Mitt: I Won’t Detail Plans, Because Then I’d Lose

Mitt: I Won’t Detail Plans, Because Then I’d Lose

Mitt Romney has embraced a budget plan that would entail cutting federal programs other than defense and Social Security by more than half. It does raise the question of how he plans to carry out such a sweeping goal. In an interview with the Weekly Standard, Romney says he'd eliminate a bunch of departments. But he won’t say which ones:

"One of the things I have found in previous elections is that announcing my plans makes people want to vote against me!"

This seems to be another case of Romney displaying his endearing but counterproductive habit of being a little too open about how the political game is played. Americans tend to oppose government in the abstract, but favor it in the specifics.

Eliminating departments sounds great in general. But once you start naming the departments you want to eliminate, voters might decide you lack a strong commitment to the functions of those departments! (The way, say, Mitt Romney infers a lack of strong commitment to national defense from President Obama’s plans to reducing defense spending.)

So the thing to do is advocate reduced spending in general but decline to furnish details until after the election. This is a tried-and-true conservative strategy, embraced by everyone from Ronald Reagan to Paul Ryan (who specifies severe cuts to programs for the very poor, but otherwise relies on unspecified cuts to omnibus categories, thus allowing Republicans to deny plans to cut any specific component of them.)

Republicans using this tried-and-true strategy generally steer clear of coming out and saying they won’t specify their cuts because of the election. That’s the part you’re not supposed to admit.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/03/mi ... -lose.html

So, tell us again what Gov. Etch-a-Sketch is going to do?

Oh, I remember..He's the "not-Obama", and he will do the "not-Obama" things... I remember.. rofllol

So, tell us again, why you like him?

So the thing to do is advocate reduced spending in general but decline to furnish details until after the election. This is a tried-and-true conservative strategy,

Yea- tried and true all right. Just use general words like "hope & change"- it works. That's a recent lesson learned.

I wouldn't say a word either- if Obama can bamboozle- so can the republicans.

Old tactic, Kerry said the same thing in 2004 and Nixon did the same in 1968. But will it change voters' minds?

Vagueness usually wins which makes me think Romney is making a mistake aligning with Paul Ryan. Ryan's plan has too many specifics that will hurt people.

LadyJazzer wrote: Oh, I remember..He's the "not-Obama", and he will do the "not-Obama" things... I remember.. rofllol

So, tell us again, why you like him?

He's not Obama.