Mitt Romney's hidden agenda

By Sam Drzymala/American Bridge

“So will there be some [programs] that get eliminated or combined? The answer is yes, but I’m not going to give you a list right now.” — Mitt Romney

“I actually have a[n immigration] plan in mind, I haven’t unveiled it. ” — Mitt Romney

“Because Gov. Romney has not specified how he would increase the tax base, it is impossible to determine how the plan would affect federal tax revenues…” — Tax Policy Center

WASHINGTON, DC – Admittedly afraid of how voters will react to his ideas, Mitt Romney has a bad habit of teasing his policy proposals before refusing to show voters the details. First, Romney told told the Washington Examiner that he had an immigration plan that he hadn’t unveiled — that was over 100 days ago. Next, he gave a widely panned “major” policy address at Ford Field in Detroit to unveil his new tax plan, only he never actually released the details of the plan in question. And finally, while speaking with the Weekly Standard, Romney flat-out admitted he was keeping secrets from voters because he was afraid his ideas would be unpopular. The Standard wrote: “But Romney, ever cautious, is reluctant to get specific about the programs he would like to kill. He did this in his bid for the Senate 18 years ago and remembers the political ramifications.”

Quote from American Bridge president Rodell Mollineau:

“Mitt Romney’s refusal to release his plans before the election shows he’s fully aware that his ideas are out of touch with American values. The only thing more cynical than Romney’s outdated policies that make the rich richer is his willingness to keep the details secret from voters.

“Americans expect presidential campaigns to be worthy of the office they’re seeking — for candidates to offer competing visions for the future. Romney has yet to prove he has what it takes. In fact, in the sixty months since Mitt Romney began his quest for the White House, the most noteworthy thing he’s done is outspend Rick Santorum in a couple of states. One of these days he needs to realize it’ll take more than that to reach the White House.”

Romney Promised To Eliminate CabinetAgencies And Government Programs, But Refused To Specify Which, Out Of A Fear Of The Plans Being Politically Unpopular. According to The Weekly Standard, “Mitt Romney wants to eliminate government programs and shutter cabinet agencies. Doing so, he says, is ‘the critical thing’ that needs to be done in order to bring government books back into balance and to begin restoring the promise of America. ‘Actually eliminating programs is the most important way to keep Congress from stuffing the money back into them,’ he told me in a 30-minute interview on March 21. It’s a smart answer and a deeply conservative one. But Romney, ever cautious, is reluctant to get specific about the programs he would like to kill. He did this in his bid for the Senate 18 years ago and remembers the political ramifications. ‘One of the things I found in a short campaign against Ted Kennedy was that when I said, for instance, that I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education, that was used to suggest I don’t care about education,’ Romney recalled. ‘So I think it’s important for me to point out that I anticipate that there will be departments and agencies that will either be eliminated or combined with other agencies. So for instance, I anticipate that housing vouchers will be turned over to the states rather than be administered at the federal level, and so at this point I think of the programs to be eliminated or to be returned to the states, and we’ll see what consolidation opportunities exist as a result of those program eliminations. So will there be some that get eliminated or combined? The answer is yes, but I’m not going to give you a list right now.’” [The Weekly Standard, 04/02/12]

December 7, 2011: Romney Admits He Had Illegal Immigration Plan, But Refused To Unveil It. In a Washington Examiner editorial board meeting, Romney was asked, “Have you not said enough to encourage that…simply by saying, ‘Well, once we’ve secured the border, we can do something?’’’ Romney responded, “I actually have a plan in mind, I haven’t unveiled it. There are other people I’d like to sit down with and review it with me. I went down to Florida and met with Jeb Bush six, seven months ago, laid out what I thought would be a complete plan to deal with permanent immigration policies with regards to our legal system to simplify it. Number two, how to deal with those who are here illegally today. And then number three, how to secure the border. And every piece of advice I’ve received from people who talk about this topic say get the first job done first, because if you talk about the other jobs you get highly confused with whether you are going to create incentives for people to come here illegally to take advantage of whatever program you might describe.” [The Washington Examiner Editorial Board, 12/7/11]

Romney Promised To Eliminate Tax Deductions To Pay For His Tax Plan, But Did Not Specify Which Deductions, Making It Impossible To Accurately Evaluate His Proposal. According to the Tax Policy Center, “In his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney has proposed permanently extending the 2001-03 tax cuts, further cutting individual income tax rates, broadening the tax base by reducing tax preferences, eliminating taxation of investment income of most individual taxpayers, reducing the corporate income tax, eliminating the estate tax, and repealing the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and the taxes enacted in 2010’s health reform legislation. …The plan would recoup the revenue loss caused by those changes by reducing or eliminating unspecified tax breaks, thereby making more income subject to tax. Gov. Romney says that the reductions in tax breaks, in combination with moderately faster economic growth brought about by lower tax rates, will make the individual income tax changes revenue neutral compared with simply extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. He also promises that low- and middle-income households will pay no larger shares of federal taxes than they do now…Because Gov. Romney has not specified how he would increase the tax base, it is impossible to determine how the plan would affect federal tax revenues or the distribution of the tax burden.” [Tax Policy Center]