You know Mitt Romney is delusion about the Government-led rescue of the auto industry. He’s pretending that there was capital to save the industry from anywhere by Washington DC. Then he’s saying that he would have done everything Obama did, except he would have punished workers more while protecting Wall Street’s interests.
Mitt’s refusal to stand up for the auto industry is enough to lose Michigan for decades. But I think it’s important to understand why this man truly should scare you.
1. He doesn’t think of hiding the truth as lying.
In 2002, Mitt Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts as a “moderate” and/or a “progressive.” His own words. And how did he govern? “Severely” conservatively, he claims now. To claim this is insult to everyone who believed he would govern as he said he would. But at least we know now that he will never govern how he says he will. He will govern in any way that works for Mitt Romney.
He justifies this with careful parsing of his words. Take abortion. Mitt gave impassioned defense of pro-choice beliefs in 2002. He inherited them, he claimed, from his mother. But you can’t find a quote of Mitt saying, “I am pro-choice.” Instead, he cautiously dishes out his truth as he wants you to have it. Why? Because he isn’t communicating. He’s selling. Isn’t every politician? Not with the bland disregard for the truth that Mitt Romney trusts as his greatest asset.
2. He was tricked into thinking the GOP wanted a problem solver.
If Mitt Romney knew now how far to the right the GOP would become, his chief accomplishment as governor would have been taking a crap on Teddy Kennedy’s lawn. Instead he passed a program that tries to ensure health care for all. A state-run universal health care program that offers abortion, birth control. A program that covers undocumented immigrants and gay couples. Romneycare was endorsed by Ted Kennedy, for Christmas sake. In a Bush dystopia, it was a liberal wet dream. Now Obama has it swinging from his neck like a sign that says “I’m NOT Reagan.”
3. He is exactly the kind of person the Bush tax breaks help and that’s everything that’s wrong with this economy.
Mitt Romney wants to give Mitt Romney’s an extension of the most insane tax breaks of all time plus as much as 20%. George W. Bush used 9/11 as an opportunity to cut taxes on investments, which benefits hedge fund managers and private equity guys who make their living through “investments.” This is a billion dollar giveaway that benefits a few thousand financial guys at the expense of hundreds of millions of people who work for a living.
4. If he wins, Mitt Romney will have to move even further to the right.
If Mitt Romney wins, it will be because the economy is suddenly on a decline. An economy this wounded by conservative economics facing another crash could spark a chain reaction that will shock the global economy. So Mitt Romney will have to step in. He’ll have to provide government backstops and keep spending steady. And this will drive his base insane. He’ll have to feed them Iran plus actual gays having abortions to soothe their Satan-fighting fetish.
5. Mitt Romney hates federal bailouts unless they specifically benefit Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney’s life is the life of a .001%er. He thinks the government should get out of his way, unless it is going to pay his bills. This is a man who relished using federal government money to pay off pensions of the companies he took apart or to fund the Winter Olympics or to give his state universal health care. He trusts the government to give him billions in tax breaks that he simply does not need. But Mitt Romney thinks funding the services this country provides for working class and poor people is immoral.
Mitt Romney has a clear morality: what benefits Mitt Romney is good for Mitt Romney. If only he cared that much about what’s good for America.
