As a member of the First Coast Tea Party's research committee, I was asked to research Mitt Romney. It took much longer than I had anticipated because my goal originally was to fairly and accurately portray his positions on issues important to conservative voters. These include abortion, gun rights, gay marriage, tax reform, government spending, immigration, fair trade, global warming, energy policy, health care, and education.
Early in my research, I ran into a problem. I found Willard Mitt Romney has multiple, often conflicting positions on many of these issues. There were times when I felt whiplashed watching a too-fast tennis match while reading his positions. Like on the old TV game show "To Tell the Truth," at the end of my research, I am asking, "Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up?
Because I have no idea who the real Mitt Romney is or what he stands for, I decided the best thing to do was catalog his positions on the issues chronologically. You, the reader, are left to draw your own conclusions. I hope you find the information helpful. If you find any errors or omissions, please include reliable source citations in your comments. I will make corrections if I am able to confirm the information.
Biographical Information:
Full Name: Willard Mitt Romney
Birthdate: March 12, 1947
Primary Residence: Belmont, Massachusetts
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan
Parents: George & Lenore Romney. His father was the former President & C.E.O. of American Motors, governor of Michigan, and a presidential candidate in 1968. His mother ran for the U.S. Senate in 1970.
Marriage: Married childhood sweetheart Ann in 1969. Ann was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998; it is currently in remission.
Children: 5 sons & 16 grandchildren
Religion: Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)
Net worth (estimated): $190 - $250 million
Education: Attended Stanford University in 1966. After Mormon missionary trip to France, enrolled at Brigham Young University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University in 1971 as Valedictorian of his class. Earned both an M.B.A. from Harvard University Business School & a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1975.
Resume:
2008: Ran unsuccessfully for President.
2004: Appointed by President George W. Bush to the Homeland Security Advisory Committee.
2003 - 2007: Governor of Massachusetts. Created a scholarship program that rewards the top 25% of Massachusetts high school students with a tuition-free education to any Massachusetts public college or university. Proposed and signed legislation that requires all Massachusetts residents to have health care. Backed a proposed state constitutional amendment in 2004 that would have allowed civil unions and banned gay marriage (the amendment failed to pass). Withdrew his support of this amendment, however, in favor of a 2005 petition that banned both.
1999 - 2002: C.E.O. of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics Organizing Committee with $1.32 billion budget, 700 employees and 26,000 volunteers. The Games netted a $100 million profit. He was asked to take the job because the organization was in the midst of budget shortfalls and numerous scandals that jeopardized the 2002 Winter Games. He donated to charity the $1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO.
1994: Ran unsuccessfully against Ted Kennedy for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
1990 - 1992: C.E.O. with Bain & Company, where he had previously served as vice president and a business consultant
1984 - 1998: Co-founded Bain Capital, a private equity investment company that started or acquired over 100 businesses, including Staples, Domino's Pizza, and The Sports Authority.
1978 - 1984: Vice President with Bain & Company
1974 - 1978: Intern, then business consultant with The Boston Consulting Group
1966: Served as a Mormon Missionary in France.
Books published:
No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, St. Martin’s Press, 2010
Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership and the Olympic Games, Regnery Publishing Inc., 2004
Sources:
http://www.mittromney.com/ viewed 1/9/2012
http://mamagrizzlyscubs.com/y4p-blog/mitt-romney-s-resume viewed 1/9/2012
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-mitt-romney-defends-work-at-bain-capital-20120108,0,7680084.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fpolitics+%28L.A.+Times+-+Politics%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher viewed 1/9/2012
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71214_Page1.html &
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71214_Page2.html both viewed 1/9/2012
http://smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/group/white-house-run-for-2012-presidential-candidates/forum/topics/mitt-romney-former-massachusetts-governor viewed 1/9/2012
ttp://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/candidates/mitt-romney/ viewed 1/9/2012
http://www.infoplease.com/us/government/presidential-campaign-2008-mitt-romney.html viewed 1/9/2012
http://www.xtimeline.com/timeline/Mitt-Romney viewed 1/9/2012
http://www.republicanprofiles.com/presidential-candidate/mitt-romney/ viewed 1/20/2012
http://www.issues2000.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Principles_+_Values.htm viewed 1/20/2012
On Abortion:
1994: Romney ran and lost as a pro-choice candidate against Senator Ted Kennedy. Romney stated in a campaign debate, "Many, many years ago, I had a dear close family relative who was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion. It is since that time that my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we cannot force our beliefs on others in that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that." He endorsed legalization of RU-486, the morning-after pill.
2001: Romney told the Salt Lake City Tribune, “I do not wish to be labeled pro-choice.”
2002: Romney ran and won as a pro-choice candidate for Governor of Massachusetts. Answering a NARAL survey, he wrote, "I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose." He promised Planned Parenthood that he supported "the substance of" Roe v. Wade, taxpayer-funded abortions, and emergency abortion drugs. He received the endorsement of the "Republican Majority for Choice." He promised he would do nothing to weaken Massachusetts laws that allow abortion. During a campaign debate, he said, "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and I am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard. I will not change any provisions of Massachusetts's pro-choice laws."
2004: Romney claimed to have made a pro-life conversion following a meeting with Harvard embryonic stem-cell researcher Douglas Melton. However, he told the American Right To Life group, "To be personally pro-life means to be officially pro-choice."
2005: Romney wrote in a Boston Globe editorial his pro-life conversion and now opposes abortion except in the cases of rape, incest, or to protect the mother's life. He stated that Roe v. Wade was judicial activism and should be overturned to return the question of abortion rights to the states. He vetoed a bill allowing morning after abortion pills without a prescription because it allowed them for minors without parental consent. The Democrat-controlled legislature overturned his veto. The same year, he supported taxpayer-funded embryonic stem-cell research, appointed pro-abortion Democrat Matt Nestor to a Massachusetts' district court, supported increased taxpayer funding of abortion counseling, sought a federal waiver to give chemical abortion (morning-after) drugs to rape victims, and issued an executive order requiring all hospitals (including Catholic) to furnish morning after abortion drugs to rape victims. In a May press conference, he reiterated, "I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice and so far, I have been able to successfully do that. And my personal philosophical views on this issue are not something that I think should distract from a more critical agenda." Reacting to all of this, a Boston Globe editorial stated, "Flip, flop, flip… Romney has now executed an Olympic-caliber double flip-flop with a gold medal performance twist-and-a-half."
2006: Massachusetts' Commonwealth Care (MCC) was signed into law by Romney. Unlike Obamacare, MCC or "Romneycare" fully funds abortions with patient co-pays ranging from $0-$100. Romney appointed 7 of the 10 members of the Board which oversees MCC, including a representative from Planned Parenthood. At the same time, he gave charitable contributions to conservative groups, including Massachusetts Citizens for Life.
2007: Romney both supports and opposes a Constitutional "Human Life" Amendment to ban abortions. For the most part, Romney supports allowing each state to decide for itself whether to allow or bar abortions and under what circumstances. He claims in a CNN interview, "You can look at my record as governor, in you can see in my record as governor that I have consistently been pro-life on every piece of legislation that dealt with life." On Meet the Press, he opposed punishing women who have partial birth abortions. He added, "In the case of a doctor, the kinds of penalties would be potentially losing a license or having some other kind of restriction." Although he would outlaw embryo farming, he would allow, "on a private basis, the use of surplus embryos from in vitro fertilization."
2010: Romney stated in his book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness: "The debate over abortion puts two of our fundamental values in conflict: our respect for life and our love of personal freedom. Arguments in support of abortion generally revolve around the right of a mother to make decisions about her own body. But in any decision about whether to end a pregnancy, we must remember that two lives are involved, and own this point, courts have been long and conspicuously silent. Because the fact is that two lives, not one, is involved. I am unapologetically pro-life. Both mother and child are human beings, but only one does not yet have a voice to defend itself."
2011: Romney believes Roe v. Wade could be overturned but doubts a federal Human Life Amendment is feasible. He said he would not propose federal legislation to overturn Roe v. Wade or "precipitate" what he called would be a "constitutional crisis" with a Constitutional Amendment. "What I would look to do would be appoint people to the Supreme Court that will follow strictly the constitution as opposed to legislating from the bench." In a Manchester, NH town hall meeting, he recommends, "Let the states make their own choice. I'm pro-life. I think that this is a decision best handled like many other things, at the state level." In the June NH presidential debate, he claimed his record was to have been pro-life from birth to death.
Sources:
http://prolifeprofiles.com/romney viewed 1/9/2012 & 1/20/2012
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/views/Abortion/ viewed 1/20/2012
"On the Issues" website:
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm viewed 1/20/2012
On the Second Amendment (Gun Rights):
1994: Romney, in his run against Ted Kennedy in the Senate race, stated, "I don't line up with the NRA" on gun control. He supported strong gun control laws in Massachusetts. He supported the Brady Bill, which requires a 5-day waiting period for hand guns and banned semi-automatic weapons.
2002: Running for Governor of Massachusetts, Romney said he does not "line up" with the National Rifle Association (NRA) or Gunowners of America (GOA). He bragged, “We do have tough gun laws In Massachusetts. I support them. I won’t chip away at them. I believe they help protect us and provide for our safety.”
2004: Romney signed a firearms control bill that required waiting periods for handguns and permanently banned semi-automatic weapons, the first such legislation in the country. However, it also relaxed other gun control laws, resulting in the bill winning support from the NRA and other gun owner groups.
2006: Romney became a Life member of the NRA.
2007: In a Meet the Press interview, Romney explained he supported the work of the NRA as a member but not their position on every issue. He supported most of the Brady Bill and many of its provisions were in the assault weapon ban he signed as Massachusetts governor. Still, he claimed at NRA and National Shooting Sports Foundation meetings, "I support the Second Amendment as one of the most basic and fundamental rights of every American. It's essential to our functioning as a free society, as are all the liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights."
2008: While running for President, he claimed he was a gun-owner and had a life-long devotion to hunting. It turns out he had gone hunting only twice for "small varmints" (rodents, rabbits, etc.). He supported the ban on semi-automatic weapons during a GOP presidential debate in Boca Raton, citing legislation he had signed as Governor of MA. He said he supported the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold individual rights to keep and bear arms.
2011: Romney tries to reassure voters, “The Second Amendment protects the individual right of lawful citizens to keep and bear arms. I strongly support this essential freedom.” As of January 20, 2012, he has not answered the GOA's Presidential Candidates' survey. There is no mention of gun rights on the Mitt Romney website.
Sources:
http://www.issues2000.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Gun_Control.htm viewed 1/20/2012
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=47940 viewed 1/20/2012
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/nov/02/jon-huntsman/jon-huntsman-accuses-mitt-romney-flip-flopping-gun/ viewed 1/20/2012
http://gunowners.org/mittromney-2012.htm viewed 1/20/2012
On Immigration:
2004: Romney reluctantly vetoed in-state tuition and opposed driver's licenses for illegal aliens. He told the Boston Globe, “I hate the idea of in any way making it more difficult for kids, even those who are illegal aliens, to afford college in our state.”
2005: Romney called the McCain immigration reform legislation "reasonable" in a Boston Globe interview.
2006: Governor Romney authorized the round-up of illegal aliens by Massachusetts state troopers despite Massachusetts' sanctuary laws shortly before his term ended. His successor rescinded the order and it was never put into effect because no troopers were able to complete the required 6-week training. During Romney's term, there is no record that he ever took any actions against four sanctuary cities in the state despite his opposition to the idea. He said, "Governors aren’t responsible for mayors who are not following the law." The Massachusetts' health care plan, signed into law by Romney, includes a program call the Health Safety Net. It allows uninsured illegal aliens to get taxpayer-funded medical care. He claims this provision was approved after he was out of office.
2007: Romney became caught up in a controversy regarding a landscaping company he hired that had some illegal aliens working on his property for 8 years. He terminated the contract and advocated for a reliable employment verification system. Perhaps this is why he opposed jailing employers who hired illegal aliens. Instead, he said they should "be subject to the same kind of sanctions you get for not paying your taxes." He reiterated his opposition to sanctuary cities, in-state tuition and drivers' licenses for illegals. He advocated for the federal government to defund sanctuary cities and English be the official language. He believes, "It’s important to end illegal immigration so we can maintain and encourage legal immigration. Immigration is good for this country; it’s helped us over our history."
2008: Romney supported allowing American employers to hire more foreign workers in certain skilled professions. However, he advocated that illegals be forced to return to their home countries at a speed dependent on how long they have been here, allowing them to get their affairs in order in a "humane and compassionate way." He opposed the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill, especially the Z-visa, which would have allowed illegal aliens to pay a fine and stay here permanently.
2010: In his book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, Romney disagreed with current immigration policies that require foreign students to return to their home countries after graduation. He opposed bilingual education, advocating for English immersion for immigrant children.
2011: Romney opposes amnesty because it encourages more people to come to the U.S. illegally. He advocates that legal aliens be given a card that shows they are here legally that employers would be required to inspect. He continues to oppose in-state tuition discounts for the children of illegals, as he did when he was governor of MA. He supports building a border fence along all 2,600 miles of our southern border and hiring enough border guards to patrol it to stop crossers. "Amnesty is a magnet." Despite unemployment rates over 9%, he told Iowans in a debate that he would "like to staple a green card" to foreign students' diplomas if they came here to study legally, saying it is important "that America welcomes the best and brightest in the world."
Sources:
http://www.issues2000.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Immigration.htm viewed 1/20/2012
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-24/politics/30315476_1_illegal-immigrants-romney-signed-mitt-romney viewed 1/20/2012
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/10/mitt-romney-hire-illegal-immigrant-rick-perry-/1 viewed 1/20/2012
http://www.cfr.org/united-states/campaign-2012-candidates-immigration/p26803#p4 viewed 1/20/2012
On Homosexuality:
1994: Romney did not believe same-sex marriage was politically feasible, suggesting civil unions as the alternate. He stated that the question should be left up to the individual states. However He believed gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military. He supported Clinton's don't-ask-don't-tell policy to allow gays to serve in the military "as a step in the right direction." If elected to the U.S. Senate, he vowed to co-sponsor the Federal Employee Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) and broaden it to include housing and credit. In private meetings with gays and lesbians, he compared his support for gay rights to his father's support for civil rights and told them, "I’m with you on this stuff… I’ll be better than Ted Kennedy.” He wrote the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts, seeking their endorsement, "We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern." He told Bay Windows, a gay newspaper in Massachusetts, “I think the gay community needs more support from the Republican Party, and I would be a voice in the Republican Party to foster anti-discrimination efforts.”
2002: As head of the Salt Lake City Olympics, he enacted a workplace non-discrimination policy for homosexuals. Romney circulated a flyer at a Gay Pride rally proclaiming the need for equal rights for all regardless of sexual orientation. He promised to “support everything that it calls for in terms of recognizing unions between people. But just don’t use the M-word." He distanced himself from his wife and son's decisions to back a state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and legislation to bar domestic partner benefits to state employees.
2003: Throughout his governorship, Romney appointed gays to his cabinet and to state courts. When Massachusetts Supreme Court declared gays had the right to marry, Romney objected, "Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman. I will support an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution to make that expressly clear. Of course, basic civil rights and appropriate benefits must be available to people in nontraditional relationships, but marriage is a special institution between a man and a woman, and our constitution and laws should reflect that.” In the meantime, he worked to get the Massachusetts legislature to pass a law allowing civil unions for same-sex couples to satisfy the Court.
2004: The Massachusetts Spreme Court rejected civil unions as an acceptable alternative to marriage. Romney said he would abide by the Court's ruling that allowed gay marriage. Despite lobbying by the Catholic League for a "conscience exception," he threatened to fire state employees who refused to issue marriage licenses to gays or perform civil marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
2005: Romney became more vocal in his opposition to gay marriage as well as civil unions, explaining that children have a right to both a father and a mother. He upset many in the gay community when he expressed disapproval of gay adoptions. He hoped a state constitutional convention or the legislature would allow the people of Massachusetts to vote on an amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. He told Chris Matthews on MSNBC's HardBall that he supported domestic partner benefits.
2007: Asked about gays in the military by George Stephanopoulis on ABC-News, Romney said he was always skeptical that don't-ask-don't-tell would work. However, the policy having been in place for a decade, he opposed changing it. He added, "What I can tell you is I oppose discrimination on the basis of race, gender, but also sexual preference."
2008: In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC), Romney said, "The development of a child is enhanced by having a mother and father. Such a family is the ideal for the future of the child and for the strength of a nation. I wonder how it is that unelected judges, like some in my state of Massachusetts, are so unaware of this reality, so oblivious to the millennia of recorded history. It is time for the people of America to fortify marriage through Constitutional amendment, so that liberal judges cannot continue to attack it."
2009: Romney supported an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage. He believed that it was untenable for different states to have different standards for marriage. He told Eric Cantor on John King's CNN show, "Marriage is a matter of national consequence. It's a status, it's not an activity, and as a result there should be a national standard."
2011: In a NH debate, CNN's John King asked the candidates if same sex marriage should be handled with a Constitutional amendment or as a states' rights issue. Romney was unequivocable, answering simply, "Constitutional."
2012: Romney has signed a pledge with the National Organization for Marriage promising to support a federal constitutional amendment "defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman." He also promised vigorous enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act, which Obama has not, and to appoint only judges who do not support gay marriage.
Sources:
Email received & viewed from the First Coast Tea Party on 11/20/11 at 9:36 a.m. forwarding a text from Kristi Dunn, citing
http://romneyfacts.com/ and
http://www.whichmitt.com
http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/10589-rabbinical-alliance-urges-social-conservatives-to-reject-romney viewed 1/20/2012
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20088274-503544.html viewed 1/20/2012
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/views/Gay_Marriage viewed 1/20/2012
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/01/17/405214/in-private-meeting-with-gay-leaders-romney-compared-lgbt-equality-to-fathers-fight-for-civil-rights/?mobile=nc viewed 1/20/2012
On Tax Reform & Government Spending:
1996: Romney strongly opposed the flat tax and called it a “tax cut for fat cats.”
2002: Romney pledged to Massachusetts voters that he would not raise taxes, although he refused to sign a no-tax-raises' pledge. He opposed a ballot proposition that would have eliminated the state's income tax. He wanted to impose an excise tax on SUV's and a "greenfields tax" on development in the ocean. “All voters care about great education, improving our environment, bringing more jobs to Massachusetts and balancing the budget without raising taxes."
2003: Romney refused to endorse the proposed Bush federal tax cuts, which won him praise from Rep. Barney Frank. Romney also agreed an increase of the federal gas tax might be appropriate. When he became governor, Massachusetts had a $650 million deficit; he cut $343 million with legislative approval.
2004: Part of the economic reform measures pushed by Romney were fee increases of $240-$259 million. Romney claimed these were justified since many of these fees had not been raised in 20 years and they were narrowly tailored. Some of the fees raised included deed registrations, court filing fees, marriage licenses, professional registrations, firearm licenses, and gasoline deliveries. He closed tax loopholes, generating $128 to $170 million in additional revenues from 2004-2006 and cut state aid to cities and counties. The result was elimination of a $3 billion deficit. Romney wanted to cut the state’s income tax rate from 5.3% to 5.0%, but the state legislature refused.
2005: Standards & Poor's upgraded Massachusetts bond credit rating while Romney was governor because the state had reduced its deficit, cut spending, and balanced its budget. Romney credited the fact that legislators from both parties cooperated to accomplish these improvements under his leadership. His proposal to provide property tax relief to seniors was passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature. Many of his proposals to eliminate duplicative or wasteful expenses were blocked by the legislature.
2006: Romney cut $425 million from the state budget and stopped the legislature from using the state's "rainy day fund" for local earmarks.
2007: Romney proposed a state budget that was 10.12% higher than the previous year's budget because Massachusetts now had surplus revenues. Romney commented in a Des Moines debate, "I don’t stay awake at night worrying about the taxes that rich people are paying." Instead, he pushed for middle class tax cuts. He opposed the death tax. He signed the no-new-taxes pledge of the Americans for Tax Reform. He continued to oppose the flat tax, calling it "unfair."
2008: Romney claimed to have supported the Bush tax cuts. Although there is no record that he ever opposed them, there is also no public record that he endorsed them either. He advocated eliminating taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains for all who earn less than $200,000 per year. He told Fox News, "Lowering taxes grows the economy." He supported the Wall Street bailout. He wrote an editorial for the New York Times entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," which opposed a bailout for car manufacturers unless they "come up with a win-win proposition." He advocated for increased federal spending on alternative energy research.
2011: Romney opposes the Flat Tax and the Fair Tax because he believes they would benefit the richest and poorest with lower tax rates at the expense of the middle class. Instead, he would like to make tax rates flatter, such as reducing the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% and cutting capital gains taxes on those with incomes below $200,000, and plugging special tax breaks. He supported continuing the Bush tax cuts. In a CNBC debate, he said, "Let me tell you, I'm not looking to raise taxes. What I'm looking to do is to cut spending." He supports ethanol subsidies.
2012: Romney wants to permanently extend the Bush tax cuts, eliminate taxes on investments or savings for middle class taxpayers (those who earn less than $200,000), reduce corporate income taxes, eliminate the estate tax, and repeal taxes related to Obamacare. He would allow the American Opportunity Tax Credit, the expanded earned income credit and child credit, which were part of Obama's stimulus package, to expire. Based on current law, the Romney tax plan would reduce projected federal revenue by 16 percent or $180 billion in 2015 and reduce tax liabilities for "about three-fourths of taxpayers by an average of more than $4,700," according to the Tax Policy Center (TPC).
Sources:
http://www.issues2000.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Tax_Reform.htm viewed 1/20/2012
http://taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/romney-plan.cfm viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/views/Taxes/ viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/whitepapers/?subsec=137&id=905 viewed 1/21/2012
On Foreign Trade & International Relations
2005: Romney supported the Central American Fair Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
2007: Romney advocated for elimination of most trade barriers. He said in a CNBC interview with Larry Kudlow, “Any economy that's tried to put barriers up to keep itself from having to compete with innovation around the world is an economy which ultimately ends up collapsing and becoming second tier.” Although he supported the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), he opposed the proposed North American Union and the North American Superhighway. He supported free trade with India and China. He claimed that free trade made the average U.S. family "$9,000 a year richer." He agreed that future trade agreements must better protect U.S. patents and intellectual property, however. He said businessmen, not politicians, were best qualified to negotiate trade agreements.
2008: Romney campaigned with a trade policies tht included approval of the Doha Round to reduce trade barriers and advocated the President should be allowed to negotiate free trade agreements without Congressional interference by enacting the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).
2010: Romney called for going to the World Trade Organization about China's unfair trade policies and currency manipulations. However, he warned against protectionism because it stifles productivity.
2011: Romney unveiled his "Believe in America Plan," which proposes increasing free trade and getting more free trade agreements signed, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership to expand trade with existing partners as well as Vietnam and Malaysia. He claims that the current free trade agreements (FTAs) with 17 countries have created 5.4 million jobs for Americans. He said U.S. trade policies promoting fair trade with China were harmful to us and penalties should be imposed if their unfair trade practices, including theft of intellectual property and currency manipulation, do not end. He criticizes Obama for not getting new FTAs with Korea, Colombia, and Panama enacted because of labor union opposition. Romney opposes Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which assists workers who lose their jobs because of foreign trade. He reiterated his support of the TPA, eliminating Congress' role in trade agreement negotiations. He proposes forming a "Reagan Economic Zone" for developing nations who agree with the principles of free enterprise and open markets.
2012: Romney supports tariffs on ethanol.
Sources:
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/whitepapers/?subsec=137&id=905 viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/views/Trade_Policy/ viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm#Foreign_Policy viewed 1/22/2012
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm#Free_Trade viewed 1/22/2012
On Global Warming & Energy Policy
2004: Romney proposed a "Climate Protection Plan" to reduce greenhouse emissions by 25% by 2012 by enacting California's standards for vehicle emissions, subsidizing low-income people to upgrade their oil burners, and implement regional climate change plans.
2006: Romney pulled Massachusetts out of the New England climate change pact to control greenhouse emissions.
2007: Romney said he believes in man-made global warming, although he is unsure as to how much culpability mankind has. He agreed energy conservation was needed but also we needed to increase domestic energy production. He linked energy independence with national security. He called on oil companies to use their profits to build more oil refineries in the U.S. He supported giving tax incentives for fuel efficient vehicles. He opposed provisions in the Kyoto treaty that imposed carbon caps on the U.S. but not on China and India but would support cap-and-trade if it was worldwide. He advocated for more production or development of biofuels, ethanol, nuclear power and liquified coal. He supported both offshore and Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) drilling. He told an Iowa Town Hall meeting, "I will work on a global basis to get other nations to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in a way that is fair to us and the other people of the world."
2008: Romney told Californians that states could impose their own caps on greenhouse emissions, if they wished. He called nuclear power a "win-win" because it produces no CO2 or energy imports. He proposed spending $20 billion for energy research and new vehicle technology. He said, "I side with states being able to make their own decisions, even if I don't always agree with the decisions they make."
2011: Romney supports global cap-and-trade if it is fair. He continues to support increased use of nuclear, clean coal, shale gas, natural gas, solar, wind and other renewable energy sources as well as drilling in ANWR and offshore. He feels Nevada should be compensated for nuclear waste stored in Yucca Mountain. He continues to believe in global warming and that man contributes to it to an unknown extent. At a Town Hall meeting in Manchester, NH, he stated, "I believe that the world is getting warmer. I can't prove that, but I believe it based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that. I don't know how much..."
2012: Romney criticized Obama's moratoriums on ocean drilling following the BP Gulf Coast spill. In Romney's economic plan, he wants to fast-track permitting for exploration and drilling, overhaul the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and make it easier to build nuclear power plants through regulatory reform. He believes government should fund energy research and development of new energy technologies. He supports partnerships with Mexico and Canadian, such as the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline to bring Canadian oil to the U.S. He is highly critical of Obama's use of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose more regulations that will cost U.S. jobs. Romney's economic plan states, "Energy policy is critical to our country’s economic future...The bad news is that self-defeating policies have left us less secure as a country and weakened our economy. The good news is: we can change."
Sources:
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/whitepapers/?subsec=137&id=905 viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/views/Energy_and_the_Environment/ viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm#Environment viewed 1/22/2012
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm#Energy_+_Oil viewed 1/22/2012
On Education Reform
1994: Romney campaigned on a position to eliminate the Department of Education. He supported charter schools, school vouchers, and home schooling.
2002: Romney continued to call for the abolishment of the Department of Education. He supported replacing underperforming schools with charter schools, using means-tested vouchers, abstinence-based and family values' education, but not teaching religion or prayer in public schools.
2004: Romney presented an education policy that included full-day kindergarten, mandatory parent preparation programs and full college scholarships for the top 25% of graduating high school seniors. He vetoed a bill that would have placed a moratorium on new charter schools; he favored expanding the number of charter schools to increase school choice for poor students. He asked, when announcing his plan for education reform in Massachusetts, "What legacy will we leave our children? I am convinced that our legacy should be a legacy of learning."
2007: Romney called for a national merit-based scholarship similar to Massachusetts' Adams scholarships that pay 100% of college tuition for the top 25% of high school graduates. He backed English-only programs for children whose native language is not English. He proposed tax-free college savings for those earning less than $200,000 annually. He supported the Bush's No Child Left Behind reforms and credited his state's testing program as a model for it. He admitted changing his mind about eliminating the Department of Education, a position he supported in his 1994 Senate campaign. He told the Des Moines Register, "Having a federal department of education can encourage and promote the testing of kids."
2010: Romney called the failure to educate minorities a "civil rights issue." He attacked teachers' unions for their opposition to student testing and school choice.
2011: Romney no longer advocates the elimination of the Department of Education. He supports No Child Left Behind. In a Fox News debate, he proclaimed, “The Department of Education can actually make a difference.”
Sources:
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/whitepapers/?subsec=137&id=905 viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/views/Education/ viewed 1/22/2012
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm#Education viewed 1/22/2012
On Healthcare Reform
2006: Romney signed into law a comprehensive healthcare plan for the state of Massachusetts with Sen. Ted Kennedy in attendance at the signing ceremony. The MassCare plan included an individual mandate requiring citizens to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty. Insurance companies could not refuse coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Low income people would receive subsidies to pay for their policies. It created a government-run "exchange" tasked with approving and regulating all healthcare policies sold in the state.
2007: Romney reiterated his support for individual mandates that force people to buy heathcare insurance, calling those without coverage "free riders." A hospital rating system was established with internet access for healthcare consumers. He said, "The best way to find new solutions in health care is to allow the states to be laboratories for experiments on coverage."
2008: Romney called mandating individuals to buy health insurance was "conservative."
2011: Although modelled in many of its features after the Massachusetts' plan, Romney says he would work to repeal Obamacare if elected President. In the interim, he says he would issue a waiver from its provisions to all 50 states. Instead of Obamacare, he has proposed a healthcare plan that would return control of healthcare to the states and reduce regulations that increase costs. He would keep the ban on insurance companies refusing coverage due to pre-existing conditions. He advocates medical liability reform. He continues, however, to defend his state's plan, even though healthcare premiums paid by Massachusetts' citizens have risen 21-46% faster than the national average and subsidized care for low-income patients has gone from $133 million in 2007 to $800 million in 2009. Massachusetts' citizens have paid $12 million in penalties from the individual mandate, and the 2010 budget for the state's plan was $880 million. In an Iowa debate, he called Obamacare "bad law," an unconstitutional violation of the Constitution's Tenth Amendment. He added, "The right answer for every state is to determine what's right for those states and not to impose Obamacare on the nation. That's why I'll repeal it."
2012: Romney's campaign website calls for making "health care more like a market." He would like to expand health savings acounts (HSAs), for example, to allow their use to pay for premiums. He wants to give states block-grants for Medicaid and funds for care of the "chronically ill." He would allow small businesses and individuals to form pools to purchase insurance and allow health policy purchasers to cross state lines. Tort reform is part of his plan because "the current medical liability system encourages defensive medicine and drives up health care costs."
Sources:
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/whitepapers/?subsec=137&id=905 viewed 1/21/2012
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/views/Health_Care/ viewed 1/22/2012
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm#Health_Care viewed 1/22/2012
On the Confederate Flag
2007: Romney stated, "That flag frankly, is divisive and shouldn't be shown. Right now with the kinds of issues we've got in this country, I'm not going to get involved with a flag like that. The people of our country have decided not to fly that flag. I think that's the right thing."
2008: In a CNN/YouTube debate, Romney again proclaimed his opposition to the Confederate flag's display, a hot issue in South Carolina. He said, "That flag shouldn’t be flown," and "that’s not a flag I recognize.”
2011/2012: The presidential candidates have largely avoided the Confederate flag issue that was so hot in South Carolina in the 2007/2008 election cycle.
Sources:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/18/mccain-romney-hit-over-confederate-flag/?page=all viewed 1/20/2012
http://confederatewave.org/wave/southern-heritage.phtml viewed 1/20/2012
http://www.newser.com/tag/21118/1/confederate-flag.html viewed 1/20/2012
http://standrews.patch.com/topics/Confederate+Flag viewed 1/20/2012
http://scvcamp.org/barnesvilleblues/index.php?Page=26 viewed 11/29/2007
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