Why I Won't Vote for Mitt Romney (Even Though I Just Did)

I've decided to do a series of posts about why I am not going to vote for Mitt Romney (who I think will be the eventual Republican nominee).  This message is somewhat undercut, however, by the fact that I actually voted for Governor Romney in my state's primary today.  I know this is completely and utterly the wrong reason to vote for someone, but nonetheless it was cool to be able to vote for a fellow Mormon.  I'd feel the same way voting for Harry Reid (actually, I'd probably feel better about voting for Harry Reid, who should probably get his own series of posts).

The point is, I voted for Mitt Romney as the lesser of three evils.  Of those Republican candidates still standing, I think Mitt Romney would make the best president.  Plus, I promised my roommate I would vote for Romney if Santorum or Gingrich were still in the race by Super Tuesday.

However, stack Romney up against Barack Obama, and I feel it's a pretty obvious choice on who to vote for.  Romney and I share cultural and religious history, but my political beliefs line up on President Obama's side.  So I'm going to do a series of posts on why I'm not voting for Romney.  Before I start, I want to make two ground rules very clear:

(1) Mitt Romney is a good guy.  I don't have anything against him other than policy positions.  He seems to be a genuinely good husband, father, and friend.  I truly admire his faithfulness to his wife throughout her battle with M.S. (*cough cough* unlike Newt Gingrich *ahem*).  This series will simply be used to lay out the political issues on which Governor Romney and I disagree.

(2) While I may quote scripture or modern-day prophets in these posts, I do not make a claim that my political belief system is the only "Mormon" perspective or that my political beliefs are inherently "true."  I think that Mormons can be Republicans, Democrats, Independents or anything in between.  Politics and religion intersect for me because they both stem from my personal beliefs which are deeply held but which should never be forced on others.  In not voting for Governor Romney, I am not judging his righteousness or adherence to the beliefs of Mormonism (see point #1).

Next up: topics.  I'm thinking about doing a post later this week on immigration and how my views differ from Governor Romney's, but I would welcome any suggestions as to what types of policies I should examine.  I hope also to include some posts about areas where I agree with Romney.