Ode to conservatism at CPAC, Romney-style

Mitt Romney entered the conservative lion’s den and lived to tell about it.

In fact, in the teetering GOP frontrunner’s address to a ballroom full of conservative activists Friday, he wielded the word “conservative” (or a variation) as if it were his shield – 29 times in a 26-minute speech.

“I know conservatism because I have lived conservatism,” Mr. Romney told the crowd at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference.

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He told us about being raised in a home that was “shaped and rooted in conservative values.” He talked, as always, about his 42-year marriage to Ann, their five sons, and their faith: “These conservative constants have shaped my life.”  In business, he said, “if you're not fiscally conservative, you're bankrupt.”

But it was Romney’s time as governor of liberal Massachusetts – the trickiest part of his resume for a Republican presidential candidate – that merited an upgrade: “I was a severely conservative Republican governor,” he said, asserting that he “fought against long odds in a deep blue state.”

“Somebody please buy him a thesaurus,” long-shot candidate Buddy Roemer suggested via Twitter, over the phrase “severely conservative.”

Romney’s brand of conservatism in Massachusetts may need elaboration, but “severe” doesn’t come to mind. “Moderate” may be more like it. Romney, after all, authored the health-care reform that served as the model for President Obama’s. It was his signature accomplishment, but he didn’t mention it at CPAC. Instead, he emphasized fiscal conservatism.

“We cut taxes 19 times and balanced the budget all four years,” he said to cheers. “I cast over 800 vetoes, and I cut entire programs. I erased a $3 billion budget shortfall and left office by putting in place over $2 billion in a rainy-day fund.”

Then there are the social issues, which he emphasized in his unsuccessful 2008 campaign and has largely ignored this time around.  But at CPAC, they were all the rage – especially in light of the brouhaha between the Obama administration and the Catholic Church over the mandate that religious employers include birth control in their health coverage.

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