In the secret diary of Arthur Burns, that he kept while Fed Chairman during the Nixon years (published in 2010), he wrote at the start of the Nixon administration on February 10, 1969:
[Robert] Finch [who became Secretary of HEW] also told me I should know that Mrs. Nixon had a strong distaste for Mrs. Romney. I still wonder why I should know this.
Lenore Romney ran for US Senate from Michigan in 1970:
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Vietnam War, [Lenore] Romney called for the withdrawal of all American troops by the end of 1971, and characterized the war as "disastrous".[62] She was troubled by the ongoing Cambodian Incursion and said that if elected she would vote to cut off its funds if Nixon did not abide by his pledge to withdraw from there by the end of the month.
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Romney issued position papers and emphasized the themes of dealing with crime and social permissiveness; she also advocated a national healthcare plan and increased attention to environmental damage caused by industry.
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The Romney children campaigned for her, including Mitt, who took student leave to work as a driver and advance man at schools and county fairs during the summer. Together, Lenore and Mitt visited all 83 Michigan counties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenore_Romney
Recall that George Romney, as Michigan governor, was strongly against Goldwater in 1964. These folks have been solid conservatives for half a century [not].