William F. Buckley once said something to the effect that he didn’t want the most conservative nominee as presidential candidate for the GOP, he wanted the most conservative candidate that could win the election as the GOP’s nominee. In light of this sentiment, I am wondering if the lion of old line conservatism has decided that Mitt Romney just might be the “conservative enough” candidate for the GOP in 2008?
Last week, Buckley offered for our consideration a column mentioning Mitt Romney’s conversion from abortion advocate to his new found status of anti-abortion believer — a stance that puts him just in time to offer himself as the GOP candidate for the 2008 GOP nomination — and how so many are rightfully skeptical of this new stance.
In Romney’s Moral Thought Buckley mentions that Romney’s sudden conversion is acclaimed as that born of “studied reflection” on the issue, just as Romney claims. Of course, Buckley seems to conveniently ignore the fact that Romney was still advocating his pro-abortion ideas not too long ago as Governor of Massachusetts making it a bit hard to believe that Mitt spent much time agonizing over this change.
Buckley, though, seems to accept Romney’s claims at face value based on the fact that America has changed its prevailing moral opinion in the past. I find his reasoning less than convincing, especially when he cites Thomas Jefferson’s acceptance of slavery at the same time he was writing about freedom and liberty in the Declaration of Independence.
Jefferson, it is true, did own slaves as he was propounding for American freedom, but he never thought of slavery as a moral good. He always thought of it as a bad thing that should go away. He just had no idea about how to go about getting rid of it. Additionally, Jefferson never imagined the issue of slavery was one not to be reconsidered for future Americans. He even attempted to start a society that might help repatriate African slaves back to Africa, called the American Colonization Society.
So, to use Jefferson as some sort of example of an embargoing of a moral issue or moral evolution in comparison with Mitt Romney’s is not really a legitimate one.
I will admit that Buckley doesn’t come right out and state plainly that he believes Mitt’s conversion. And, the other point Buckley makes, that of scolding the pro-abortioners for never seeming to give the issue much thought and just taking their own belief without question, is a good one. But, I find his smoothing of the waves for Romney a bit disturbing and seems to speak to the conservative stalwart’s sizing Romney up favorably for the nomination.
In Romney we have a candidate that just can’t be believed on some of the most important conservative issues; guns and abortion. With his late lie on his “lifetime” as a hunter and his only recently advocating for a pro-abortion position, Romney seems almost like a candidate who will say just anything to get the nomination. His claim of deep moral thought on the issue after which he emerged a newly minted anti-abortionist is just too convenient to be accepted.
In any case, it seems plain that Bill Buckley doesn’t want to shut the door on Mitt Romney with this little op ed of his. I cannot say, however, that he is standing upright with this consideration. Buckley’s bending over backwards to give Romney the benefit of the doubt makes me marvel that a man of his advanced age is flexible enough for the effort.
11 users commented in " Has William F. Buckley Chosen Romney for ’08? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackWilliam F. Buckley is a man of extraordinary wisdom an discernment. He trusts Governor Romney’s conservative values because he’s come to know Governor Romney as a man and a conservative leader. There is no doubt among those of us who know Governor Romney in what his heart believes. Writers as you have an obligation to spend more time learning of a candidate and less time judging one based on the writings of others.
Perhaps I can appreciate Warner’s skepticism on Romney’s seemed ambivalence on several key issues. What I can offer is my personal perspective. As someone who worked with Mitt (albeit not closely) in the past I have found his leadership, integrity, and intellect to be considerable. Among the current slate of candidates I believe he is unquestionably supreme. Do I wish he hadn’t come so late to the conservative table? Yes. But I’m willing to overlook his timing to select a leader that is the best of my lifetime. I don’t know that I can offer much to explain his conversion. I think he responded to this issue best when he spoke to Mike Wallace on 60 minutes. My poor interpretation is that he is a different type of leader. He is not a monolithic leader. He isn’t a conservative who would make an interesting AM radio host. He is a leader interested in doing the best for the most. I think conservatives are a little wary of such a man. We are a party that likes idealists not pragmatists (or probably more correctly the illusion of idealism). This time around, if we want the best man, we may have to settle for a pragmatist. As one who has worked with him, I think it is a well placed concession. And to claim (as some have) that it is Mitt’s blinding ambition that is driving his conversion, my experience tells me otherwise.
Re: Mitt’s hunting, I’m still not convinced that he was lying. He’s had a license for a year, it’s true. But he’s right about Utah’s allowance to hunt small game w/o a license. While it may have been a defensible stretch, let’s hold off on the “liar” title until we know more clearly.
“…Romney was still advocating his pro-abortion ideas not too long ago as Governor of Massachusetts…”
Mr. Huston,
Can you please reference a pro-abortion idea that Romney advocated as Governor of Massachusetts (not as a candidate, but as the actual Gov)? As a Massachusetts resident during all of his Governorship, I can’t think of any.
Near as I can tell, Romney came into office promising to hold the status quo on abortion in massachusetts — a promise he kept, even after his pro-life conversion. As Governor, the only times he said anything about abortion was as he vetoed the legislature’s attempts to expand it.
If you have specific instances that I am unaware of, I’d love to know about them.
Your weak description of Jefferson is absurd. Jefferson was extremely hypocritical in his simultaneous use of slaves and the attempt to repatriate them. While being a brilliant man, Jefferson was deeply flawed, and at the time of his death had to SELL his slaves back into bondage (not free them) to pay off his extrordinary personal debts. He also left the U.S. Whitehouse with a massive unpaid “tab” from his personal extravagances.
The difference is that Jefferson never changed, Romney has changed. And when did that occur? Well, he was always “personally” pro-life. Before becoming governor did he have any actual experience dealing with the issue of abortion? The answer is yes! It was with a tragic family experience where a young family member died. So that obviously affected his views of the issue at that time. THEN fast forward to him as Governor where he was dealing with life issues, really the first time in his life where he had to deal with them in a “legal” framework. It was really the first time he probably had to really legally consider the question at length, and know that his decision would affect people. After considering it at length, in the context of already having a relative who died from an illegal abortion, and in the context of his wife who has MS, he STILL fell on the side of life and turned that huge corner, even with all those headwinds. Now, if that is a switch of convenience you can judge, but in my mind the convenient path would have been to stay pro-choice.
It doesn’t matter what a candidate believed half a decade ago, what matters is where they are now and how they will carry out policy.
This article is poorly informed. You should do your research (and not lean on stereotypes) before posting your opinion.
As I read the article above I was disappointed to see once again a person that can’t have an open mind. In the minds of way too many people if you had a liberal belief such as prochoice once in your life then you are stuck with it. Romeny has said repeatedly that he has been prolife all along, and what has changed has been his opinion of the role government plays in the abortion problem. He believed that women should be able to choose for themselves, and later came to believe that abortion was a horrendous act that Roe vs. Wade was making the rule rather than the exception. If you prefer to see this change of mind as politically expedient then look at his legislation in Massachusetts. He consistently voted on the side of life, even when it was politically unpopular.
Everyone has a bias, but this article stinks of it. The ‘hunter’ issue is so incredibly lame and unimportant. The author seems to be really searching without much substance to degrade Romney. I hunted as a kid but haven’t hunted in 10 years, but still have the right to call myself a ‘life long’ hunter based on my definition. If Romney feels he is a life long hunter and your definition differs, it doesn’t matter one bit on his ability to lead this country. Don’t even get me started on the one-sided view presented in this article on abortion. Right now, Romney is the best choice for this country!
Mr. Warner Todd Huston,
Either all of your readers are Romney supporters or you’re just buying into the DNC talking points. Maybe it’s a little of both. 😛
Poor judgment is a product of poor understanding. Poor understanding is a product of poor research. And poor research is a product of poor knowledge. Therefore, poor judgment is a product of poor knowledge. They painted Romney wrong, but they succeed? Absolutely NO! Even how MSMs paint Romney with all the lies and the vicious attacks, still his numbers of supporters tend to rise up. Imagine,… signing up 30,000 new supporters to his campaign in just 24 hours. Whew, that speaks the truth!
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