Romney Battles for “Conservative” Title

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said yesterday the “proof is in the pudding” that he is a true conservative, despite a recent rash of national media reports about shifts in his positions on abortion and gay rights.

The potential Republican presidential candidate acknowledged that he was pro-choice until two years ago but now believes the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion should be overturned. He supported federal legislation guaranteeing rights to gays in the early 1990s, and now no longer does, but said yesterday his position has been consistent “since the beginning of my political career” that “marriage should be a relationship between a man and a woman.”

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Romney discusses the re-opening of the eastbound Ted Williams tunnel during a news conference in this file photo taken Friday, July 21, 2006, in Boston. At right is state Transportation Secretary John Cogliano. The legacy of the most expensive highway project in U.S. history is being defined not by the underground leaks that plagued it or the quintupling of its price tag to more than $14.6 billion. No, it comes down to the hundreds of bolts, each weighing less than a pound, that were glued into the concrete tunnel roof to hold up the 4,600-pound concrete ceiling panels. (AP Photo/Celina Fang, File)

Romney met with groups of supporters and uncommitted activists in Manchester and Exeter. Although he has looked and acted like a candidate and has begun organizing a New Hampshire support network, he insisted he has not yet decided if he will run for President. He said he’d spend next week discussing his plans with his family.

Still, a Romney aide told the New Hampshire Union Leader that Romney will file a committee with the Federal Election Commission very shortly after the New Year. It is unclear, the aide said, if it will be an exploratory committee or a full-fledged presidential campaign committee. Romney’s formal announcement for President is expected to come later.

National analysts and columnists have said the current GOP presidential crop lacks a true conservative and speculate that Romney may have changed his position on the key social issues to impress conservatives. But Romney said that’s not true.

“Talk is cheap but action is not,” he said. If he runs for President, New Hampshire voters need only look at his record as Bay State governor to “see what I’ve done with regard to same sex marriage. They’ll see what I’ve done with regard to matters relating to abortion.”

This excerpt used with permission. Read the full article here.

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