Mitt Romney on MSNBC, dropping some unexpected news:
“I, for instance, as you know, part company with many of the conservatives in my party on the issue of the minimum wage. I think we ought to raise it,” the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said. “Because frankly, our party is all about more jobs and better pay.”
You know what? For once, I'm going to say something (mostly) nice about Mitt Romney. The guy has had a pretty good week. It began when
we saw the results of a study showing that Romneycare, by far his greatest achievement in public life, had increased life expectancy in Massachusetts. And he follows that up by endorsing a minimum wage increase? Hats off to him. Two thumbs up.
The only thing I'll add, because it needs to be said, is that it's too bad that Romney was unable to stand up to his party when it counted. When he was asked about the minimum wage in 2012, he could have said the same thing he said on MSNBC. Instead, he waffled all over the place, ultimately saying "there's probably not a need to raise the minimum wage."
But now that his days as a GOP candidate are over—during the interview, Romney also made it clear he wouldn't run in 2016—Romney is shedding some of the baggage he's been carrying around for his party. And without that baggage, who knows what'll be next? Maybe Romney will concede that Obamacare really isn't the worst thing in American history after all. Now that would be pretty cool.