THE STUMP APRIL 23, 2012
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So, according to the new CW, Team Obama is no longer portraying Mitt Romney as a convictionless panderer but as a Goldwater-esque extremist instead. As I noted in my own take on this question, that’s clearly the way to go here—Bill Clinton’s success with the strategy in 1996 speaks for itself. But I’d submit an added selling point that the coverage has so far ignored.
The first-order benefit of the 1996 strategy is obvious: The right-wing views Romney has adopted will turn off women, independents, and Latinos, all of them key voting blocs. The second-order benefit is more of a bank-shot: Having been labeled a conservative, Romney must protest more explicitly that he’s not a conservative, which draws more attention to the general election makeover he’s trying to pull off (as seamlessly and unobtrusively as possible), which annoys conservatives already suspicious of Romney’s bona fides, which compels Romney to prove that he is in fact a conservative. So by arguing that Romney is a conservative, the Obama campaign is helping to bring that about.
My only quibble is with Team Obama’s parsing of the allegation. The formulation David Plouffe gave the Times last week went as follows: “Whether it’s tax policy, whether it’s his approach to abortion, gay rights, immigration, he’s the most conservative nominee that they’ve had going back to Goldwater.” I’d tweak this slightly (not that anyone asked for my advice) and say, “Whether it’s tax policy … abortion, gay rights, immigration, he’s *running as* the most conservative nominee that they’ve had going back to Goldwater.” I don’t think many people look at Mitt Romney and see an authentic, fire-breathing conservative. But I do think they’ll believe he’s been willing to act like one to appease his party. And that the appeasement won’t abruptly end on Election Day.
On top of which, phrasing it this way lets you use both the “too conservative” argument and the “soulless” argument in a way that’s perfectly coherent, so you don’t really have to choose.
Update: My former colleague Chris Orr tweets that "running as" hints too strongly that Romney would reverse course again and govern as a moderate. In that case, I'd go with something like "he's turned himself into the most conservative..." But, really, I'm happy to leave the precise wording to the pros. The point is just that the unadorned "most conservative since Goldwater" may not pass a smell test for a lot of voters.
Follow me on twitter: @noamscheiber
10 comments
I can't wait for the general election debates, when the moderator turns to Mitt and asks, "You've described yourself as being SEVERELY conservative. Can you give us some examples of this, and how you feel having a 'severe' conservative administration benefits the country?"
- Tristan
April 23, 2012 at 1:13pm
For what it's worth, Goldwater wasn't very conservative when it comes to gay rights. As far as I know it didn't come up in the 1964 campaign (may of course be wrong), but 20 years later he was saying "You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight"
- CAinDC
April 23, 2012 at 1:35pm
I think you're correct that Romney is just "running as" a hardcore conservative, but the Obama campaign is correct in taking all his statements at face value. Pundits always have to look for faults in messaging, and in this instance the fault they'll find with the Obama's campaign will be that they actually believe anything Romney says. It gets the “too conservative” and “soulless” arguments across much more effectively (having someone come to the conclusion themselves is much more powerful than just stating it). I bet even the Romney campaign will fall for this trap and have "don't believe anything Mitt says" as one of their talking points.
- Attrill
April 23, 2012 at 2:10pm
I like Tristan's scenario. Oh yes, get Mitt to deal with his own statement about being SEVERELY conservative, by all means, with millions watching. Mitt will then have a choice of either ratifying BO's charge, or else be forced to back down from the full commitment to SEVERE conservatism, further raising skepticism among the right wing true believers about Romney's' conservative bona fides, & deflating their ardor for him. And everyone else (swing voters, esp) would get a good view of etch-a-sketchism as it happens.
- Haole45
April 23, 2012 at 3:36pm
I love it. "Vote for ME! Don't believe everything I say! Or said! Or whatever!"
- Sophia
April 23, 2012 at 4:14pm
I've never been close enough to Romney to see if he casts a shadow. Isn't the lack of a shadow supposed to be irrefutable evidence that someone lacks a soul?
- skahn
April 23, 2012 at 5:23pm
"may not pass a smell test for a lot of voters. " Would it work if they just announced that Romney stinks?
- Nusholtz
April 23, 2012 at 6:10pm
Romney's best chance is to cultivate the No-bama vote. He's a piss-poor candidate, but there's plenty of dissatisfaction with Obama to be cultivated.
- GSpinks
April 24, 2012 at 2:05pm
How about "he has decided to become the most conservative candidate since Goldwater." That formulation gets at the fact that his conservativism is newfound and cynical while suggesting that it's what he has genuinely (at least for now) become."
- EDLWOLF@ALUMNI.BROWN.EDU
April 24, 2012 at 2:37pm
I like the main thrust of the Obama campaign's attack, but in fact is Romney actually less conservative than Goldwater? Could be that some of his positions make him the most conservative since Hoover or Coolidge.
- Thunderroad
May 3, 2012 at 1:58pm