Mitt Romney Might Not Be Crazy But He Is Still A Wing-Nut

Donkey Hotey

Mitt Romney is touted as the most rational and intelligent, and least extreme and toxic of the silly collection of GOP presidential hopefuls. Also giving Romney relatively more credibility is the fact that the extreme radical wing of the Republican Party (perhaps a redundancy) doesn't trust him.  None of this, however, means Romney is anything close to a moderate voice, and his election as President of the United States would be an unmitigated disaster.

The New York Times on Sunday had a long piece on the methodology of Romney's private equity firm by which he made his fortune.  The article described the "unintended human costs and messy financial consequences behind the brand of capitalism that he practiced for 15 years," which propelled companies towards bankruptcy and led to "waves of layoffs."

I previously noted the troubling fact that Romney's legal adviser is none other than Robert Bork, whose radical interpretation of the Constitution either reflects or is shaping Romney's views.

After the most recent debate, Romney made clear that he is with the pro-torture crowd, with aides asserting that Romney does not believe waterboarding is torture, but that he "is not going to spell out" what forms of enhanced interrogation he would employ.

Romney's views on abortion have, shall we say, "evolved" over time.  What is relevant is his current position.  According to his spokesperson, Gail Gitcho:  Romney supports "a Human Life Amendment that overturns Roe vs. Wade and sends the issue back to the states. Mitt Romney is pro-life, and as he has said previously, he is supportive of efforts to ensure recognition that life begins at conception. He believes these matters should be left up to states to decide."

He has also gradually "morphed" into a climate change denier, stating recently: "we don't know what's causing climate change," and "the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us."

And, as Politico reports, Romney is relying on former President Bush's energy advisers:

Already on board the Romney train are Jim Connaughton, who ran Bush’s White House Council on Environmental Quality for all eight years; former Assistant Energy Secretary Andy Karsner; former EPA air chief Jeff Holmstead; and former EPA congressional affairs liaison Edward Krenik.

This is not a good sign.  Christopher Mims at Grist writes:  "Connaughton and Holmstead, especially, have made it their lives' work to cripple the EPA and block its new rules. They've done it from the inside as government officials and from the outside as lobbyists and businessmen, and they know better than anyone else what works when you're trying to tear down America's already kinda lax environmental regulations."

It sure appears that demeanor aside, Romney fits comfortably alongside the other Republican candidates for President.  This should be quite discomfiting for all of us.