establishment Republican “Insider” endorsing him.  What do they like and see about Mitt Romney?  Could it be Romney’s weakness to cave in and give in to big government? 

Still think Romney will repeal Obamacare if elected president?  Think again.  Please consider this.  Mitt Romney stands by Romneycare.  Romney defends Romneycare just as McCain still refuses to call immigration reform “Amnesty”.  Romney Advisor Norm Coleman predicts GOP President won’t repeal Obamacare.  When pressed and pinned down by anyone about his exact plans to repeal Obamacare, No further details are given beyond check out what is posted on his webpage.  Mitt Romney offers no exact plan to repeal Obamacare on his webpage.  Mitt Romney talks a big game about repealing Obamacare on the campaign trail these days. But in the wake of the law's passage, he had a more modest goal: "repealthe bad and keep the good."  Then you have to cringe and shutter when Conservative Tea Party Republicans like BobMcDonnell, Niki Haley, Pam Bondi and Ann Coulter not only defending Romneycare as conservative but actually defending it as a good free market solution.  That goes too far and is unacceptable.  Mitt Romney may have a few Conservative Tea Party Republican candidates endorsing him and defending his individual mandate but that is to their peril.  Not ours.  Again, Conservatives are individual free thinkers who judge candidates based on their principles.  Not loyal to any candidate or party.  These four people I listed above are the exception.  Not the rule.  They may be ok with shelving their Conservative principles for whatever personal reasons they have in their life.  That does not make them right or the standard we should follow. 

Bottomline.  I will vote for Mitt Romney in the general election if he wins the GOP’s nomination.  I did vote for Senator John McCain back in 2008.  That doesn’t mean that other like-minded Conservatives will do the same.  Many may decided to stay home or write-in a candidate they really like just to spite Mitt Romney and the Republican Party.  I don’t agree with those two options but everyone is different and not everyone agrees with what is best for this country.  I hope and pray that Conservatives will unite and vote for whoever the Republican Nominee is at the end of this primary.  Even if that nominee is Mitt Romney.  I’ll be open and honest by saying I will not vote for Ron Paul under any circumstance.  I don’t care what he says or does.  We all have our standards and lines we won’t cross.  I won’t support or vote for Ron Paul.  I have many valid quality reasons for that.  Ron Paul is my only exception.  Other Conservatives may have that similar feelings about Mitt Romney.  I do not agree but not all Conservatives agree on everything all of the time.  As I stated earlier, Conservatives are independent free thinkers who don’t go with the flow or follow the pack.  I know and understand that.  Will Mitt Romney ever get that?  Will his supporters ever understand it?  I doubt it.  That is their problem. 

I actually still like Mitt Romney and would absolutely vote for him if he is the Republican nominee. That being said, I don’t think America will choose Mitt Romney in 2012 just like they didn’t choose him in 2008. Mitt Romney lost to John McCain in 2008 and I predict he will lose again to Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich. Nothing against Mitt but America Needs a Solid, Articulate, Passionate and Battle-Hardened Champion to Lead and Represent them as President going forward. As Good as Mitt Romney may have been or still is, Romney’s Best still falls short again in 2012. Sorry Mitt.

Sincerely, Conservative Voters across America