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Mitt Romney possible presidential campaign, 2016
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 Mitt Romney |
Republican presidential nominee (2012) Governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007) |
January 30, 2015 |
 Possible Republicans: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
- See also: Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney was considered a potential candidate for the office of President of the United States in 2016.[1] Romney was the 2012 Republican nominee for President of the United States. He served as Governor of Massachusetts from January 2, 2003 to January 4, 2007.[2] Currently, Romney is the executive partner group chairman of the investment firm Solamere Capital, which was co-founded by Romney's son, Tagg Romney. Prior to his tenure as Governor of Massachusetts, Romney was the CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympics.[3] From 1984 to 1998, Romney was CEO of the Boston-based Bain Capital, an investment firm which Romney co-founded.[4] From 1978 to 1984, Romney was vice-president of Bain & Co., Inc, a management consulting firm located in Boston.
Romney declined to run for president in 2016. During a conference call with donors and journalists on January 30, 2015, Romney explained, "After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the Party the opportunity to become our next nominee."[5]
Prior to his final decision, Romney stated on September 8, 2014, "Let me tell you, it was a great experience running for president. I loved that. But my time has come and gone. I had that opportunity. I ran, I didn't win."[6] Romney's name garnered attention with regard to the race after his name was placed on a straw poll in Iowa on September 1, 2014.[7] A September 22, 2014, opinion piece in The Hill called the potential duo of Romney and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval a "perfect Republican dream team."[8]
On the trail
Decision not to run
On January 30, 2015, Mitt Romney held a conference call to end speculation about his possible candidacy for president. "After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the Party the opportunity to become our next nominee," Romney said.[5] Romney noted that he would have held an early lead had he joined the race. He said, "I know that early poll numbers move up and down a great deal during a campaign, but we would have no doubt started in a strong position. One poll out just today shows me gaining support and leading the next closest contender by nearly two to one. I also am leading in all of the four early states. So I am convinced that we could win the nomination, but fully realize it would have been difficult test and a hard fight."[9]
On the issues
Economic and fiscal
Taxes
- Mitt Romney's administration closed many tax loopholes. According to The New York Times, the administration "proposed bills that would collect $120 million in new corporate taxes for 2003, $90 million in 2004 and $170 million in 2005, records show. By the end of Mr. Romney’s term, the loophole measures required companies to pay about $370 million a year in additional taxes, a nearly 20 percent increase from the period before he took office, according to an analysis of government data by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonprofit research group that receives financing from corporations."[10]
- During his tenure as governor, Romney "created tax credits for new manufacturing jobs, a faster-paced permitting system for businesses and a marketing program intended to lure companies to Massachusetts. He personally courted big companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb, putting together a package of tax incentives that persuaded the giant pharmaceutical company to open a manufacturing plant in Massachusetts rather than a rival state," according to The New York Times.[10]
Government regulations
- Mitt Romney was critical of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during his 2012 campaign. He blamed the agency for a difficult economic and regulatory climate, according to Politico.[11]
- During the 2012 campaign, Romney criticized President Barack Obama for creating more government regulations for the private sector, according to The Hill.[12]
International trade
| "Mitt Romney: China is a currency manipulator; impose tariffs & start a trade war," October 21, 2012. |
- In October 2012, Mitt Romney said, "I will champion free trade and restore it as a critical element of our strategy, both in the Middle East and across the world. The President has not signed one new free trade agreement in the past four years. I will reverse that failure. I will work with nations around the world that are committed to the principles of free enterprise, expanding existing relationships and establishing new ones."[13]
Budgets
- In 2011, Mitt Romney said he supported the "cut, cap and balance" plan, which proposed cutting spending, putting a cap on future spending and passing a balanced budget amendment.[14][15]
- Romney was credited with turning around the fiscal crisis in Massachusetts. When he came into office, the state was facing a $3 billion deficit. When he left office, the state had a surplus and $2 billion in the rainy day fund.[16]
- While Romney was governor, state spending rose by 22 percent, according to The Los Angeles Times.[17]
- According to The Boston Globe, "Romney largely balanced the budget by cutting state aid to cities and towns, many of which responded by raising property taxes. In his first two years in office, Romney presided over a 15 percent cut in spending on unrestricted aid to cities and towns; he also cut more than 4 percent of funding for local schools."[18]
Agricultural subsidies
- In October 2012, during his presidential campaign, Mitt Romney described his agricultural plan. According to The New York Times, Romney was "supportive of the renewable fuel standard, which mandates the use of ethanol in gasoline" and "the passage of a federal farm bill."[19]
- According to Al Jazeera, Romney "called farm subsidies a matter of 'national security,'" in 2012.[20]
Federal assistance programs
- In 2012, Mitt Romney said he wanted "to raise Medicare eligibility age by one month per year and eventually tie the age to life expectancy," according to The Guardian.[21]
- In 2012, Romney expressed his support for requiring welfare recipients to be drug tested, in order to receive benefits.[22]
- During a 2008 presidential primary debate, Romney proposed protecting Social Security benefits by extending the retirement age.[23]
Labor and employment
- In 2009, Mitt Romney opposed a congressional bill, the Employee Free Choice Act, which proposed eliminating the vote requirement to organize a union. He said, "The impact long term is people start less businesses here. It's not great for the people who start businesses today, but it's even worse for the employees of tomorrow."[24]
- In 2004, Romney proposed having state employees pay 25 percent of their healthcare premiums, rather than the 15 percent they were paying. State legislators rejected this proposal.[25]
Foreign affairs
Military preparedness and budget
- In a 2014 op-ed, Mitt Romney criticized Congress and President Barack Obama for cutting defense spending at a time of increasing threats from Russia, China, Iran and the Islamic State.[26]
- During his 2012 campaign, Romney proposed spending "at least 4 percent of gross domestic product on military personnel, procurement, operations and maintenance, and research and development," according to The New York Times.[27]
National security
- In November 2014, Mitt Romney criticized President Barack Obama's handling of ISIS. He said, "I think the president's wrong in saying that under no circumstances will he consider ground troops. No one wants to see our own ground troops there, but if you're going to defeat something you don't tell the enemy exactly what you plan on doing or what you won't do, you say, 'We're going to defeat you regardless of the consequence.'"[28]
International relations
- During a 2014 interview on CBS's "Face the Nation," host Bob Schieffer asked Mitt Romney if he believed "what happened in Ukraine had anything to do with what President Obama has or hasn't done?" Romney replied, "[T]he President's naivety with regards to-- to Russia and his faulty judgment about Russia's intentions and objectives has led to a number of foreign policy challenges that we face. And unfortunately not having anticipated Russia's intentions, the President wasn't able to shape the kinds of events that may have been able to prevent the kinds of circumstances that you're seeing in the Ukraine as well as the things that you're seeing in Syria. We-- we really need to understand that Russia has very different interests than ours, this is not fantasy land, this is reality, where they are a geopolitical adversary. They're not our enemy. But they are certainly an adversary on the world stage."[29]
- According to a July 2014 Politico article written by Alex Wong, Romney's 2012 presidential campaign foreign policy director, "The animating theory that underlay Romney’s view of the world was that the United States and its allies are in strategic competition with rival systems of governance, and always have been. 'Other global strategies, each pursued by at least one state or major actor, are aggressively being pursued to surpass us and, in some cases, to suppress us,' Romney wrote in his 2010 book, No Apology. That book—although viewed by many who never read it as a run-of-the-mill campaign biography—was in actuality a book about geopolitics. It identified the governance models of China, Russia and radical Islamic jihadism as the chief competitors at this point in history to American-style political and economic liberalism. To beat those actors and ensure our security, Romney wrote, U.S. leaders must first recognize that we are in fact in a competition and that our adversaries are implementing sophisticated strategies to beat us."[30]
Domestic
Federalism
Judiciary
- During a speech at the National Rifle Association's convention in 2012, Mitt Romney criticized President Barack Obama's view of the Supreme Court and the Constitution. He said, "Judicial review requires that the Supreme Court strike down any law that violates the Constitution - the founding document that is the bulwark of our freedoms. But President Obama seems to believe that Court decisions are only legitimate when they rule in his favor, and illegitimate if they don't. He thinks our nation's highest court is to be revered and respected - as long as it remains faithful to the original intent of Barack Obama. That's the problem with those who view the Constitution as living and evolving, not timeless and defining. They never explain just who will decide what the Constitution means and in which way it will 'evolve.' In his first term, we've seen the president try to browbeat the Supreme Court. In a second term, he would remake it. Our freedoms would be in the hands of an Obama Court, not just for four years, but for the next 40. That must not happen."[31]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Although Mitt Romney supported the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, he said, "I'm not wild about the idea of corporations making political contributions as a concept," according to International Business Times.[32]
- During Romney's 2012 campaign, he expressed his opposition to super PACs, according to The Daily Beast. During a debate, he said, "We all would like to have super PACs disappear, to tell you the truth … I think this has to change."[33]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In 2004, Mitt Romney signed a bill that imposed a permanent ban on "assault weapons" in Massachusetts. After signing the bill, he said, "Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts. These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people."[34]
Natural resources
Energy
- During his 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney released an energy plan that advocated for offshore drilling and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by easing federal regulations, according to Reuters.[35]
- During his 2012 campaign, Romney argued that states should regulate the fracking industry.[36]
Keystone XL pipeline
- In 2012, Mitt Romney pledged that if elected president, he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office.[37]
Climate change
- In 2004, Mitt Romney unveiled the Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan (MCPP). The plan proposed, among other things, reducing greenhouse gas emissions "to 1990 levels by the year 2010" to address climate change.[38]
- In the MCCP, Romney wrote, "Rather than focusing our energy on the debate over the causes of global warming and the impact of human activity on climate, we have chosen to put our emphasis on actions, not discourse. If climate change is happening, the actions we take will help. If climate change is largely caused by human actions, this will really help. If we learn decades from now that climate change isn’t happening, these actions will still help our economy, our quality of life and the quality of our environment."[38]
Education
- Mitt Romney supported the No Child Left Behind Act, according to the USA Today.[39]
- In September 2012, Romney discussed his position on Common Core standards. He said, "You know, I think it's fine for people to lay out what they think core subjects might be and to suggest a pedagogy and being able to provide that learning to our kids. I don't subscribe to the idea of the federal government trying to push a common core on various states. It's one thing to put it out as a model and let people adopt it as they will, but to financially reward states based upon accepting the federal government's idea of a curriculum, I think, is a mistake. And the reason I say that is that there may be a time when the government has an agenda that it wants to promote. And I'm not wild about the federal government having some kind of agenda that it then compensates states to teach their kids. I'd rather let education and what is taught state by state be determined state by state, not by the federal government."[40]
Healthcare
- During the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney proposed repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and replacing it with a free enterprise solution. He said, "Free enterprise is the way America works. We need to apply that to health care." According to Bloomberg, Romney proposed removing the individual mandate and diverting Medicaid funding to the states to care for the uninsured.[41]
- In 2010, Romney opposed the way Obamacare became law. He released the following statement: "America has just witnessed an unconscionable abuse of power. President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation – rather than bringing us together, ushering in a new kind of politics, and rising above raw partisanship, he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends. He promised better; we deserved better."[42]
- In 2006, Romney implemented "Romneycare," a healthcare program for citizens of Massachusetts. Romneycare set minimum healthcare coverage requirements, required insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions, insured low-income citizens and required that businesses with at least 10 employees provide health insurance.[43]
Immigration
- In 2013, Mitt Romney said, "People who have come here illegally should not be given a special pathway to permanent residency or citizenship in this country merely because they've come here illegally."[44]
- In 2005, Romney "vetoed a bill that would have granted in-state tuition to illegal immigrants," according to The New York Times.[45]
Abortion
- During a 2002 gubernatorial debate, Mitt Romney said, "[I] will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose ... I will not change any provisions in Massachusetts’ pro-choice laws."[46]
- In 2005, Romney vetoed a bill that would have allowed the morning-after pill to be dispensed without a prescription. In an op-ed explaining his decision, he wrote, "The bill does not involve only the prevention of conception: The drug it authorizes would also terminate life after conception. Signing such a measure into law would violate the promise I made to the citizens of Massachusetts when I ran for governor. I pledged that I would not change our abortion laws either to restrict abortion or to facilitate it. What's more, this particular bill does not require parental consent even for young teenagers. It disregards not only the seriousness of abortion but the importance of parental involvement and so would weaken a protection I am committed to uphold. I have spoken with medical professionals to determine whether the drug contemplated under the bill would simply prevent conception or whether it would also terminate a living embryo after conception. Once it became clear that the latter was the case, my decision was straightforward. I will honor the commitment I made during my campaign: While I do not favor abortion, I will not change the state's abortion laws."[47]
- In the same op-ed, Romney wrote, "I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate. Because Massachusetts is decidedly prochoice, I have respected the state's democratically held view. I have not attempted to impose my own views on the prochoice majority."[47]
Gay rights
- During a 2012 interview with Fox Business Network’s Neil Cavuto, Mitt Romney discussed the definition of marriage and same-sex couples' rights. He said, "Let me make it very clear, which is that my preference would be to have a national standard that defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. That would then allow states to determine what rights would be provided for people of the same gender that wanted to have a relationship. I believe that marriage has been defined the same way for literally thousands of years by virtually every civilization in history and that marriage is by its definition a relationship between a man and woman and if two people of the same gender want to live together, want to have a loving relationship, even want to adopt a child in my state, individuals of the same sex are able to adopt children. In my view, that’s something which people have the right to do, but to call that marriage is, in my view, a departure from the real meaning of the word."[48]
- In 1994, Romney sent a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans of Massachusetts stating that "he would be a stronger advocate for gay rights than Senator Edward M. Kennedy, his opponent in a Senate race, in a position that stands in contrast to his current role as a champion of a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage," according to The New York Times. When the letter emerged in 2006, Romney maintained that his position had not changed. According to Romney's aides, "Romney had always been an opponent of same-sex marriage, had always opposed discrimination against gay men and lesbians and had been consistent in his views about allowing them to serve in the military."[49]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Mitt + Romney + 2016
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Yahoo, "Mitt Romney says he will not make 2016 White House bid," January 30, 2015
- ↑ Boston.com, "Mitt Romney chooses Paul Ryan as running mate," August 11, 2012
- ↑ NPR, "Romney's Olympic Legacy: Savior Or Self-Promoter?" January 13, 2012
- ↑ The Atlantic, "What's Really Going on With Mitt Romney's $102 Million IRA," September 10, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Huffington Post, "Mitt Romney Is Not Running For President In 2016," January 30, 2015
- ↑ Breitbart, "Mitt Romney on 2016: 'My time has come and gone'," September 8, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Romney 2016? Nooooo!" September 1, 2014
- ↑ The Hill, "Romney/Sandoval 2016," September 22, 2014
- ↑ Hugh Hewitt, "The Romney Statement: Not Running. 'I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the Party the opportunity to become our next nominee,'" January 30, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 New York Times, "Romney's Strategies As Governor Bucked His CEO Image," October 2, 2011
- ↑ Politico, “Mitt Romney intensifies EPA attacks," October 6, 2012
- ↑ The Hill, "Polls," May 18, 2012
- ↑ Cato.org, "Mitt Romney Will ‘Champion Free Trade’," accessed April 30, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, “Romney supports cut to cap balance pledge,” June 29, 2011
- ↑ Republican Study Committee, "Cut, Cap, and Balance," accessed April 30, 2015
- ↑ The Atlantic, "Was Mitt Romney a Good Governor?" May 31, 2012
- ↑ L.A. Times, "Romney touts his Massachusetts record as fiscal hawk," June 9, 2012
- ↑ Boston Globe, "As governor, Romney faced similar economic situation as Obama -- with similar results," September 5, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "Iowa Farmers Could Give Romney a Lift, Despite President’s Stance on Agriculture," November 12, 2012
- ↑ Al Jazeera, "Corn lobby outgrows US farm subsidies," August 31, 2012
- ↑ The Guardian, "Romney would raise Medicare eligibility age," February 24 2012
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Conservatives' Plans To Drug Test Welfare Recipients Get Momentum, Earn Support Of GOP Candidates," February 25, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "Transcript: The Republican Debate," January 24, 2008
- ↑ CBS News, "Romney Calls Union-Backed Bill "Catastrophic," May 29, 2009
- ↑ Washington Times, "Romney's initiatives: miracles or gimmickry?" June 10, 2012
- ↑ The Washington Post, “Mitt Romney: 'The World Needs A Mighty US Military',” September 4, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "How Mr. Romney Would Force-Feed the Pentagon," August 25, 2012
- ↑ CBS News, "Mitt Romney: Obama "wrong" to say no ground troops in ISIS fight," November 16, 2014
- ↑ CBS Face the Nation, "Face The Nation Transcripts March 23, 2014: Romney, Durbin, Ayotte," March 23, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "What Mitt Romney got right about the world," July 2014
- ↑ Fox News, "Transcript: Read Mitt Romney's Speech on Freedom Given at NRA Convention in St. Louis," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ International Business Times, “Romney Backs Citizens United, But 'Not Wild' About Corporate Campaign Spending (VIDEO)," November 4, 2011
- ↑ The Daily Beast, "Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich lament Super PACs but backed ruling that made them," January 17, 2012
- ↑ Berkshires.com, "Romney signs off on permanent assault weapons ban," July 8, 2004
- ↑ Reuters, "In Romney plan, oil drilling unfettered by politics," August 24, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post, "How states are regulating fracking (in maps)," July 16, 2012
- ↑ The Globe and Mail, "Romney vows immediate Keystone approval on first day in White House," May 18, 2012
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 Washington Post, "Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ USA Today, "Obama, Romney have different views on education," accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Mitt Romney at Education Nation — transcript," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Romney Outlines Health-Care Plan as Supreme Court Weighs Law," June 13, 2012
- ↑ CNN, "Romney on health vote: Obama betrayed his oath to the nation," March 22, 2010
- ↑ BostonCBSLocal, "Romneycare Vs. Obamacare: Key Similarities & Differences," accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Mitt Romney: No path to citizenship for illegal immigrants," March 3, 2013
- ↑ New York Times, "Immigrants to Pay Tuition at Rate Set for Residents," November 19, 2012
- ↑ MIT.edu, "Candidates for Gov. Spar for Last Time," November 1, 2002
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Boston Globe, "Why I vetoed the contraception bill," July 26, 2005
- ↑ National Review, "Romney Calls for National Standard Upholding Traditional Marriage," May 10, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "Romney’s Gay Rights Stance Draws Ire," December 9, 2006
