He was indeed once a fiscal conservative, arguing to Standard and Poor's no less that Massachusetts deserved a good credit rating because of its recent tax hikes:
The presentation to the ratings agency reveals that Romney’s administration made the case to Standard & Poor’s that his state was creditworthy because of both spending cuts — the current preferred GOP method — and new revenues, including fees he imposed and tax “loopholes” he closed. The presentation also prominently cited a controversial set of tax increases in the summer of 2002, which Romney, then a candidate, had opposed.
In other words, standard conservative thinking when it comes to debt. Like David Cameron's austerity measures. Like Barack Obama's and Alan Simpson's preferred, balanced solution. Or in other words, now a career-killer among the radical anti-government populists who now run the GOP. I'd watch for a barb along these lines in the debate tonight (which I'll be live-blogging). If that isn't an easy one for Bachmann, I don't know what is.
The Dish 