One of the major questions during the Republican presidential primaries was whether Mitt Romney intended to actually govern as a small-government conservative if he is elected president, or whether he was merely talking tough about shrinking government to appeal to a conservative GOP electorate. Unfortunately, Romney has already given limited-government advocates reason to worry.
Over the weekend, Politico reported Romney had tapped former Utah governor and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to lead his transition effort should he win the presidency. At best, Leavitt is a puzzling choice. Although most Republicans, including Romney, have warned about the dangers of President Obama’s national health care law, Leavitt is a leading Republican advocate for implementing Obamacare’s burdensome health insurance exchanges in all 50 states. Conveniently, his consultancy group won a contract last month to set up the new exchange in New Mexico.
