Posted by Shyam Moondra
Gov. Mitt Romney won almost unanimous praise for his slick performance in the debate against President Barack Obama in Denver last Wednesday. As a result, Romney got an expected bump in the opinion polls, especially in the closely contested states. For a change, many Republicans are now understandably excited about Romney’s improved chances of winning the White House. But, the real question is if they really want Romney to win.
Immediately prior to and during the Denver debate, Romney re-branded himself as a moderate. He agreed with Obama on many points. Yes, Romney now favors Obama’s policy of letting young illegal immigrants stay in the country. Romney agrees that we need to have regulations for the Wall Street. Now, Romney even likes parts of the Obamacare. Romney is taking back his tax plan and he doesn’t talk about reducing taxes for the rich anymore (he uses the term tax-neutral). Hell, Romney even takes back his comment to conservative campaign donors that 47% of the people are “dependent” and “victims." Obama in a post-debate campaign speech correctly observed that at the debate he saw a Romney-look alike who was saying things that were just the opposite of what real Romney was saying before the debate.
Romney’s changed positions at the debate were clearly designed to appeal to the middle-class whose support is paramount for his victory in November. But what if Romney is indeed a moderate (his record as Governor of Massachusetts speaks for itself) and what if he was all along pretending to be a conservative just to win the Republican nomination? Can Republican conservatives really trust him? What if Romney has similar views as Obama does on abortion, gay marriage, regulations, health care, and taxes?
If Obama wins, he will soon become a lame duck president and nothing much will happen in terms of his "liberal" agenda. On the other hand, if Romney wins, Republicans will have to live with a moderate in the White House for as long as eight years with conservative values taking a back seat. Romney might reach out to the Congressional Democrats and God knows he might even compromise on budget deficit and debt issues. Romney might even appoint moderate justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. Romney could very well prove to be a nail in the coffin of conservatism as we know it. So, what should smart conservative Republicans do? Well, they should vote for Obama and help him get re-elected. Then nominate a real conservative to win the presidency in 2016 and begin the golden era of conservatism for at least eight years. Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell - you go ahead and give interviews to the media to let everybody know for the record that you strongly support Romney, but in the voting booth do the right thing and vote for Obama to protect your conservative ideology for the long-term.
