Katherine vs. Romney

ROMNEY RUNS FROM HEALTHCARE LAW
 
Katherine would never support health care for uninsured children.

As Mitt Romney aggressively courts conservatives in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, landmark health-care legislation that the former Massachusetts governor signed into law about a year ago has been largely left out of his pitch.

Buoyed by leading the GOP pack in fundraising for the first three months of this year, Romney’s campaign recently launched a series of ads in Iowa and New Hampshire, but they featured another aspect of his tenure as governor: vetoes of spending bills from the Democratic state legislature.

“It was an incredible accomplishment, and Romney really drove this,” said Jonathan Gruber, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who worked with the Romney administration on the plan. “I would have hoped he would be touting it more than he is. To me, it should be the accomplishment he’s running on, and I don’t see him doing that.”

In his major speeches, including the announcement of his candidacy in Michigan in February, Romney has often omitted mention of the health-care law. When he does talk about it, he frequently complains about provisions the legislature added that he opposed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/12/AR2007041202418.html

Old Romney: an “Early Proponent” of Two Elements of Governmental Power in Massachusetts Plan. Romney was also an early proponent of two governmental elements of the Massachusetts plan: the requirement of all individuals to have insurance coverage, and the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, which offers new forms of both subsidized and unsubsidized insurance policies. “Both ideas were wise uses of governmental power,” asserted the Globe. However, Republican primary voters would rather hear talking points denouncing “mandates and restrictions and regulations” in health care, nor are candidates acknowledging that “federal, state, and local governments control 45 percent of heath care spending, hardly the makings of a free market.” [Boston Globe, 8/23/07]

ROMNEY CAN’T HIDE FROM PRIVILEGED LIBERALISM
 
Katherine has always been a woman of the people, despite having millions of dollars. She relates well to all people, especially poor people who need her help getting federal contracts.

Mitt Romney may have Midwestern roots, but after four decades in Belmont, two advanced Harvard degrees, four years as Massachusetts governor, and many Red Sox games, he’s a card-carrying Northeasterner whether he likes it or not.

“He’s got his work cut out for him,” said Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. “Part of the problem here is that what it takes to be a successful Republican in a state like Massachusetts is very, very different than what it takes to win a Republican presidential nomination.”

Katherine never changes her mind. She is always right.

He responded to the charge that he has changed his positions on issues important to conservative Republican primary voters since he decided to run for president.

When Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he campaigned as a candidate who supported abortion rights. Now he says it is up to the states to choose. He has always personally been anti-abortion, he said, but the debate over cloning a few years ago convinced him that states should have the right to limit the procedure.

Romney said that while he thinks the administration committed a “number of errors” in its handling of the war, he backs Bush’s ongoing troop surge and said withdrawal would be a “grave error.”

But Romney has come under criticism for supporting private timetables for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq, with some Republicans contending his position is not far removed from attempts by congressional Democrats to set public timetables on troop deployment in a supplemental military spending bill.

ROMNEY HAS NEVER BEEN A FISCAL CONSERVATIVE
 
Katherine is always very conservative, except when it comes to shopping!

Romney Today: Talked About Controlling Spending:
Romney Record: Increased Budgets Each Year.  The Romney administration proposed four budgets while in office: covering fiscal years 2004-2007. Each budget increased spending over the previous year.  The administration’s FY 04 budget called for $23.270 billion in funding. The administration’s FY 05 budget called for $24.514 billion in funding. The administration’s FY 06 budget called for $25.097 billion in funding.  And the administration’s FY 07 budget called for $26.882 billion in funding.  [Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, 6/23/03, 6/704, 6/10/05, 6/22/06]

ROMNEY BASHES JEB’S IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION
 
Katherine loves Jeb, and Jeb loves her.

But with Romney seeking to distance himself from his rivals by opposing the Senate immigration bill, Romney’s relationship with Jeb Bush could suffer. The former Florida governor has voiced strong support for the type of immigration reform that’s now before the Senate, viewing it as an important priority of his brother’s -- and the right type of approach to a complicated issue.

Jeb Bush did not respond to a request for comment. But Ana Navarro, a Florida Republican activist and fundraiser who has worked with Jeb Bush on immigration issues in the past, said the former governor told her last weekend that he is “disappointed” that Romney has denounced the immigration bill in television advertisements.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3201361&page=2

ROMNEY ALL OVER THE PLACE ON TAXES, FEES

Katherine has always supported tax cuts because she believes the more we tax poor people and the less we tax rich people like her, the better off people like her will be.

New Mitt: Romney: Tax Rate On Capital Gains Should Be Zero. Speaking at a GOP dinner in Sarasota, Florida, Mitt Romney told the audience, “I believe the tax on capital gains should be zero.” [Bradenton Herald, 4/24/07]
Old Mitt: Romney: Zero Tax Rate on Dividends, Interest and Investment Profits a Tax Cut Fat Cats. In 1996, Mitt Romney ran ads against Steve Forbes flat tax plan, saying he “will not support specific proposal unless it taxes investment income.” Romney’s ads asserted that the Forbes plan eliminate taxes on dividends, interest and investment profit and institute a 17% tax on wages that result in huge tax cuts for the “Kennedys, Rockefellers, and Forbes.” The ad said, “It’s a tax cut for cats.” [Boston Globe, 1/21/96; “The Forbes Flat Tax Isn’t Flat,” Hotline On-Call, 3/28/07]

New Mitt: Romney Bragged about Support for Bush Tax Cuts. During a November 2006 press conference held in Arizona, Romney outlined differences between himself and McCain. Romney said “he was quicker than McCain to endorse President Bush’s tax cuts.” [East Valley Sun, 11/14/06]
Old Mitt: Romney Refused to Publicly Endorse Bush Tax Cuts. Romney refused to endorse tax cuts at the heart of President Bush’s economic program in 2003. Romney’s spokesperson said that it’s “just not a state matter.” [Boston Globe, 4/11/03]

Romney Earned Nickname “Fee-Fee” For Raising Taxes and Fees.  [Associated Press, 8/28/07]

Massachusetts Imposed More Fee Hikes Than any Other State in the Nation. Boston Globe reported, “A survey of states grappling with spending crises has found that Massachusetts imposed more fee hikes than any other state in the nation this year -- at least $500 million…The study by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that Massachusetts was one of 30 states that enacted fee increases this year…Of the 30 states to raise fees, only nine [brought] in $100 million or more from those fee hikes. Massachusetts reported $501.5 million in fee hikes.” [Boston Globe, 7/24/03]

Romney Signed Measure Forcing Hike in Local Commercial Property Taxes. According to Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the state’s largest business group, Romney signed a measure that allowed local officials to raise the commercial property tax rate, which cost business owners $100 million. Romney’s cuts to local aid forced Massachusetts property taxes to their highest level in 25 years. [Quincy Patriot Ledger, 12/16/05; Boston Globe, 10/24/05]

Romney Raised $500 Million in Fees, Earned “C” on Cato Institute Fiscal Report Card. Romney increased annual state fees by $500 million as governor and proposed raising $400 million from two corporate tax increases. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, gave Romney a “C” on its fiscal-policy report card. Romney ranked behind 11 governors. [Boston Herald, 2/8/07; Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 581, 10/24/06]

Cato: Romney Trying to Spin Fiscal Record. Cato Institute budget director Stephen Slivinski said, “Romney’s people are trying to spin this by saying he kept his ‘No new taxes pledge.’” [The Hill, 3/28/07]

Romney Signed Measure Forcing Hike in Local Commercial Property Taxes. According to Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the state’s largest business group, Romney signed a measure that allowed local officials to raise the commercial property tax rate, which cost business owners $100 million. Romney’s cuts to local aid forced Massachusetts property taxes to their highest level in 25 years. [Quincy Patriot Ledger, 12/16/05; Boston Globe, 10/24/05]