I’ve heard that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has presidential aspirations for 2008, but I had no idea he’d be willing to try out a Sister Souljah strategy four years early.
Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney criticized the Bush administration on Wednesday, saying the government engages in wasteful spending and often gives money to ensure Republican votes.
The government doles out money “based on who will vote for us or for our party: in effect, we buy votes,” Romney said in remarks prepared for delivery. “We fund programs that don’t work. We tolerate abuse and cheating in the multiples of billions of dollars.”
Romney’s speech took plenty of shots at Kerry and Dems, too, but I don’t think the White House takes kindly to high-profile Republicans attacking the Bush administration and the GOP in public.
Maybe Romney is trying to establish a McCain-like independent streak to bolster his chances in ’08. Then again, maybe he should remember what Bush and the GOP establishment did to McCain in 2000.