Romney 2012?

“Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts”-Mitt Romney
Mr. Romney is no more of a friend to the Libertarians and Constitutionalists in the Republican Party, than he is to social conservatives.

As part of his presidential run, Romney joined the NRA, but unlike abortion and gay marriage, where he actually did retract his former liberal positions, the caveat, "I don't agree with them on everything", indicates that spending a few hundred dollars on a life membership was simply a move for show. The fact is that he has never given any indication that he has reconsidered his actions when he enthusiastically supported and signed into law a state statute paralleling the absolute worst piece of legislation to come out of the Clinton administration, the so-called "assault weapons ban". Deceptively titled, in order to create the illusion that all that would be affected were a few exotic models that the average citizen would have no use for, this was actually a sweeping law affecting many commonly owned firearms and firearm accessories. We can thank God that, in order to get the federal ban passed, they had to include an expiration date, and that when that date came, there was not enough votes in Congress put it on Pres. Bush's desk (another betrayor of true conservative principles, who had indicated he would sign it).

One of the major points Mitt Romney made in his 2008 campaign was getting tough on crime. (See my blog entry following this one (link) for a follow up on what could possibly be wrong with that).

As governor of Massachusetts, he had a firm policy that his office would not issue any pardon or commutation under any circumstance (link). Anthony Circosta was a decorated combat veteran, who most certainly deserved clemency for an indiscretion at age 13, so that he could fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer. The Board of Pardons supported his petition, however the governor used the same rubber stamp, "NO!", on his application, that he used on every other that came across his desk.

Another example of Romney taking a inflexible and unreasonable stance is contained in a youtube video (link), where Romney rebuffs a man in a wheelchair, then turns away from him and ignores the man's attempts to continue the conversation, after the man tries to explain his medical situation. He tries in vain to tell Romney that he is opposed to the legalization of marijuana for everyone, that his doctors can attest to the legitimate need and benefits in his case, and that synthetic substitutes have not worked. All Romney could do was regurgitate the old line, of dubious reasoning, that pot is a gateway to hard drugs (but the two recreational drugs that are legal, alcohol and nicotine, are not?), and move away.

Under a Romney administration, we could expect no relief from interdiction roadblocks, police turning traffic stops into vehicle searches based solely on a hunch, homes being searched simply because some druggie relative gives your address as the place he is staying when he is booked into jail, SWAT teams attaching cables and ripping the doors and windows off people's homes (as the A&E channel films), real estate being seized even if the district attorney determines that there is insufficient evidence to support criminal charges, and any large sum of cash found on your person being taken and held, until you can hire a lawyer and prove in court that it was not from any ill-gotten source.

About Mitt Romney he really has going for him is a proven track record with managing money. However, Republicans who are primarily concerned with economics are vastly outnumbered by people focused on conservative social issues, and those who advocate states rights and limiting the federal government.

It’s amazing he got as far as he did, and for the sake of this country, I hope he’s long gone from the American political scene by 2012. I’m all for putting a Mormon in the White House…just not this Mormon.