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Go Home And...Here Comes The Pivot*

THE STUMP APRIL 23, 2012

And...Here Comes The Pivot*

BY ALEC MACGILLIS

This morning I wrote about Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell trying out the Etch-a-Sketch on his abortion stance. But as Mitt Romney showed just moments later, he remains the unquestioned master of this machine. Here, children, is how it’s really done:

March 5: 

At a town hall meeting in Ohio today, Romney was asked how he planned to help students better afford college. Instead of offering substantive policy solutions aimed at bringing down the cost of college, Romney told students that they should “shop around” for an affordable school or “think about serving the country” in order to get a free education:

ROMNEY: ...[M]y best advice is find a great institution of higher learning, find one that has the right price, and shop around. In America, this idea of competition, it works! [...] I want to make sure that every kid in this country that wants to go to college gets the chance to go to college. If you can’t afford it, scholarships are available, shop around for loans, make sure you go to a place that’s reasonably priced, and if you can, think about serving the country ’cause that’s a way to get all that education for free.

In other words, you’re on your own, kid—don’t expect the government’s help.**

But today, the day that the Obama campaign was planning to hit him for joining congressional Republicans in refusing to prevent student loan interest rates for 7 million people from doubling in the months ahead, Romney had this to say:

“Particularly with the number of college graduates that can’t find work or can only find work well beneath their skill level, I fully support the effort to extend the low interest rate on student loans,” [Romney] said at a joint appearance with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in Philadelphia. “There was some concern that would expire halfway through the year, and I support extending the temporary relief on interest rates for students … in part because of the extraordinarily poor conditions in the job market.”

One can only imagine what those oh-so-enthusiastic Romney endorsers on the Hill will think about that, and much more of the same to come.

*Apologies to Tim Noah.

**Reading Greg Sargent's blog reminds me that the other part of Romney's comments on March 5 were even more at opposition to his new stance on student loan rates: “It would be popular for me to stand up and say I’m going to give you government money to pay for your college, but I’m not going to promise that. Don’t just go to one that has the highest price. Go to one that has a little lower price where you can get a good education. And hopefully you’ll find that. And don’t expect the government to forgive the debt that you take on.”

Follow me on Twitter @AlecMacGillis

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14 comments

It begins: House Republicans vs. The Entire Universe. Once Romney turns on them too it's not going to be pretty. This could all end with Paul Ryan crying on Meet the Press, perhaps in David Gregory's arms.

- Pnaut

April 23, 2012 at 4:22pm

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(shake shake shake)

- Tristan

April 23, 2012 at 4:22pm

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Hmm, next he'll be taking the Santorum tack that college is for snobs and sissies and that real 'Murricans go out and get manly work-with-their-hands jobs and Mom stays home. And I just love the March 5 position for plain unadulterated Repulican chickenhawk gall. "think about serving the country". Yes, Mittens and his boys sure do have quite the record.

- dubyadoubte

April 23, 2012 at 4:39pm

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Romney could learn from Obama who was against the Individual Mandate before he was for it who was against raising the Debt Ceiling before he was for it who was against SUPER-PACs before he started one the list goes on. Yet, liberal moonbats think Romney's pivots are an issue???

- mr_rationale

April 23, 2012 at 4:47pm

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Mr. Rationale, you may perhaps have an accurate point. But it is a point without much point. If A does some that is legitimately subject to criticism, saying that "B" does it as bad or worse does not solve the problem of A's deficiency. Is the best you can come up with is "Obama is as bad as Romney, therefore Romney is good?"

- skahn

April 23, 2012 at 5:09pm

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So the guy with a dual Harvard JD/MBA (>$200K in 2012 dollars) thinks the rest of the unwashed masses should "shop around" -- because there are so many cheaper-yet-equivalent institutions to choose from. That's a perfect philosophy for the Republicans: while the rest of us are "shopping around," it leaves more places at elite institutions for their undeserving rich screwup kids (see, e.g., GWB).

- ATLeft

April 23, 2012 at 5:10pm

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Ah, Mr Rationale, you once again reveal your ignorance of the laws of American politics. We don't expect politicians to keep to their positions taken during a campaign once they take office. But we do expect them to stick to the positions they've taken in a campaign *during the same campaign.* The former has to do with the realities of governing. Consider Ronald Reagan + tax increases. The latter has to do with someone's basic inner compass and the ability to make at least a half-hearted stab at something like consistency. As is becoming clear, Romney has neither.

- timteeter

April 23, 2012 at 5:37pm

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Obama didn't pretend that he'd never been senator from Illinois. I know Mittens doesn't actually claim he's never been governor of Massachusetts, but his rightward shape-shift over the last few years practically amounts to that. Also, Obama didn't pander to the loony fringe (and it really IS a fringe) of the Democratic Party.

- ironyroad

April 23, 2012 at 5:57pm

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Mr. Rat. Romney was for women working before he embraced women not working. Romney said he achieved success on his own, after his wife told us they lived off stock from his father. Romney was for collective bargaining in Ohio before he was against it. Romney said leave contraception alone before he was against it. Romney advised of a federal health insurance mandate before he was against it. Romney supported Roe v. Wade before he was against it. Romney is in favor of hiring illegal aliens if he is not running for president for Pete's sake. Romney was for F.D.I.C. bailouts that benefitted Bain before he was against bailouts for car companies. And much more.

- Nusholtz

April 23, 2012 at 6:23pm

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It is worth adding that Obama publicly advertised that he had changed his mind on the mandate--he actually announced it in an address to Congress. I have yet to hear Romney declare that he's actually changed his mind--quite the opposite, in fact--in the face of obvious contradictions of past positions.

- timteeter

April 23, 2012 at 6:28pm

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Honestly, people, isn't ignoring that thing the best way to get it to go away? Anyway... “There was some concern that would expire halfway through the year,..." There are so many ways to make fun of that attempt at a sentence I'm going into brain lock trying to choose one. I guess I'll just stick with the notion that we'll be lucky if Romney's concerns for higher-ed costs actually last halfway through the year.

- cspencef

April 23, 2012 at 8:09pm

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“'[T]hink about serving the country' in order to get a free education." That's rich coming from richie rich boy. This idiot is either imply not self-aware, doesn't care, or, both. The French-speaking Romney opted out of fighting for capitalism and democracy in the former French Indochina for. . .doing the missionary thing in the safety of France(!?). Of course, Romney still had an opportunity to risk his life defending "freedom" and the American Way in the rice paddies of Vietnam. Romney even declined to participate in the military's part-time gigs called the National Guard and reserves. (An especially safe gig back in the 60s and 70s. Just ask Dubya, Steve Forbes and John Bolton for starters.) But the parasite opted to make oodles of money in the American quasi-capitalist system defended by almost 60,000 dead and 150K wounded suckers. . .er, American servicemen. And I'm pleased to learn that imparted the same selfish values to his sons, Tagg et al, who he feels that since they come from money should "serve" their country by helping their father obtain the bauble of the presidency of the United States. (Remember, Mitten's answer to the question regarding his sons serving in Iraq?) I guess Romney's answer is just an example of him staying classy in class-less,egalitarian (redundant?) no class warfare(except waged by"them libruls") America.

- tec619

April 24, 2012 at 2:01am

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timteeter Is the device Romney has termed a compass if is has 180 needles and they point two directions simultaneously? Thereby pointing to every cardinal and intercardinal point. If it is a compass, it certainly has ingested a huge quantity of PCP. Forget etch-a-sketch. We should name Romney 360 or GPS-gone-wild.

- tec619

April 24, 2012 at 2:13am

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What's all this fuss I've been hearing about the 'pivot' to the center that takes place after the primaries during presidential elections? Is there any actual documentation that shows presidential candidates moderating their positions for the general election? Or is this more Beltway media bullshit? I frankly can't think of one case. They may change their tone or emphases, but do they actually change previously held positions? The most extreme, successful presidential candidate that I can think of would be Reagan in 1980 - what conservative position did he espouse in the primary that he changed for the general? GHW Bush didn't renege or moderate on No New Taxes during the campaign. Clinton ran as a moderate in the primary. GW Bush also ran as a moderate 'compassionate conservative' and didn't shit-can this pretext until after he was inaugurated. I can't think of anything Obama did during the 2008 general that was at odds with what he was saying during the primaries. I'm probably just mis-remembering. but please, Alec (and other readers of this thread), please provide some examples of the vaunted 'turn toward the middle' that apparently happens all the time in presidential campaigns. Perhaps there were never any major turns, but is a construct that is in the mind of media (because, after all, it is an iron-clad rule in the MSM that you always HAVE to please the center). And so now that a candidate IS actually changing their positions, the media is ignoring it as business as usual.

- RobertW

April 24, 2012 at 8:24pm

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