Romney Panders to Conservatives in Wisconsin

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 3, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

             Reaching out to social conservatives in Wisconsin, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hoped to land a knockout punch in Tuesday’s primary, promising to “de-fund” Planned Parenthood, defending the “sanctity of life.”  Romney thinks that GOP voters seek, like the more extreme Tea Party folks, to end government as we know it.  Bashing Obama’s “socialism” has been the mantra of secular radio preachers like multimillionaire Rush Limbaugh who routinely bashes Obama’s national health care overhaul.  With the Supreme Court deciding to end Obama’s health care legislation, Romney promised to discontinue most government entitlements.  In reality, no president can end Social Security and Medicare but can express opposition to government programs.  Republicans and Democrats alike, living in trailer parks or posh condos, depend on government largess.

            If you listen to Romney’s rhetoric, you’d think he’d like the government to do little or nothing.  When push comes to shove at election time, voters get nervous at candidates threatening to take away government benefits.  If Obamacare passes the Supreme Court, it will be the biggest entitlement since Medicare in 1965, affording 40 million citizens health insurance.  Calling the plan socialistic ignores programs like Medicare and Social Security.  When former President George W. Bush signed Medicare’s prescription drug plan Dec. 8, 2003, it was the biggest entitlement since President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law.  Romney calls Obama’s America a “government-centered society,” blaming Obama for letting government run the lives of U.S. citizens.  It’s most ironic that under Obama the government-funded U.S. space program has been dramatically slashed.

             Romney’s message is clear:  Elect me and the government will do even less for needy citizens.  “He doesn’t call it that precisely, but you listen to his speeches, there’s no question he believes government guiding our lives will do a better job in doing so than individuals pursuing their own freedoms in their own ways,” said Romney, indirectly bashing the president’s health care legislation.  When Romney says he wants to shrink the government, he’s talking about its role in social programs, not expanding the military or subsidies to oil companies or defense contractors.  To Romney, it’s not government-centered to subsidize big business only private individuals who need government help like health care and retirement benefits.  Without the government-centered Social Security and Medicare, many of Romney’s GOP base would be living in poverty and dying before their time.

            Saying that Obama wants to “build a government that gets larger and larger,” Romney denies the expansion that took place under the late President Ronald Reagan.  Romney often blasts Obama for the high unemployment rate and mushrooming federal budget deficits.  Romney doesn’t admit that the economic mess Obama inherited causing the largest budget deficit and jobs meltdown in U.S. history started under Bush.  With the nation adding over 200,000 jobs a month, unemployment at 8.3% and dropping deficits to around $1 trillion, Romney refuses to admit Obama’s economic program is working.  Romney tells crowds that Obama “doesn’t have the same kinds of feelings” about America as Republicans, assuming rank-and-file Republicans want their government benefits slashed.  It’s easy for mega-millionaires like Romney and Limbaugh to rant about government largess.

            Romney wants to create “a vision for the country” that looks dire and bleak.  He knows that individuals in his income bracket don’t need the government to do anything for him.  Yet despite Mitt’s wealth, estimated at around $500 million, when he’s ready to collect his Social Security check he won’t turn it down.  Calling the 2012 “an inflection point,” Romney’s vision involves one of corporate welfare, just not welfare for needy individuals.  With the U.S. population hitting over 320 million, the population needs all the help it can get, especially dealing with historically high unemployment rates.  “On this Tuesday . . .you have an opportunity to vote, and take the next step in bringing back that special nature of being American,” Romney told an audience in Pewaukee, Wis.  If forgoing government help is Romney’s plan, he should let Republicans voters know to expect little help under a Romney administration.

            Romney’s hero Ronald Reagan said, “government is too big and it spends too much,” serving as the rallying cry for a new generation of Republicans.  Reagan promised to balance the budget but left the country with deficits four times what he inherited from former President Jimmy Carter.  Romney’s talking tough now to win votes heading into Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary.  Even GOP voters must come to grips with Romney’s “vision for the country,” one that supports power-hungry corporations but ignores private citizens with real needs.  Warning about Obama’s “unchecked socialism” if re-elected, InPro Corporation’s Steve Ziegler parroted the GOP talking points.  “We’re gonna see socialism unleashed on America like we’ve never seen before,” said Ziegler, whipping up the anti-Obama message.  GOP voters struggling to make ends meet should worry about Romney pulling the rug out from underneath them.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.       

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