The Myth of George Romney

Jack Bohrer busts the myth, often repeated by Mitt Romney, that father George Romney dramatically “charged out of the 1964 Republican National Convention over the party’s foot-dragging on civil rights.”

“Only George Romney did not walk out of the 1964 Republican National Convention. He stayed until the very end, formally seconding Goldwater’s eventual nomination and later standing by while an actual walkout took place. He left the convention holding open the possibility of endorsing Goldwater and then, after a unity summit in Hershey, Pennsylvania, momentarily endorsed the Arizona senator. Then he changed his mind while his top aides polled ‘all-white and race-conscious’ Michigan communities for a ‘secret’ white backlash vote against LBJ’s civil rights advances — a backlash that might have made a Goldwater endorsement palatable at home. Finding the Republican label even more unpopular than civil rights in Michigan, Romney ultimately distanced himself from the entire party, including his own moderate Republican allies.”

Ben Smith: “It’s hard to blame Romney for passing on myths given him by his father or his father’s circle, or for having an idealized image of his father.”