Romney's Problem: Lack of Anger?

One thing that has troubled me this election cycle is the portrayal of some on the right or conservative side of the ideological spectrum of Mitt Romney as some sort of flip-flopping, unprincipled moderate who would be an enemy to conservative and libertarian interests. In articles, blog posts, and comment sections, many on the right argue that voting for Romney is 'essentially the same thing as voting for Obama' and that 'Romney is the same kind of guy as John McCain or George Bush.' The problem with this portrayal is that it is not accurate.

As reported by Micheal Medved:

...In February, 2008, the most influential (and persuasive) right winger of ‘em all threw his all-important support to Romney’s then struggling candidacy. “I think now, based on the way the campaign has shaken out, that there probably is a candidate on our side who does embody all three legs of the conservative stool, and that’s Romney,” he told his massive audience. “The three legs of the stool are national security/foreign policy, the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives.”

After Rush highlighted the de facto endorsement in his newsletter with the headline “One Candidate Now Represents All Three Legs of Conservatism” the rest of syndicated talk radio (Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck) largely followed suit. Laura Ingraham introduced Mitt at CPAC as a “true conservative” and “a conservative’s conservative.” Only one lonely, courageous voice among the top-rated national hosts (and that would be me) openly dissented and proudly (and perspicaciously) endorsed McCain. Even Jim DeMint, the most conservative member of the US Senate, fell in line behind the Mittster...

So, if Mitt Romney was a 'true conservative' and 'represented all three legs of conservatism' in 2008, he would have had to have swung considerably to the middle in recent years for conservatives and libertarians and right-wingers to reject him so strongly. But yet, he hasn't- if anything, he has become more conservative since then. As Medved says:

...On no major issue did he move to the center in the last four years and on several (like Medicare reform, or environmental regulation) he moved decisively, even boldly to the right. The conservative commitments he made in 2008 (on social issues and other matters of policy) remain firmly intact, and the notorious flip-flops with which his thinking “evolved” over the years have receded further into the past (mostly before 2005) and so should seem less relevant, not more so.

Furthermore, as a candidate Romney has vastly improved with his self-assured, focused and coherent debate performances and a more genial and engaging, less plastic and patrician, personality. Looking at tape from four years ago and comparing it to the polished, capable candidate on display today, it’s easy to find reasons to rally to Romney’s cause this time, but impossible to discern any change for the worse...

So why don't conservatives like him this time around? Medved continues...

...Romney looks suspect to many activists on the right not because he isn’t conservative enough but because he isn’t angry enough. His real problem isn’t a question of ideology, it’s a matter of attitude. Mitt can’t keep himself from looking self-possessed and unflappable, cool and collected, reasonable and restrained. Rage isn’t part of his emotional repertoire: even when visibly frustrated by Rick Perry’s boorish disregard of all rules of debate in the Las Vegas slugfest, he came across as more pained and perplexed than infuriated.

Like most seriously successful businessmen, Mitt is a pragmatic problem solver, a sensible fixer, a technocrat. It’s easy to imagine him rolling up his perfectly cuff-linked sleeves to begin a process of cooperative, institutional repair in Washington but it’s tough to visualize the perfectly poised governor at the head of an avenging conservative army, laying waste to the opposition in a merciless effort to smash the remaining redoubts of their power....

Michael Medved is the author of The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation and Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons.