Can Romney Ditch His Economic Platform?

by Patrick Appel

Andrew swatted down the idea that Romney has a secret plan to fix the economy a few weeks back. Josh Barro later doubled down:

It's possible to understand every action in Romney's life as an effort to become president. But once he is president, what will his goal be? I don't know (nobody knows) but I suspect getting re-elected will be near the top of the list. To increase his chances of getting elected, he will have to implement policies that are likely to grow the economy. Redoubling on Bush Administration economic policies — with the added factor of severe budget austerity laid on — is unlikely to serve that end. So, Romney will have good reason to implement policies that aren't in his stated platform, even if that means butting heads with Republicans in Congress.

Reihan adds his two cents. How exactly is Romney going to win a policy duel with Congressional Republicans? George W. Bush managed to get Congressional Republican buy-in on some bipartisan legislation during his time in office, but the Tea Party House is far more extreme than any Congress Bush ever dealt with. At this point, GOP Congressmen are either Tea Party true believers or afraid of getting primaried by Tea Party true believers. Neither group is big on compromise.

A sizable chunk of the Republican base is distrustful of Romney already; he'd risk a rank-and-file revolt if he strayed more than a few inches from the party line. And, despite what you may hear, presidential candidates tend to fulfill their campaign promises.