Sunday, March 11, 2007

ROMNEY STEPS IN IT

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor now running for president on the GOP side, has been the default darling of the social conservatives now running the Republican Party. All that is about to change.

Romney this weekend told a Florida television station that the government (read: Congress) was wrong to interfere in the case of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman who was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state.

The case is dear to social conservatives, especially the 100-percenters on the Life team, the squad that wants to ban all abortions, eliminate all stem-cell research and prohibit birth control. They're the loudest voice in the GOP, and every Republican running for president must suck up to them.

The Lifers forced the GOP-controlled Congress in 2005 to pass legislation demanding more judicial review of the Schiavo case. Rep. Roy Blunt famously said: "It‘s clear from watching the tapes of Terri Schiavo that she interacts with people. She‘s aware of her surroundings. She attempts to communicate."

An autopsy showed Schiavo had "massive cerebral atrophy." She was blind, too. No communication attempts here, save for the one Blunt and his ilk made to the mercurial social cons: Thy will be done.

Romney told the base something entirely different this weekend. According to a St. Pete Times report, Romney said this about the Schiavo case:
"I think it's probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts ... I generally think that it's not a good idea for courts to legislate. Nor is it great idea for legislatures to adjudicate in a specific circumstance."
That's stepping into a pile of Mitt, for certain, and the stink will probably never come out. Social conservatives had counted on Romney to be their next Reagan, and they were already wary of him for his flip-flops on abortion, campaign-finance reform, immigration and equality for gays. His answer to the Schiavo question makes him powdered toast to a base already disenchanted with Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. Who's next for the grinder?

4 comments:

John Stone said...

I guess that mean the Boy Runt can give up hopes of getting rich as veep ... eh?

Perhaps dad can will him his excess campaign funds ... and a moma too.

Busplunge said...

but maybe his answer will appeal to those who aren't fans of Hilary because she is a woman and aren't fans of Obama because....
Well, just read Chris Fluharty's letter in the paper last week.

Unknown said...

I think that Romney is right on this. I am not endorsing him or any candidate at this time. We conservatives do not want the court to inappropriately interfere so it is inconstant to have the Congress interfere with the Schiavo case. It is just an opinion from this conservative.

Anonymous said...

Romney IS right on this, and it will probably cost him some votes with the evangelicals and the Right To Be Annoyed While You Are Trying To Die A Dignified Death crowd.

It's at least a cleaner line than the schizoid dance Matt Blunt performs when he talks about stem cells (for 'em, cause they're good for bidness) and abortion (agin' 'em, cause they kill babies that I won't have the chance to toss off the Medicaid rolls later).