It really does seem to be a trend. High profile politicians and media figures seem to be completely unaware of the power of Google.
As you're probably already aware, Mitt Romney is in the process of radically making himself over in an effort to appeal to conservatives. He was for the protection of abortion rights before he was against it. He was for protecting gay rights before he was against it. He was proud of his service to the state of Massachusetts before he was embarrassed by it. He was for gun control before he was against it.
Its that last flip flop that is getting him into trouble today. 7 months ago, Romney decided it was time to join the NRA. Why? His Take:
I purchased a gun when I was a young man. I've been a hunter pretty much all my life.
Now, his problem:
Yet the former Massachusetts governor's hunting experience came during two trips at the bookends of his 60 years: as a 15-year-old, when he hunted rabbits with his cousins on a ranch in Idaho, and last year, when he shot quail on a fenced game preserve in Georgia.
I realize that he has raised tons of money, but like Giuliani, I just don't see how he can possibly win the nomination as a Republican. I mean, sure, political neophytes like NRO's K-Lo seem to be smitten by Romney, but that's only because they aren't old enough to understand that conservatives once stood for something more than simply winning elections. Once upon a time it was conservative's stance on issues that drove their voting behavior, and not vice versa.
Romney was the Governor of the state of Massachusetts. He has a record. And his record is most decidedly not conservative. For now Romney can get away with his flip flopping because for now his opponents aren't calling him on it. Eventually that will change, and when it does, Multiple Choice Mitt is done for.
Romeny's campaign is built for a pre-Google world. That world is gone. Why is that so hard for people to understand?
UPDATE: As for my contention that today's younger conservatives have no sense of their own movement's history, take a look at this post over at the Cato Institute blog. The whole post is worth reading, but the conclusion is just priceless:
But the NR I remember from high school had higher aims than the success of a particular political party. And the earlier NR, for all its faults, had the quixotic but noble goal of “standing athwart the tide of History, yelling ’stop!’” Too often today, it looks more like: “Surfing the tide of history, screaming ‘Cowabunga! Go GOP!’”
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