It has become pretty clear that the British public aren’t big fans of Mitt Romney, but why do we dislike him so?
It may be down to a general British centre-left stance, that is distasteful of the unashamed American right-wing tradition. Of course, the Democrats in the US are also far more right-wing than our politics is used to, but coupled with frequent bashing of the Republicans in political drama exported from the US and our own secular allergy to the religious aspect of neo-conservatives, it is easy to paint a demonic picture of Republicans in general, which tars Mr Romney too. Plus the guy is a Mormon, which is quite freaky to a nation that still views Roman Catholics as suspiciously exotic.
But Mitt Romney is not necessarily the Republican Party. Frequently presidential candidates are at odds with their party leadership thanks to the constitutional insulation of one from the other. And it may be only now that we have seen the debates that we are beginning to separate the man from the party and examine him, and finding that there are some genuine reasons why Romney should be considered for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Economics is the key battleground for the election and this is where Mr Romney is strongest. Much as we dislike him, his economic policies are not absurd, far from it. The US deficit will struggle to accommodate a further quantitive easing stimulus that could push the US out of its recession and the Democrat tax-and-spend approach may very well be the worst possible approach; increased taxes on the rich are unlikely to provide the boost that the economy needs or go anywhere even near clearing the deficit, and may possibly dry up much needed private-sector investment. Bear in mind that even the French, traditionally far more left-wing in taxation policy, are terrified of the effects of President Hollande’s new ‘combat budget’ with its massive top-tier taxes. Even if Romney’s policies do not directly stimulate the economy, then just the appearance of a highly pro-business administration in the White House may calm markets and convince people to begin investing again.
In social terms, I do disagree fundamentally with many GOP policies. And with a recession-based fearful swing to the right (almost always the electoral pattern in times of uncertainty) likely to allow Republicans to retain control of Congress, it is almost definite that a Republican Congress and a Republican President will end up passing legislation or enforcing repeals that will incense the left, and with good reason. But with the future of the world’s largest economy still far from steady, it may be necessary for the US to endure some social pain, if not backtracking, in return for strong government that can act quickly and avoid the gridlock that has halted much of President Obama’s agenda. While such a move would be unpalatable if not repulsive to many, we must bear in mind that Americans and the world would have far more damage to worry about following further collapse of the US economy than the Republican party could ever do.
Alex Carden
exeposedev 