The AP reports that Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, who we all know is weighing a White House bid, dismissed criticism that he has flip-flopped on the issues of gay marriage and abortion and reaffirmed his opposition to both. Democrats are hoping to use the powerful the same accusation of being unprincipaled and not really standing for anything, against Romney, who is suspected to become an instant favorite amung Republicans if he can only assure them on these two key issues.
Romneys explanation is not rocket science: “Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve opposed same-sex marriage, but I’ve also opposed unjust discrimination against anyone, for racial or religious reasons, or for sexual preference,” Romney said in an interview with the National Review magazine published online Thursday. Indeed, his record on gay rights is unusually strong for a conservative Republican, however that is unlikely to matter to his critics in an age where it is acceptable to be against same sex marraige (like Bill and Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama), but you quickly become a bigot and hater if you support allowing citizens to vote on the matter (like Mitt Romney has recently fought for).
Regarding abortion, Romney said — as he has said previously — that although he campaigned for governor as an abortion-rights supporter, he changed his position several years ago after being briefed on embryonic stem-cell research.
“I’m committed to promoting the culture of life,” the Massachusetts governor told the conservative magazine. “Like Ronald Reagan and Henry Hyde and others who became pro-life, I had this issue wrong in the past.”
The comments were Romney’s first public explanation of his stance on the two key social issues since the publication last week of a 1994 letter — sent in the final weeks of his failed campaign against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — in which he cited his sensitivity to the concerns of Log Cabin Republicans, the party’s gay group.
“As a result of our discussions and other interactions with gay and lesbian voters across the state, I am more convinced than ever before that as we seek to establish full equality for America’s gays and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent,” Romney wrote in the letter.
The AP also notes however, that during that same campaign, Romney also stated his personal opposition to abortion, but said he would not seek to change state abortion laws. As proof, he cited his mother’s own 1970 candidacy for the U.S. Senate as an abortion rights supporter.
1. Romney’s position has always been the same. Romney has always supported states rights when it comes to abortion.
2. Romney is pro-choice, but he declared a truce on the issue in Massachusetts. He said he would not change the laws.
3. Now that he is running for president of the United States, he is asserting the same thing: each state should have the right to choose their abortion laws. So he has kind of changed his position from advocating that Massachusetts be able to remain pro-choice, to Massachusetts should remain pro-choice and other states should also get to choose their abortion policy, as he seeks to represent those from more states than Massachusetts.
4. First – when he ran – what Romney said was he would not CHANGE the current abortion laws in Massachusetts. And he did not. Nobody EVER thought he was personally pro-choice, but there WAS concern that he would enforce his personal agenda on the state. He kept his word (I know, I know, sit down, it DOES make you dizzy when a politician keeps his word). In fact, he referenced this promise when he vetoed the Emergency Contraception bill, which he regarded as a change.