Conservatives
concerned about inconsistencies in Republican Mitt Romney's
record on same-sex marriage and abortion said the
Massachusetts governor has some explaining to do. For
now, at least, the potential presidential candidate is
not talking.
The governor's office issued a brief statement
last weekend amid reports of a 1994 letter in which
Romney, then a U.S. Senate candidate, pledged to be a
more effective champion for gay causes than his opponent,
liberal Democrat Edward M. Kennedy. Last week's
statement said the governor has been a "champion of
traditional marriage."
At a gathering of San Diego County,
Calif., Republicans on Monday night, Romney
brushed aside a question from the Associated Press.
"Thanks, I have other people to talk to right now," he said.
An adviser to Romney's political action
committee, Barbara Comstock, issued a statement
Tuesday night saying the governor defends traditional
marriage and opposes "unjust discrimination against anyone"
but does not see a need for new or special
legislation. Romney also agrees with President Bush's
decision to maintain the military's "don't ask, don't
tell policy" regarding gay service personnel, she said.
Such responses may not satisfy conservatives,
who hold critical sway in the primaries and could opt
for other possible candidates with strong records on
social issues such as Kansas senator Sam Brownback and
Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. Several conservative
leaders are seeking answers from Romney.
"I am concerned, and I do think he needs to
explain this," said Paul Weyrich, chief executive
officer of the Free Congress Foundation. "Because he
either is or isn't in favor of the homosexual agenda, and
we need to know before we would get involved in his candidacy."
Richard Land, a top member of the Southern
Baptist Convention, was among a group of evangelicals
who met with Romney at his home in October. Land said
Tuesday, "Christians believe in conversion, and so they're
open to listen, but when a candidate 12 years ago says
he is more of a champion on these issues than Ted
Kennedy, that needs to be explained."
Tom Minnery, spokesman for Focus on the Family,
the Colorado-based evangelical organization, said
homosexuality is an emotional issue. "You've got to be
committed to your position for it or against it, or
you'll be swayed, so he's got a lot of explaining to do,"
Minnery said of the governor.
Romney has repeatedly stated his opposition to
same-sex marriage, but in the 1994 letter sent in the
final weeks of his failed Senate campaign against
Kennedy he cited his sensitivity to the concerns of Log
Cabin Republicans, the gay Republican 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.
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.
During Romney's 2002 gubernatorial campaign,
supporters distributed fliers at a gay pride parade in
Boston extending the candidate's well wishes.
Weyrich said other conservatives had complained
that Romney did not do enough this year to force the
Massachusetts legislature into voting on a proposed
constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a
man and a woman. Massachusetts is now the only U.S.
state allowing same-sex marriage.
Despite the governor's protests, the Democratic
majorities in the Massachusetts house and senate used
a parliamentary tactic to recess rather than vote.
Romney has now joined a group asking the supreme
judicial court, the same group of jurists who in November
2003 made Massachusetts the first state to allow
same-sex marriage, to force a vote or else order the
question onto the state's 2008 ballot.
Prior to Romney's appearance in San Diego on
Monday, members of the conservative community
circulated e-mails criticizing the governor for being
a RINO: Republican In Name Only. (Glen Johnson, Allison
Hoffman, AP)
