The GOP’s search for Conan
Romney just doesn’t reflect the “rage and paranoia” that have deformed the GOP since Barack Obama’s election, said Michael Medved at TheDailyBeast.com.
Michael Medved
TheDailyBeast.com
Why does Mitt Romney “inspire such angry contempt” among my fellow conservatives? asked Michael Medved. They’ll tell you it’s because he’s “a gutless, unprincipled moderate,” but the real reason is more troubling. Romney just doesn’t reflect the “rage and paranoia” that have deformed the GOP since Barack Obama’s election. In 2008, the former Massachusetts governor won the support of Rush Limbaugh and almost every other talk-radio conservative; Laura Ingraham even called Romney “a conservative’s conservative.” Since then, Romney has only solidified his conservative credentials.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
So why the stubborn refusal to accept him as the party’s best candidate? It’s a matter of style: Romney is “cool and collected, reasonable and restrained,” while the Right wants a nominee who embodies its fury and disgust. After three years of Obama’s “self-infatuated grandiosity,” conservatives long for the political equivalent of Conan the Barbarian—an avenger who will lay waste to Obama and the liberal agenda once and for all. Obviously, Romney is no Conan; but if you’re looking for a president, isn’t a “pragmatic problem-solver” better than incoherent rage?
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published