The Romney Principle in Action

      You know the Romney Principle: the more the American people learn about him, the less they like him. For this reason he is doing everything he can to conceal who he is and what he's about and mostly what he would do if he were elected President of the United States.

     About the only thing he wants you to know about him is that he has a nice wife-who played a not so nice game last week personally attacking Hilary Rosen. What's interesting too, is that Rachel Maddow really is right about Romney following the Karl Rove playbook. What that amounts to is "My weakness is your weakness" and "Your strength is my strength." We see it working here. Romney claimed in a speech that Obama is hiding all the terrible things he will do if re-elected. One thing Romney suggests he'd do is take everyone's guns away. Talking before the NRA of course, this is twilight zone stuff.

     Of course, it's Romney himself that won't tell us what he'll do. Except, as it turns out, when talking to wealthy donors. This weekend he was very aminated.

    "Senior advisers to Mitt Romney said Monday that Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, was merely tossing around ideas, not making policy announcements, when his chat with donors about some significant changes to the tax code was overheard by reporters at a fund-raiser this weekend."

     "Campaign surrogates and officials played down Mr. Romney’s candid talk about tax changes for the wealthy, including ending mortgage interest deductions for second homes, eliminating deductions for state and local taxes, as well as closing or merging federal agencies that deal with education and housing."

     http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/us/politics/aides-play-down-romneys-comments-on-tax-changes-for-wealthy.html?_r=2

      Hmm. Closing down the Departments of Education and Housing... He had mentioned obliquely before that he would shut down some Departments but said he wouldn't tell us which ones till after the election.  You can't make this stuff up.

     "he has resisted offering many details about the cuts to government spending that would allow him to achieve the kind of deficit reductions he has projected, considering the tax cuts he has discussed."       

      "Those remarks to a backyard gathering of high-dollar donors in Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday night were overheard by reporters for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, prompting a day of explanation by Mr. Romney’s campaign and a new opening for attack by President Obama’s campaign and the Democrats."

       “Apparently, Governor Romney believes only high-dollar donors have a right to know what programs he will cut,” wrote Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr. Obama’s campaign, in an e-mail to reporters. “Education. Housing. To pay for $5 trillion tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.”       

      “Mitt Romney has made a disturbing habit of hiding the truth,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, on a conference call with reporters organized by the Democratic National Committee. “It’s safe to predict that this was a hot-mike moment that will linger.”  

      Hot mic moment. LOL.

      "Romney campaign officials said he was not unveiling new policies at the Sunday fund-raiser. They accused Democrats of using the episode to try to distract attention from the economic situation under Mr. Obama."

     "At the fund-raiser, Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, offered candid and casual observations that did not appear intended for wider public consumption."

      "Mr. Romney, for instance, remarked that Fox News was watched by “true believers,” and that the Republican Party needed to broaden its appeal to women and independents, according to NBC. And Mrs. Romney said that she “loved” the fallout generated when a Democratic political operative said that Mrs. Romney had “never worked a day in her life.”

     “It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother, and that was really a defining moment,” NBC quoted her as saying.

      "Mr. Romney told the donors that the housing agency “might not be around later” and said the Education Department would be “a heck of a lot smaller,” if not eliminated altogether. And he said that the party must do more to woo Hispanic voters.       "

     “We have to get Hispanic voters to vote for our party,” Mr. Romney said, adding that if Mr. Obama wins big among Hispanics it “spells doom for us.” 

       Well he's certainly right about that. In light of the fact that he knows this his advocacy of "self-importation" is even doubly perplexing.