Rep. Jeff Flake Defends Mitt Romney’s Record To Tom Brokaw, Joe Scarborough
Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake — a Mitt Romney supporter — visited the Morning Joe set Monday to talk about his candidate of choice. “Does that mean you’re severely conservative?,” host Joe Scarborough joked, poking fun at Romney’s decision to characterize himself as having been a “severely conservative” governor in Massachusetts.
“It’s very curious, you supporting Mitt Romney,” Scarborough continued, “because Mitt is known by some as a big-government Republican. You, of course, one of the true believers as far as whether a Republican’s president or a Democrat’s president, you always held to your beliefs of small government. Why are you supporting Romney?”
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“Well,” Flake said, “when you look at his record as Governor of Massachusetts, it’s a conservative record. Say what you want about his statements here or there or a campaign, you actually look where he governed. That’s the best gauge I think you can have.”
When asked whether he’s “bothered” by “RomneyCare,” Flake said that it’s a concern and that he certainly doesn’t care for ObamaCare either, but “he’s right when he says this is a state issue.” Guest panelist Tom Brokaw, meanwhile, felt that Romney rival Rick Santorum had done well to pin the former Massachusetts Governor down on the issue of mandated health care. “Isn’t that going to be an issue for the Governor going forward?” he asked, “Because that one he couldn’t wiggle out of.”
But Flake wasn’t too concerned about its impact on Romney. “I think it’s been considered… And done,” he replied.
Have a look, via MSNBC:
