The Democratic Party | 100 Days, 100 Ways: Day 70

Potential McCain running mate Mitt Romney matches McCain's commitment to Bush and more of the same failed Bush-Cheney policies.

ROMNEY IS ONE OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S BIGGEST DEFENDERS

Fox's Hume: Romney has Support from Bush Family. Fox News anchor Brit Hume stated it was clear that Romney was earning support from the 'Bush Family.' Think Progress cited FoxNews transcripts to report, "'I think some of the Bush family do support Romney, I think that's pretty clear,' remarked Fox's Brit Hume."¹

Romney Defended Bush, Attacked Huckabee for Mocking President. Romney criticized Mike Huckabee on January 1 for joking in a recent interview that President Bush has not been well versed on foreign affairs. "I'm not sure if Mr. Huckabee meant the attack as a joke, but this is not the time to me mocking our president," Romney said. Deflecting criticism that he had not read the NIE report immediately after it had been released, Huckabee said, "President Bush didn't read it for four years; I don't know why I should read it in four hours." Romney attacked Huckabee: "It was in bad taste and I think we should recognize the great work our president is doing and not take our rhetoric or plays from the Democratic playbook," Romney said. "This is the kind of stuff you'd expect of the Democrats, but is certainly not something you'd expect of a presidential contender on the Republican side."²

Romney Said He Loved The President For Keeping Us Safe. Romney said, "We also love a president who has kept us safe these last six years."³

Romney: We Are Fortunate To Have Bush. Romney said, "We are fortunate today to have a President who loves America, who acts solely out of a desire to protect her and to promote liberty around the world."⁴

2004: Romney Said He Would Do Whatever The Bush Campaign Asked Of Him, Noted His Personal Connections To The Bush Administration Two Days After The Election. According to the Boston Herald, Romney said he would The Telegram & Gazette reported, "At the Statehouse, Gov. Mitt Romney, who served the Bush campaign as the chief local critic of Mr. Kerry, said yesterday that he would now become the state's point man with Washington, D.C., and would use his personal connections with the Bush administration to keep federal assistance flowing into the state."⁵

Bush Family Members Fundraised For Romney's Presidential Campaign; President Bush Fundraised For Romney In 2002. President Bush's younger sister Doro co-hosted a Washington fundraiser in February 2007 for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. One of the president's brothers, Neil M. Bush, attended a Texas event for Romney. And in 2002, President Bush "Bush raised $1.25 million for Mitt Romney's Republican gubernatorial campaign in Massachusetts " when he headlined a fundraiser at Maine's Cap Arundel Golf Club.⁶

ROMNEY SAW EYE TO EYE WITH BUSH AND CHENEY

Romney Supported Bush Tax Cuts. "Mitt Romney has repeatedly pledged to keep the Bush tax cuts permanent."⁷

Romney Would Veto SCHIP Expansion. In 2007, when asked if he "were president today, would he veto the SCHIP bill as President Bush has threatened to do this week," Romney said, "Yeah. Yeah, I sure would. I'd veto it out of my belief that we should have every citizen insured. I put forward a plan in my state that gets every citizen insured ... The right pathway to get everybody insured is to help people get private insurance. The SCHIP pathway is simply the wrong way. It's unfortunate the Democrats used this vehicle. It would have been far wiser to have a more comprehensive plan to have everybody insured."⁸

Romney Supported No Child Left Behind. Romney said, "I supported No Child Left Behind. I still don't like it, but I like testing in our schools. I think it allows us to get better schools, better teachers; allows us to let our kids have the kind of hope that they ought to have."⁹