# Mitt Romney, presidential bid as a democrat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 14, 2023, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129 "2023-09-14T23:17:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/61 "2023-04-10T16:25:54Z")
Romney is no Democrat, IMHO. He’s simply a Republican that happens to believe in the democratic process and has long been tired of Trump’s immoral and illegal actions. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/62 "2023-04-10T16:28:51Z")
# [Should Mitt Romney Run as a Democrat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-mitt-romney-run-as-a-democrat/982353) Why not? Manchin did. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/63 "2023-04-10T16:30:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > He’s taken a few more centrist (if not liberal) stances over the course of his political career, including creating Romneycare while governor of Massachusetts, and [joining in a Black Lives Matter march](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/06/07/romney-protest-black-lives-matter/) in 2020. Romneycare was a Republican position at the time. Republicans thought personal responsibility meant that everyone should be responsible for their own health care and buy their own health insurance from private providers. No one should get out of the obligation by being too poor and showing up at the hospital to get free care. Obama sincerely believed that by championing a Republican idea, he could work across the aisle, make some compromises, and accomplish something good for America. His version also had more in financial support for low wage workers than Republicans would have given on their own but it was mostly what Republicans had been asking for–right up to the moment a black Democrat wanted the same thing. Then, they couldn’t run farther from “socialism” and “death panels.” ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/64 "2023-04-10T16:54:56Z")
Someone started calling it Romneycare because he was governor of Massachusetts at the time, and he signed the bill. The legislation had been in the works for a long time (before Romney was governor) and was not Romney’s idea. The Massachusetts legislature is mostly Democratic. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/65 "2023-04-10T18:36:40Z")
Below is an excellent article from Forbes (not exactly a left-wing commie rag) about the history of individual health insurance mandates in public policy. The first advocate for it was the Heritage Foundation, which is a noted conservative think-tank. The individual mandate was raised as a response to a mandate imposed on hospitals that accept Medicare that required them to treat the indigent (signed by that pinko, Ronald Reagan). When poor people started getting health care as a result, a long litany of Republicans, with names like George H.W. Bush (that Marxist) started kicking this idea around. Then Hillary (you know which one) started advocating for single-payer health care. In response, all the leftist Senate Republicans like Bob Dole, Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, etc. etc. etc. put forth a bill that would have imposed an individual mandate and given subsidies to some poor people (hmm, what does that sound like)? This got the support of that radical Trotsky-ite and prominent Republican, Newt Gingrich. Call it what you will, Obamacare was a Republican idea first adopted by a Republican governor (as you note, in a predominantly Democratic state). There can’t really be much debate about that. Although it never had the support of all Republicans (the article does a good job of discussing dissent among Republicans), it was only universally rejected by Republicans when enough Democrats agreed it might be worth considering. > **[The Tortuous History of Conservatives and the Individual Mandate](https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2012/02/07/the-tortuous-conservative-history-of-the-individual-mandate/?sh=75a94fd255fe)** > > Unless conservatives coalesce around a free-market vision of health reform, they will always find themselves rushing headlong into tactical policy proposals—like the individual mandate—that they haven’t fully thought through. Conservatives are always... ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/66 "2023-04-10T18:38:00Z")
> [@Dandan](#): > > Why not? Manchin did. Manchin is fine as a senator from West Virginia. We could use a lot more Manchins (a moderate to conservative Democrat holding a seat in a solidly red state) - who wouldn’t trade Mitch McConnell or Rand Paul for a Manchin-like Democrat? Manchin would not stand a chance running for national office. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/67 "2023-04-10T20:27:56Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Manchin is fine as a senator from West Virginia. Probably be fine as a senator from mars, you’d know what you were voting for. Has there been a poll (from WV) checking dems’ disappointment with the misleading packaging? > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > who wouldn’t trade Mitch McConnell or Rand Paul for a Manchin-like Democrat? Not an option here on Earth. The gops have pulled out all the stops, we should do the same. I get it that “It’s West Virginia, Jake” but I’d hesitate to apply faint praise to the munchkin. The gops can stick together when it’s our country they want to wreck; we should do the same to preserve it. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/68 "2023-04-10T20:33:49Z")
I just goggled “how is manchin polling in west virginia” and the answer is, not surprisingly, “stinko”. Too bad the DINO couldn’t stand up an help inflict some damage. Dan ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/69 "2023-04-10T20:34:15Z")
Manchin? You mean the Reactionary Rightist who’s somehow allowed to sit with the Ds? That Manchin? He should be expelled, not extolled. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/70 "2023-04-10T21:04:30Z")
the only thing WV cares about is voting for whoever kisses the ass of the coal companies by defeating any alternative energy bill ever put out ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/71 "2023-04-10T21:16:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Manchin? You mean the Reactionary Rightist who’s somehow allowed to sit with the Ds? That Manchin? > > He should be expelled, not extolled. I hate Manchin, but if (when?) he loses in WV. he’ll be replaced by a Trumpist, not someone more liberal. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/72 "2023-04-10T21:19:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Manchin? You mean the Reactionary Rightist who’s somehow allowed to sit with the Ds? That Manchin? > > He should be expelled, not extolled. Despite being the most rightwing of the Dems, Manchin stills votes with Biden 88% of the time. That’s 20 points more than the most leftwing Republican. > **[Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/joe-manchin/)** > > An updating tally of how often every member of the House and the Senate votes with or against the president. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/73 "2023-04-10T21:20:06Z")
True. But given his de facto veto power over everything the D’s do, we’d do better to accept that Trumpist rather than being forced to propose only trumpist-lite legislation as our own. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/74 "2023-04-10T21:21:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Manchin? You mean the Reactionary Rightist who’s somehow allowed to sit with the Ds? That Manchin? > > He should be expelled, not extolled. Huh. So we expel Manchin, Sinema flips to Republican and… don’t we then have McConnell back in the Senate Majority Leader seat? (Rhetorical question.) I’m no fan o’ Manchin, but come on. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/75 "2023-04-10T21:23:04Z")
The proper answer to Manchin isn’t to get rid of him; it’s to get some more solid Democrats so we can pass bills without him. He’s mostly a reliable Democrat, on everything except things relating to the coal industry. Now, Sinema, she’s a disgrace, and we can, should, and hopefully will, do better than her. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/76 "2023-04-10T21:41:36Z")
That’s the real point, much better said by @Chronos than by me. The Ds can’t be reduced to a 1 vote majority and expect to accomplish anything. Fix that and Manchin won’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/77 "2023-04-10T23:02:26Z")
Romney thought Trump was a stupid uncultured buffoon but he agreed with him policy-wise on almost everything. He just didnt like that Trump said thw quiet parts out loud. Fuck him. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/78 "2023-04-10T23:25:06Z")
Trump wants to subvert the US constitution and turn the USA into his personal property. The “normal” R politicians (now greatly in the minority) of which Romney is one, want what they always have: to dominate politics with an agenda based on greed and power for the Establishment fat-cats, and deficit spending aimed mostly at the military industrial complex and “corporate welfare”. Neither of those are what the Ds want. But they are very different situations with very different implications for the Ds and for the USA. I think that most of would agree that if there was to be an R in the White House after the 2024 election, we’d rather have Romney than Trump. At least with Romney there’s some chance there will be a 2028 election to vote him back out. With trump there is no such chance. None of which says the idea of Romney running as a D is anything but insane. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/79 "2023-04-10T23:53:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The “normal” R politicians (now greatly in the minority) of which Romney is one, want what they always have: to dominate politics with an agenda based on greed and power for the Establishment fat-cats, and deficit spending aimed mostly at the military industrial complex and “corporate welfare”. > > Neither of those are what the Ds want. Talk. The Ds _say_ that they are opposed to those things, but when the tacks are brass, they do almost nothing about them. Republicans implement destructive policies and the Ds just let them slide (though, granted, Joe the President has reversed a handful of Individual-ONE’s more egregious affronts).        Decades later, Reagan’s tax cuts remain in place even though they have driven the nation into peril. A Glass-Steagal-type safely valve could have been restored in '09 when the D’s had firm control of the government, but, no such luck. And we still have a Space Force – why?        The socioeconomic system is severely damaged, and the Rs keep breaking things, but the Ds do nothing to fix the damage, only barely enough to keep the system from collapsing completely. And some pretty stickers to cover the cracks. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129/80 "2023-04-11T00:42:32Z")
The _Reducto ad Manchinum_: every thread in P&E, if it goes on long enough, ends up about Joe Manchin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitt-romney-presidential-bid-as-a-democrat/990129.md?page=5)