Can the GOP stop Tropical Storm Romney?

By Cliff Kincaid

The big news is that the Republican Convention in Tampa has been delayed because of Tropical Storm Isaac. Perhaps this is an opportunity for the GOP to think twice about nominating Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite his record as the father of socialized medicine and gay marriage in Massachusetts, Romney wants Republicans at the GOP's national convention in Tampa to overlook all of that. In effect, he wants to be forgiven for his liberal record. This is not just a record that is liberal on trivial issues. Romney was on the wrong side of some of the most important issues of our time.

But Romney does not want to forgive Todd Akin, the Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, for making some confusing comments about abortion and rape. Romney wants the public to forget about Akin's lifetime of conservative leadership and has demanded that Akin quit the Senate race.

Former Arkansas Republican governor Mike Huckabee points out that Akin's critics are trying to ruin his life and career because of a few misunderstood comments.

If perceived gaffes or political mistakes are going to be enough to disqualify someone from a political race, then what about Romney's political career and his collaboration with the likes of Ted Kennedy? Romney had thanked Kennedy for helping pass Romneycare in Massachusetts. When Romney earlier ran against Kennedy for a Massachusetts Senate seat, Romney wanted people to think he was just as liberal as Kennedy. He tried to "out-Kennedy Kennedy."

Now, however, all of that is supposed to be forgiven and forgotten.

But if Romney's liberal record is supposed to somehow be in the distant past, what about the gaffe he uttered on the campaign trail just the other day?

A Mitt Romney speech on Friday included a line about Barack Obama's birth certificate, but then he told CBS News that he has always believed Obama was born in the U.S. So why bring the subject up? Whatever your answer to this question, one has to conclude that Romney isn't running a serious campaign for president. To put it bluntly, Romney made a gaffe. He can call it a joke. But it was still a misstep.

Constitutional eligibility to be president should not be a laughing matter.

Obama has shown that he is serious about imposing his Marxist agenda and getting re-elected. What is Romney serious about? In addition to ruling out serious questions about Obama's place of birth, here are some other matters that Romney doesn't want to discuss:

• Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the U.S. government and manipulation of U.S. foreign policy, as illustrated by Romney's declaration that security problems in the State Department involving top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin are not "part of my campaign."
  
  
• Conservatives' opposition to the homosexual agenda, as demonstrated by Romney's statement that the tens of thousands of people supporting Chick-fil-A and its CEO's opposition to gay marriage are not "part of my campaign."
  
  
• The way in which Obamacare is based on Romneycare, the state health program in Massachusetts that Romney signed and was the basis for the federal scheme.
  

On the other hand, there is a sensitive issue that Romney has talked about. He has recently made it clear, through spokesperson Andrea Saul, that he is in favor of the Boy Scouts accepting homosexual Scoutmasters and homosexual Boy Scouts. This declaration is consistent with the "old" Romney's support for homosexual rights. Perhaps the "old" Romney and the "new" Romney are one and the same.

By any reasonable measure, Akin has a much more conservative record than Romney. But Romney wants to be forgiven for a political career of working with the likes of Ted Kennedy and now wants Akin destroyed personally for some remarks about abortion.

Here are some facts about Akin's record:

• On the matter of abortion, Akin receives a 100 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee.
  
  
• He has received an A+ lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union and was recognized by the group as a "Defender of Liberty."
  
  
• He gets a 100 percent lifetime rating from the Family Research Council.
  
  
• He received a "Spirit of Enterprise" award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
  
  
• He received a "Guardian of Small Business" award from the National Federation of Independent Business.
  

Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder of Eagle Forum, says, "Todd Akin is a principled leader who has championed the issues of pro-life, traditional marriage, and sound economics all through his years of service in the Missouri State Legislature and in Congress. His convictions are strong because he lives them out in his daily life. Todd's leadership, respect for our Constitution, and common sense are exactly what we need fighting for us in the United States Senate."

Mitt Romney overlooks all of this because of a few remarks that were taken out of context about abortion. Although Akin apologized for the comments, Romney says that he asked Akin "to get out of the race" because he "vehemently disagree[d]with what he said, and believe it hurts our party and I think is damaging to women."

Rather than stick with a conservative stalwart who has been and remains pro-life, Romney, who converted to conservatism when he thought it could help him politically, wants to throw Akin under the bus. Why are prominent conservatives defending Romney and not Akin?

Even if Romney manages to limp across the finish line and beat Obama, it seems clear that he is not determined to implement a conservative agenda, except perhaps on some very narrow economic and financial matters.

The treatment of Akin demonstrates that Romney wants to marginalize conservatives and apparently thinks he can win the presidency without them.

Akin has decided to remain in the race. Perhaps he should go further and call on Romney to withdraw from the presidential race so Republicans can field a true conservative against Obama.

© Cliff Kincaid