Friday, February 8, 2008

Romney's Speech at CPAC

Here is the transcript, and here is the video:

Many have expressed concern over Romney's authenticity and whether he really believes any of the conservative principles he touted to voters during his campaign. The only way I can see it after this speech is that either: 1)Mitt Romney believes what he says, and he is committed to conservatism and America or 2)Mitt Romney is a liar on the level of Bill Clinton, saying anything to get elected, even to the point of lying in his withdrawal speech.

I think, after hearing and reading this speech, Romney is a fantastic American and I hope that he finds a place to prove his talents for these next four years.

UPDATE: A sentimental look at what might be in 2012...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would have liked to see some more balance in the postings regarding the candidates - especially the Republican candidates. It is easy to throw out the conservative and liberal labels and tag people as one or another. Some how you seem to think along with some others in the ultra conservative wing that John McCain is just a “liberal” – “Liberal is as liberal does” is what you said in the blog on Tuesday regarding his winning most New England states. What happened with the likes of Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh are from my perspective an embarrassment and just plain detrimental to the overall conservative movement. And, quite frankly what they end up being about is really themselves and their personal agendas. The more stupid things you spout the more people think what you have to say overall is well - just stupid. It is time for people to understand that we live in a democracy and we can only move forward by working together. Everyone has a right to their own perspectives on the candidates. You certainly have yours but to call Mitt Romney your hero is a sad statement. I would say that I think Romney is not only a good politician he is a pretty slick one. He knows (knew) how to change what it is he supports to get people to believe that he is "with them". His record proves this. I do think he gave a great speech however there is not a lot of content there that makes him much different than most Republicans. The content of that speech if delivered by me, would that me your hero? The fact that Mitt got it – that in order to be sure that a true liberal, i.e. Hillary or Obama is not elected in November meant it was time for him to get out and let the party start to pull itself together – is the only thing I can give him much credit for. John McCain I would say is more of a “statesman”. No not in the same conservative tone of Barry Goldwater or Ronald Regan but a statesman in the sense that he is authentic, genuine – he is who he is and not afraid to be out there doing what he thinks is right even if others don’t always agree with it and he takes flak for it. A “statesman” is about the country not about him/or herself. The definition is actually - widely respected for integrity and impartial concern for the public good. And, McCain has exhibited statesmanship in his record of reaching out – trying to work together across party lines to overcome the massive partisanship that has made governing our country so difficult. George Bush had some success with that in Texas but was unable to get very far in Washington. At least McCain has. So, now is the time to thoughtfully consider, who do you want in the white house a year from now? Really...

Anonymous said...

Sorry I didn't mean to be anonymous

Dan Fitzpatrick said...

at the coast:

First of all, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. They are always encouraged and appreciated.

Also, just to clarify, Mitt Romney is not my hero. He was my favorite candidate, but he is not my personal hero. What I wrote was "Alas, it seems this spells the end for our hero Mitt Romney." Maybe this is obscure today, but when I was growing up, lots of TV shows and comic books had dramatic, cliff-hanger spots where the action would typically freeze and the narrator would come on to say something like, "Does this spell the end for our heroes? Will Robin find Batman in time?" etc., etc. I was simply trying to replicate that cheesy tone. Call it a failed joke/attempt at levity-- it certainly wouldn't be the first time.

I don't know what you mean when you say Romney is a slick politician. Clearly he wasn't slick enough to net himself the GOP nomination. I understand that he now says he believes differently than the way he governed in Massachusetts, but I don't think that's really a fair barometer. It's certainly crucial to look at a candidate's past record, but that doesn't tell the whole story. You can look back on Ronald Reagan, who, if I recall correctly, signed some sort of abortion bill as governor of California. He later said he changed his views, and eventually proved he was telling the truth. Similarly, John McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts twice as Senator. He now says he supports them. He also now says that he would not sign his own illegal immigration bill, the one that he and Ted Kennedy tried to force on everybody this last summer. While I'm skeptical of how much McCain has really changed on those issues, I'm inclined to give him the chance to prove himself. I think Mitt Romney's situation is the exact same way. They may both be flip-floppers who say whatever people want, but I don't think you can say that Romney's sincerity is questionable while McCain's is not. I think they both deserve the chance to prove themselves.

In any case, I respect people who support John McCain, and for many reasons, I have great respect for the man himself. His valor and service to this country have never been in question.

There are, in my opinion, legitimate reasons to be hesitant about John McCain as president. Many of them I wrote about a little while back in my post about him. My perception of John McCain is that he has a short temper, holds grudges, takes things personally, and is often very selfish, and I don't want want our president to be someone like that. Furthermore, he was recently endorsed by Republicans for Choice.There are credible reports that he has considered changing parties or running on the same ticket as a Democrat. Former GOP Senators Rick Santorum and Denny Hastert (both conservatives) have both come out and said that McCain was a nightmare to work with in Congress, torpedoing and undermining multiple bills the GOP wanted to push through.

Being able to reach across the aisle is a good trait. But it should not mean having to kick in the teeth of your allies. McCain can work with Democrats--great. But why does he have such trouble working with Republicans?

Of course, there's always McCain's fairly liberal work or votes on bills for campaign finance reform, illegal immigration, tax cuts, and global warming.

When it comes down to it, I'm not a very big John McCain fan. But without a doubt I like him better than either of the Democrats. So I really want to like McCain. I don't want him to tell me he's for change and everything's going to be alright, like Obama would. I just want him to not be so ornery toward conservatives. You mention "the massive partisanship that has made governing our country so difficult." I wish McCain would concentrate less on uniting with Democrats, and focus more on winning the support of GOP allies and voters. He and his supporters don't help their cause when they make it seem like any opposition to or hesitance about McCain is silly and can't-we-all-just-get-in-line-behind-him. Come November, I'm voting for McCain (or whoever the GOP candidate is), but I would rather not have to hold my nose while doing so.