Howard Fineman has an excellent piece on the folly that was Mitt Romney’s campaign.
The thing is, if he had run as the fiscal conservative, social moderate that he did in the past, he might have been a contender. I certainly would have considered him.
But his willingness to throw gays under the bus in order to get the GOP nomination made him untouchable for me and probably for many other moderates who might have liked his managerial experience.
But he gave up trying to woo moderates and independents and instead decided to run for President of the Republican Party instead of the United States.
Last December, I visited the Sloan Museum in my hometown of Flint, Michigan. There was an exhibit on the struggle to get a fair housing ordinance passed, a law that would outlaw racist practices that kept blacks from living in predominantly white areas. Demonstrations took place on the lawn of City Hall. In one photo, then Michigan Governor George Romney, Mitt’s dad, was chatting with the Mayor of Flint. He was in favor of the fair housing ordinance and spoke in support.
George Romney had courage. He was a popular governor and reminds us of a time when Republicans stood for fairness.
I have to think that, somewhere out there, George Romney has to be disappointed at his son’s lack of courage.
Crossposted at NeoMugwump.
The photo is of George and Mitt in the 1960s.