Fascinating that after all these months of campaigning and not talking at ALL about his record as governor, or about Romneycare, both of those were front and center tonight. Nary a mention of Bain Capital. Hmmm.
Here's some interesting perspective on GOVERNOR Romney:
Romney As Governor: 800 Vetoes And One Big Deal
by David Welna
June 13, 2012
In this installment of NPR's "Parallel Lives" series, we look at how Romney, in his four years as governor, dealt with a Massachusetts Legislature controlled by Democrats.
Romney clearly did not relish having to work with a Legislature that was 85 percent Democratic. He pushed hard during his first two years as governor to boost the number of Republicans on Beacon Hill. But that effort was a failure; Republicans ended up losing seats in the midterm elections.
Romney gave up on party building. "From now on," he told The Boston Globe, "it's me-me-me."
Within weeks, Romney had unveiled a universal health insurance plan that would become his signature accomplishment as he launched a 2008 bid for the White House.
Passing that bill meant working closely with Democrats, and at its ceremonial signing at Boston's Faneuil Hall, Romney spoke as a political uniter: "What is noteworthy is the uncharacteristic collaboration of so many individuals and groups and partisans," Romney said at the time. "And how did that happen? I think it's because of what this bill can lead to — every citizen with affordable, comprehensive health insurance."
At Romney's side stood Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died in 2009. The two men had debated sharply on the same stage in 1994 during Romney's unsuccessful bid to unseat Kennedy. But in 2006, Kennedy had only praise for Romney: "To our governor, and to our Senate president and our speaker, we all say, 'Well done.' "
Boston University political historian Thomas Whalen says passing the state's health care law pushed Romney well outside his comfort zone.
"He was capable, you know, when he was willing to, to get down in the trenches, [to] cut deals, pigeonhole legislators, to get his reform health care package through," he says. "And he did with remarkable success."
But apart from health care, Romney defined success not with big-picture legislative accomplishments but with confrontation.
In a 2008 campaign ad, Romney actually bragged about taking on his Legislature: I like vetoes; I vetoed hundreds of spending appropriations as governor," he said.
Romney issued some 800 vetoes, and the Legislature overrode nearly all of them, sometimes unanimously.
Democratic legislator Pat Haddad issued this warning, suggesting that if Romney is elected president: "You're gonna get the same guy who never wanted to engage the Legislature. He never wanted to look for new jobs; he was always only looking for his next job."
But Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams says that's just the kind of flak you get for having been a governor who shook up the status quo: "Obviously, when you do that and make the tough decisions, you're not going to make friends everywhere."
Democrat Ellen Story recalls a Gov. Romney who had a policeman screen visitors and who did not allow lawmakers to use the bank of elevators just outside his office:
"He was aloof; he was not approachable," Story says. "He was very much an outsider, the whole time he was here."
Story remembers something else about the former governor: "The Republican reps would grumble that he didn't even know their names."
George Peterson was one of those Republicans; he does not take issue with his colleague's characterization of Romney: "It took him a little bit to get used to dealing with elected officials, let's put it that way," he says.
"The first year was, I'd say, a struggle," Peterson says. "He was used to being a top executive, 'and this is where we're going, and this is how we're going to do it.' And this animal [the state Legislature] doesn't work that way. Not at all. Especially when it's overwhelmingly ruled by one party."
By the end of his term, Romney's approval rating in Massachusetts was only 34 percent. In recent polls, the number has barely changed.
Here's a video that gives more detail and first-person accounts from people who worked with Romney during his tenure as governor.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlnaYOv0DZY]/url]
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