The Mitt Split - Conservatives Disagree On Romney
Commentary
Thu. February 8, 2007
By J. Matt Barber, Esq.
postchronicle.com
Wearing his 2008 presidential aspirations on his sleeve and appearing the ever humble, yet iron-jawed and selflessly devoted, champion of the GOP's must-have conservative, pro-family base, outgoing Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney finds himself struggling to salvage his conservative credentials.
As first light of the 2008 presidential campaign casts its warm and gentle glow on those of us awake early enough to watch the sunrise, serious concerns are beginning to mount relative to the sincerity of Romney's commitment to traditional values.
On the central issues of abortion and so-called "same-sex marriage," he's cast himself as defender to the defenseless and guardian of the sacred. His handlers have portrayed him as the storybook knight, with wavy locks and sturdy armor unblemished - redeemed by a heartfelt conservative conversion.
But some leaders in pro-family circles have begun to test Sir Mitt's traditional values breastplate, and are questioning whether it may represent little more than a sheer conservative veneer, shielding an extensive and troubling liberal record. Many wonder whether his presidential aspirations may have sparked this eyebrow-raising political metamorphosis.
"I believe that abortion should be safe and legal..." - Mitt Romney, 1994
Romney's camp argues that since his run for the U.S. Senate against Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) back in 1994, Romney has experienced a conservative "road to Damascus" experience on the issue of protecting the unborn. They claim that he now wholeheartedly embraces the pro-life cause.
He's even earned the support of some well respected conservative leaders such as nationally recognized pro-family attorney James Bopp, Jr. who has just signed on as pro-life advisor to the Romney for President Exploratory Committee. With the announcement, Bopp declared, "As Governor, Mitt Romney has stood side-by-side with those seeking to protect the weakest and most innocent of our society. In one of our country's most liberal states, he has acted to protect the sanctity of life..."
There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of Bopp's belief that Romney has changed. Romney has explained that, while governor, he experienced a moral awakening of sorts after meeting with scientists who were promoting embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). In fact, Romney later vetoed a 2005 bill that would have funded both ESCR and human cloning.
However, to other pro-family leaders, Romney's purported pro-life conversion is hard to reconcile with the fact that as recently as 2002, he was still giving voice to pro-abortion rhetoric. For example: According to The Boston Globe, Romney, while responding to a 2002 "National Abortion Rights Action League" candidate survey, pledged, "I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose. This choice is a deeply personal one. Women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not mine and not the government's."
On his 2002 gubernatorial campaign Web site, Romney emphasized abortion in his campaign platform: "As Governor, Mitt Romney would protect the current pro-choice status quo in Massachusetts. No law would change. The choice to have an abortion is a deeply personal one. Women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not the government's."
Likewise, in 2002 Planned Parenthood posed the following question to candidate Romney in its campaign questionnaire: "Do you support the substance of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade?" Romney very simply and unequivocally replied, "Yes."
O.K. - you might say - that's fine. Romney was "pro-choice." This is America - people can change their opinion, right? Well, that may be true. Only one question - on the issues most important to conservative voters, why do Romney's opinions appear malleable, shifting in the wind as political expediency would seem to dictate?
In 2006, just four short years after he ran for governor and as his presidential ambitions were reaching a boiling point, Romney seemed to pull a 180. |
