SmallGovTimes.com

By: Ken Marotte | Published on 12/12/07    

The time has come.

Until now, GOP pundits have largely given their presidential candidates a fair shake. Rudy is tough on terror, but weak on abortion. McCain, once a war hero, is now misguided on immigration and campaign finance reform. And Fred Thompson, God bless his soul, is a strong conservative – but a boring one at that!

But now, conservative columnists and VIPs are starting to take sides. There have even been some surprises – with Chuck Norris supporting former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and Ann Coulter and Michael Reagan offering kind words for California Congressman Duncan Hunter.

Regrettably, other conservative writers and leaders have chosen to forsake principle in the name of pragmatism. In doing so, they exhibit a startling sense of gullibility, dishonesty, or some unfortunate combination thereof.

I refer here to those who have stepped forward in proud support of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney – a man who has reversed his positions on abortion, homosexuality, affirmative action, stem cell research, gun rights, and taxes in just the past decade.

During a gubernatorial debate in 2002, for example, Romney commented to Tim Russert that he would “preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose. I am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard. I will not change any provision of Massachusetts’ pro-choice laws…” But in July 2005, Romney said that he is “pro-life. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother.” In January 2007, Romney affirmed this view by assuring Christians that “every decision” he made as Massachusetts governor was “on the side of favoring life.” And this is only one of many, many contradictions.

Be that as it may, some influential conservative heavyweights recently announced their support for Romney.

David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, came out for Romney in late November. “Governor Romney has emerged as the single candidate most worthy of conservative support,” he writes. Keene notes that “the road that led me here today is one that many conservatives find themselves on and it is my hope that they will end up where I am today – convinced that Mitt Romney represents our best hope for 2008.”

Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the Heritage Foundation and president of the Free Congress Foundation, comments that “Romney has outlined a blueprint to build a stronger America rooted in our common conservative principles.” He later writes that Romney “already has an exceptional record of putting conservative values to work.”

Most recently National Review, debatably the most influential conservative magazine, announced its support for Romney. The NR editors laughably laud Romney as “a full-spectrum conservative: a supporter of free-market economics and limited government, moral causes such as the right to life and the preservation of marriage, and a foreign policy based on the national interest.” Noting conservatives’ skepticism, the editors write: “Whatever the process by which he got to where he is on marriage, judges, and life, we’re glad he is now on our side – and we trust him to stay there.”

On what basis is Weyrich deciding that Romney has “an exceptional record of putting conservative values to work?” Conveniently enough, he doesn’t say. And how can National Review “trust [Romney] to stay [conservative]?” If he so easily (and eloquently) switched from liberal to conservative to run for the presidency, who is to say he won’t do it again – this time returning to his original, leftist positions?

In 2004, many conservatives opposed John Kerry for his record of persistent inconsistency, or what they called “flip-flopping.” In Romney, we have the GOP version of Kerry – a man who has repeatedly changed his positions to please the intended constituency.

What follows is simple logic: conservatives who criticized and opposed Kerry for his flip-flopping in 2004, but who support Romney in 2008, are themselves flip-floppers. They, as well as their candidate, will soon enough be labeled as such. As a result, the Romney train will stop dead in its tracks – and well short of the Oval Office.

As American conservatives go into their caucuses and primaries in the coming weeks, let us hope they do not make the mistakes their leaders have made. The American conservative movement, after all, is in bad shape right now; it cannot afford a two-faced Massachusetts governor at its helm in 2008.

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