The TicketRomney once argued his only connection to GOP was party registration, but that’s not the full picture
Mitt Romney's biggest enemy in his bid for the presidency may not be any of his GOP rivals but rather his own words.
Buzzfeed's Andrew Kaczynski has unearthed video of an interview Romney gave to then-CNN anchor Judy Woodruff in September 2002, in which the then-Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate says his "only connection" to Republican leaders in the state was that "I'm registered as a Republican."
On it's own, it's a phrase that's sure to be seized upon by Romney's opponents who have been eager to trash him as someone who is not a real conservative. But Romney appears to have actually been defending his own stance as a party outsider—in language that seems pretty familiar to the message he touts on the campaign trail today.
The full transcript:
WOODRUFF: With me now: Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for governor of Massachusetts. Mr. Romney, you were targeting Shannon O'Brien with ads before she beat out a crowded field of Democrats. Did that strategy backfire?
MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, not at all. Actually, I was targeted by the Democrats first. And our Republican Party responded also on radio, with the same spending levels. So, I learned from my '94 campaign against Senator Kennedy that, when fired upon, you've got to return fire or you end up being a dead duck. So we're going to be ready to make sure our campaign goes forward.
WOODRUFF: You've accused her of being an insider. And yet it is Republicans who have held the governorship in Massachusetts for the last, what, 16 years. She makes the point—Shannon O'Brien makes the point that you are the new face of the Republican establishment in Massachusetts.
ROMNEY: Well, actually, I don't define things in terms of parties so much as in terms of people. And I've lived my life in the private sector. And over the last almost four years, I've been outside that sector to be working with the Olympics, helped stage some great games. And I want to bring the experience of someone outside of government, outside of Beacon Hill, outside the establishment that can make some changes at Beacon Hill in the way we run our state. I think people are ready for a change.
WOODRUFF: But aren't you connected to the Republican Party in the state of Massachusetts?
ROMNEY: Well, the only connection is, I'm registered as a Republican. But I actually indicated that I was willing to run in a primary against the incumbent Republican governor. She decided not to run in that primary. And I stepped in. So I'm hardly a continuation of the previous administrations. I'm looking at this race as a chance for me to bring a new vision and a new focus to Massachusetts, to make sure that, instead of taking care of the old political favors and IOUs and lobbyists that clog our system, that we have somebody who is really going to work for the citizens.
Romney's remarks aren't that different from distinctions he's made on the campaign trail in recent months, playing up his business expertise and ties to the 2002 Winter Olympics as he's tried to distance himself from Republicans in Washington. But just as Romney's campaign has seized upon sound bites to define its rivals in the race, it's unlikely his opponents will offer his remarks in their full context.
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