Mitt vs Mitt, Round 2

Election '08, Politics, Taxation

Former Massachussetts Governor Mitt Romney gave a speech in Detroit Wednesday. In it, he supports making the Bush tax cuts permanent. However, Mitt wasn’t always a supporter of the Bush tax cuts.

After refusing to endorse President Bush’s tax cuts when he was governor, Mitt Romney has now made them a central part of his presidential campaign, stirring accusations that he is changing his position to appeal to GOP primary voters.

In 2003, Romney stunned a roomful of Bay State congressmen by telling them that he would not publicly support Bush’s tax cuts, which at the time formed the centerpiece of the president’s domestic agenda. He even said he was open to a federal gas tax hike.

“For a Republican governor, I thought it was interesting,” U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville) said. “I don’t prejudge people, so I thought he might have the courage of his convictions, but I guess I was wrong.”

In a key policy speech in Detroit yesterday, Romney said it is “absolutely critical” to renew President Bush’s tax cuts, set to expire in 2010, to help spur economic growth. It is a stance he has repeated in recent days.

So Mitt, in 2003 at least, was willing to raise gasoline taxes and income taxes. Now, in 2007 when he’s running for president, he’s for income tax cuts. Plus, he’s claiming to be a fiscal conservative as well. However, what Mitt claims and the truth are usually not the same.

But Romney’s fiscal policies in Massachusetts have received mixed marks from conservative watchdogs. The tax-averse Cato Institute gave Romney a “C” on its 2006 fiscal report card, saying the former governor acted aggressively to combat overspending, but failed to hold the line on taxes.

“His first budget included no general tax increases but did include a $500 million increase in various fees,” noted Cato Institute budget director Stephen Slivinski.

In other words, he’s a typical Northeastern Republican. What’s next I’m guessing is that Mitt is going to convert to evangelical Christianity before the South Carolina primary.

Kevin Boyd
I’m one of the original co-founders of The Liberty Papers all the way back in 2005. Since then, I wound up doing this blogging thing professionally. Now I’m running the site now. You can find my other work at The Hayride.com and Rare. You can also find me over at the R Street Institute.