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GOP Lawmakers & Romney Face Delicate Tango
G.O.P. Lawmakers and Romney Face a Delicate Tango
Sid Hastings/European Pressphoto AgencyMitt Romney and House Republicans diverge on some legislative issues ? notably what to do about Chinese currency manipulation, an issue that has become a centerpiece of the Romney campaign.
By JONATHAN WEISMAN and JENNIFER STEINHAUERPublished: April 15, 2012
WASHINGTON ? If Mitt Romney is considering a quick pivot to the center as he heads into the general election, he will find an imposing impediment: fellow Republicans in the House.
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Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma said he did not see many differences between Mitt Romney and House Republicans on ?big issues.?
As Congress was set to reconvene on Monday, House Republicans said Mr. Romney could go his own way on smaller issues that may help define him as separate from his Congressional Republican counterparts. But, they said, he must understand that they are driving the policy agenda for the party now.
?We?re not a cheerleading squad,? said Representative Jeff Landry, an outspoken freshman from Louisiana. ?We?re the conductor. We?re supposed to drive the train.?
With Representative Paul D. Ryan?s budget plan, Republicans have already set the agenda on the key issue that divides the two parties in an age of austerity: how to manage the federal budget and its related entitlement programs. Mr. Romney has eagerly embraced it, campaigning with Mr. Ryan by his side and calling him ?bold and brilliant.?
But a disagreement between the parties over spending levels has paved a path for the sort of clash that led to the near shutdown of the government last year, and it could leave Mr. Romney in the position of having to choose between a loud public battle and a budget compromise with Democrats in the closing weeks of the fall campaign.
Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and House Republicans diverge on some legislative issues ? notably what to do about Chinese currency manipulation, an issue that has become a centerpiece of the Romney campaign. And that could further highlight the differences within the Republican Party.
In 1999, as House Republicans grappled with far more modest spending cuts, George W. Bush was able to underscore his claim to ?compassionate conservatism? by denouncing House efforts. ?I don?t think they ought to balance their budget on the backs of the poor,? he said
Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, a Republican House leader at the time, recalled that as a ?defining moment? for the Bush campaign ? one that blindsided Republicans. As Mr. Romney?s designated liaison to Congressional Republicans, Mr. Blunt said that one of his jobs was to make sure no one is surprised like that again.
In the past two weeks, he has set up meetings between Mr. Romney?s policy shop and key representatives and staff. They included a meeting between Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan, as well as one between the Romney staff and the Republican Study Committee, a group of the most conservative House members.
?There will be issues where the governor needs to steer his own course, no doubt about that,? Mr. Blunt said. ?My biggest interest is that they have all the information they need to have.?
Congress returns this week after a two-week recess, the first time it will convene since Mr. Romney emerged as the presumed nominee. Both chambers are expected to move quickly to take up a variety of fiscal measures, with the Republican-controlled House voting on small-business tax cuts and beginning planning sessions on a tax overhaul. The Senate, controlled by Democrats, will bring to the floor the so-called Buffett Rule, which would raise the minimum effective tax rate for the wealthy.
Undoubtedly, House Speaker John A. Boehner and Representative Eric Cantor, the majority leader, will move mountains to make sure House Republicans and the Romney campaign speak and act in lockstep toward the greater goal of defeating President Obama in November and retaining the House. At the same time, Mr. Obama has shown a desire to take advantage of the public?s low regard for Congress by likening Mr. Romney?s agenda to that of House Republicans.
But Mr. Romney may learn the lesson that has been imparted to Mr. Boehner throughout the 112th Congress ? that the most conservative members will steer their own course, and loudly.
Freshmen as well as veteran members of the Republican Study Committee, led by Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, have shown no hesitation to buck the leadership. And Mr. Romney has even less leverage with them.
Still, party leaders insist that House Republicans and Mr. Romney are united on issues that matter most. ?On the big issues ? spending, taxes, what we do with the deficit ? I just don?t see much difference,? said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a member of the Republican leadership, ?and more importantly, I don?t see an escape.?
Indeed, most Congressional Republicans feel certain that the key issues of the campaign will be employment, the economy, the budget deficit and the health care law, matters in which there is little light between Mr. Romney and most Republicans.
?We have led and will continue to lead,? Representative Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania said of House Republicans.
?Now I believe Governor Romney will have his own ideas and will use his own experience to form his message,? said Mr. Barletta, who supported Rick Santorum. ?But we all do agree that President Obama?s policies have failed, and we will all rally around that.?
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Re: GOP Lawmakers & Romney Face Delicate Tango
The rift in the Rs seems huge. I know some Ds complain Obama is the best republican president since Reagan, but I don't see the same sort of internal rift the Rs are having.
The teaparty may destroy the Rs.
Above Us Only Sky
Totally agree.
I think the only Rs who would dislike him not toeing to today's party line are the same ones who think Romney isn't conservative enough for their standards. Depending on the issues, swing voters will likely appreciate him distancing himself from TP ideology.
To be honest, Romney needs to take a page out of Ron Paul's playbook. Now there's a guy who went his own direction and a not-so-insignificant number of voters appreciated that. Not saying he should or even could be another Ron Paul, but as long as he sticks with the major GOP platform ideas, he should be able to disagree about "smaller" issues without it hurting him much, if at all.
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