GOP Who's Who: Mitt Romney

Next up, Mitt Romney.

Romney, like Santorum, has been out of office since January 2007. Romney’s only government position was the Governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007. Before entering the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial race, the only other political endeavors Romney experienced was a failed campaign against Ted Kennedy for the Massachusetts Senate seat. Romney also failed to get the Republican nomination for President in 2008, losing to John McCain.

Romney was a highly successful business man before entering public office. Romney co-founded a private equity firm, Bain Capital, in 1984 that accounts for most of his wealth. In 1999 Romney was hired as president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and has been praised for his efforts with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The New York Times believes that the similarities between Romney’s health care program in Massachusetts compared to ‘Obamacare’ passed by Barack Obama, a Democrat, will lend Romney to a conservative criticism and that his moderate stance on social issues such as gay rights and abortion will also turn away conservatives. It is also important to consider that the public remains underwhelmed with that fact that Romney is a Mormon.

I believe that Romney, the early frontrunner, can be an appealing candidate in the GOP race. Romney was an independent until he decided to run on the Republican ticket in 1994, so he is not a lifelong conservative. Romney is also not a career politician, and some people may view a successful business man as the right person to right the ship, financially speaking, in D.C..

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GOP Who's Who: Rick Santorum

The first four entries of this blog will serve as a “who’s who” in the race for the Republican nomination for President. The GOP candidates are Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. After much deliberation on which order to profile the candidates, I decided to go in reverse alphabetical order (for absolutely no reason). I

First up, Rick Santorum.

Santorum has not been in public office since January of 2007, when his second term as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania ended. Before being a Senator, Santorum got his start in public office in 2000, at age 32, when he was elected to the House of Representatives. Since 2007 Santorum help two jobs in the media, as a columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer and a commentator on Fox News. Santorum announced that he would be running for the Republican nomination on June 6, 2011.

According to the New York Times, Santorum will not have an easy time winning the GOP nomination, citing his lack of name recognition beyond Pennsylvania and his struggle to connect with independent voters as his biggest challenges.

His “staunchly conservative” voting record and views on the war in Iraq and same sex marriage have been highly scrutinized by both Republicans and Democrats.

I believe Santorum will have a hard time getting the support of socially liberal voters. His hard stance again same sex marriage will alienate people who want a candidate that is open minded on social issues. Santorum may also face an uphill battle with voters who are concerned with a candidate who does not currently serve in public office.

Photo from here.