Romney - A Failure to Lead

Mr. Romney once again displayed a failure to lead. On Saturday, in response to a question about giving a JFK-style speech to outline and explain his religious beliefs, Mr. Romney said, “Is there going to be a special speech? Perhaps, at some point. I sort of like the idea myself. The political advisers tell me no, no, no — it’s not a good idea. It draws too much attention to that issue alone.”

Voters should be very concerned with Mr. Romney’s response not because he hasn’t given the speech, but because he relies on political consultants and others to make decisions for him. In October, he first displayed his reliance on others when he said, “You know, we’re going to let the lawyers sort out what he needed to do and what he didn’t need to do…” in response to a question on whether Congressional approval was needed prior to invading Iran.

No one who has ever studied, worked for or written about politics can deny the importance of political consultants, but if Democrats can offer once piece of sound advice, it’s to not rely to heavily on them. Consultants make their money by trying to get their client to appeal to as many people as possible, but often fail to allow their candidate to.

Mr. Romney has campaigned on his business leadership experience and his management at turning around the once failing 2002 SLC Winter Olympics. No one can deny the impact his leadership skills have had in business. Staples, once a struggling company is now a national brand name thanks in a large part to Mr. Romney who turned around the struggling company. But when it comes to politics, Romney lacks the strength and fortitude to be an effective leader.

His two comments are indicative of a man trying to be all things to all people who predominantly vote in Republican primaries. Yet he continues to lag in national polls coming in third or forth in most polls. Although he leads in early state polls, it remains to be seen if the results in Iowa and New Hampshire will continue to weigh heavily on the results of later voting states given the new compressed primary schedule. Mr. Guiliani on the other hand, who spurns the traditional Republican stance on some of its most important issues, continues to lead in national polls. All of his endorsements, including his most recent one by the Reverend Pat Robertson, have cited his ability to lead in times of crises.

Mr. Romney’s consultants are correct however when they say he shouldn’t give the speech yet because it would return attention to the issue so close to the first caucus and primary. With less than three months to go, a speech now could irreparably harm his campaign. Most people hold uninformed views on Mormonism and a speech in the beginning of the summer may have alleviated some of the misconceptions. What should be worrisome is that Mr. Romney has clearly displayed his ability to pass the buck instead of taking responsibility for his own decisions.

While his campaign has been very careful to display his business leadership skills, it has also been careful at downplaying his acute inability to lead a state, let alone a nation. The There are only three things that Mr. Romney’s leadership will be remembered for:

1. Mr. Romney signed a massive government expansion of the state health insurance laws, effectively providing universal health care coverage to all residents in the Commonwealth.

2. He balanced the state budget despite massive deficit projections by closing loop holes and raising fees. Hi proudly asserts that he didn’t raise taxes, but he neglects to admit that to balance the budget, he raised the fees for Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Taxpayer. He also closed several loop holes that made Massachusetts less hospitable to businesses, forcing several businesses to consider leaving the state.

3. Although I am hesitant to include this, Mr. Romney will be remembered for his take charge attitude when the ceiling of the Big Dig collapsed. Although it occurred at the end of his tenure, Mr. Romney was highly visible in dealing with the repercussions of the collapse.

Their has also been no mention of his inability to be a Republican leader. Many Republican’s in the state have so far refused to endorse his campaign. While it may not be evident outside of the Commonwealth, inside the states borders, Republican’s are fuming at Romney for failing to act as the head of the state party. When Mr. Romney left office, there were fewer elected Republican’s than at any other time in the last 20 years. Indeed, the governorship went Democratic after 4 successive Republican governors.

One may well ask, what all of this might mean to a Romney administration. Consulting is a fine job, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to good executives. Things tend to be over-engineered and often times, too many people are brought into the decision making process when many are not necessary. Mr. Romney might actually make a great political consultant someday, but today it’s his campaign that he’s waging and he should be the decider on things that he feels would help his campaign. He should consult with his lawyers, but that is all.

In regards to interpreting some of his actions in Massachusetts and how similar situations might play out at the national level, the simple truth is that it’s hard to predict. While Mr. Romney may disdain raising taxes, his decision to increase fees or close loop holes might make America less competitive. It may be the case that Walmart might start doing business with America from India because they find the increased fees and closed loop holes to be too much.

Republican’s should be very much worried. While many things can’t be said about President Bush, one thing that is certain - he helped build the Republican Party in Texas. And while he may have contributed to the loss of the majority in the federal government, he raised it to all new level during his first 6 years. Republican’s right now are struggling to rebuild their identity and their majority. Can they really afford to trust a man who couldn’t even maintain the status quo and who has waffled on so many issues near and dear to their hearts?

Tony can be reached at Tonylnbv@Gmail.com

---

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader. If you don't have a feed reader, you can always have these articles delivered to your email inbox every day. Click here to sign up.

Political Grind | Powered by WordPress | ElegantBlue is a custom theme by Nathan Rice