The many Mitts

Tax cutter or big spender? Friend or foe of small business? For or against universal health coverage? Massachusetts conservatives debate the legacy of former governor and lead GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney | Jamie Dean

Associated Press/Photo by Steven Senne

Ask Kris Mineau about his work as a social conservative in liberal Massachusetts, and the director of the Massachusetts Family Institute quips: "We're fighting back the Huns at the gate."

Ask Mineau about working with Mitt Romney during the Republican's tenure as Massachusetts' governor, and Mineau offers an unflinching assessment of the now-presidential-candidate: "He was a startling breath of fresh air."

If that's a surprising assessment to some social conservatives skeptical of Romney's standing on issues like abortion, the positive sentiment also flows from some notable fiscal conservatives in Massachusetts.

In the tourist haven of Cape Cod, Republican state congressman Randy Hunt works as a certified public accountant at his four-man firm in Sandwich, Mass. The accountant's clients include small business owners grappling with the effects of another part of Romney's legacy: healthcare legislation that requires Massachusetts citizens to purchase insurance or pay fines. With insurance premiums rising in the state, Hunt says the law's effects hit hard for small business owners looking for reasonable rates: "We're basically out to lunch on this."