Buzz Bissinger, a life-long Democrat, explains why he is voting for Romney:
I know that many think Romney is a flip-flopper who will do anything to get elected. Gee, sounds like Bill Clinton. He moved to the middle in 1994 and no one gave a hoot. As a matter of fact, he was applauded for his political practicality. But take a look at Romney’s record as Mass governor. He was not some crazoid conservative. He crossed party lines. He provided the template for Obamacare, for God's sake.
Clinton was always a centrist Democrat. He had Dick Morris working for him in Arkansas. Long before 1994, he made sure to take a break from the campaign trail to approve the execution of a black man with mental illness. Apart from his opportunistic plays to the right (has Romney had a Sistah Soldjah moment with his base? Never!), there was a policy consistency to him that is simply not equatable with Romney's total plasticity. I remember it well. At the New Republic, we'd been searching for a centrist who could bring Democrats to the White house, which is why we embraced Clinton before many others did. Clinton never flip-flopped. And welfare reform and deficit reduction were always his priorities. Bouie also disagrees with Bissinger's reasoning:
Since Romney is a chameleon—and happy to switch positions for electoral gain—I can see why some would look at him and assume that he doesn’t plan to carry out his stated plans if elected president. But there are two things worth remembering: First, that presidents almost always attempt to fulfill their campaign promises. Americans like to believe otherwise, but the truth is that the first-term agenda of most presidents mirrors their rhetoric during the campaign. Barack Obama promised middle-class tax cuts and health-care reform, and he delivered. Tax cuts and education reform formed the basis for George W. Bush’s campaign in 2000, and were the first items on his agenda in 2001. Mitt Romney has promised large, across-the-board tax cuts, increased military spending, and cuts to social services. Most likely, that’s what he’ll do.
Chait piles on.
The Dish 