How Romney Is More Right-Wing Than George W. Bush

Mitt is more conservative than Bush on immigration, minimum wage and Medicare.

When Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, he often explained his reason for doing so in two words — George Bush. As angry as Obama’s predecessor made liberals for deciding to go to war with Iraq and mixing religion with politics, it turns out that Dubya may have been more of a moderate than Mitt Romney.

That’s right.

The man right-wingers have accused of being a flip flopper and a fake conservative is actually more of an extremist than Bush was, ThinkProgress has found. On issues such as immigration reform, minimum wage, Medicare and the environment, the 2012 Republican frontrunner is arguably more conservative than Bush.

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Minimum Wage: Remember back in February when Romney said he wasn’t “concerned about the very poor?” He wasn’t lying. Romney opposes raising the minimum wage. Dubya, on the other hand, raised the minimum wage from $5.85 to $7.25, a significant increase.

Immigration Reform: Bush, former governor of Texas, knew firsthand why immigration reform is a must for the country. Accordingly, he supported putting 12 million undocumented immigrants on the road to citizenship as well as sections of the DREAM Act, ThinkProgress reports. Romney, however, opposes the DREAM Act and helping the undocumented population become citizens.

Medicare: Romney supports uprooting Medicare for a voucher system. Bush, in contrast, backed Medicare expansion, allowing for prescription drug benefits for the elderly.

Global Warming: Bush was willing to admit that humankind has contributed to global warming. He remarked in 2007, “I recognize the surface of the earth is warmer and that an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem.” Romney, though, says the cause of climate change is unknown.

How else is Romney more right wing than Bush?

Read ThinkProgress’ report here.