Romney Considers Republican Presidential Bid, Attacked on Abortion (..by Howard Dean!)

LIFE NEWS.COM ^ | JUNE 21, 2005 | STEVEN ERTELT

[CHARLITE]

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney says he is considering a possible bid for the Republican nomination for president in 2008. Meanwhile, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean is criticizing him by saying he has flip-flopped his position on abortion for political gain. "If someone said, well, you know, the governor's testing the national waters, that's a fair characterization," Romney said. "But I'm planning on running for governor. Time will tell, I'll make a final decision and an announcement in the fall, and we'll go from there."

He spoke with the Associated Press about his speaking trips to states that lead off the primary battles.

"I'm out speaking across the country. ... I'm seeing what it's like in the rest of the nation, but nothing's changed," he said. "My job keeps me here."

Dean, meanwhile, accuses Romney, who rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, of changing his position on abortion to get the nomination.

At a fundraiser in Boston, Dean told Democrats, has "changed his position two or three times on fundamental issues" like abortion.

"That is not courage," Dean said, according to an AP report. "It's important to win elections, incredibly important. It's more important to do the right thing."

Romney has drawn considerable attention for recent comments saying he no longer backs legal abrotion.

Romney started out his political career with a 1994 candidacy for the U.S. Senate against Ted Kennedy. He indicated he supported legalized abortion but also backed pro-life legislation such as not using taxpayer funds to pay for them and a ban on partial-birth abortions.

In a late May interview with USA Today, Romney said he "is in a different place" on abortion now.

''Understand, over time one's perspective changes somewhat," Romney told the newspaper. ''I'm in a different place than I was probably in 1994, when I ran against Ted Kennedy, in my own views on that."

Last week, Romney expanded on that interview and told the National Review that ''[m]y political philosophy is pro-life."

What Romney means when he says he is pro-life is another question.

That kind of "personally opposed" position has never won lawmakers support form pro-life groups and many pro-life advocates say the jury is still out on Romney's views.

Daniel McConchie, director of public relations and public policy for Americans United For Life, a pro-life legal group, told the Boston Globe that pro-life advocates will be cautious until Romney does something substantive to back up his statements.

''Some people will probably still be pretty wary until he puts pen to paper on a bill," McConchie said.

Marie Sturgis, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, told the Globe that Romney's recent comments have left her confused on where the governor stands.

''It's my sense that he may be evolving on this issue; what that means, I don't know," Sturgis said.

[inquest]

Meanwhile, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean is criticizing him by saying he has flip-flopped his position on abortion for political gain.

Dean's correct about this.

[ncountylee]

Dean's irrelevant at all times and in all ways.

[cubreporter]

As nice a man I think Romney is...he is not PRESIDENTIAL material. He just isn't.

[BillyBoy]

Something very disturbing about this picture...

LIBERAL HOWARD DEAN

"I'll NEVER vote for Romney the wacko mormon zillionaire! I'll crawl over broken glass to vote for Hillary over Mitt!!! How DARE he flip-flip on abortion! It's ONLY okay when Al Gore and John Zerry do that! And when I'm 100% pro-abortion, that's fun FINE. Yeeeeeeeeeeeah!!!"

CONSERVATIVE CONDI RICE FREEPERS
"I'll NEVER vote for Romney the wacko mormon zillionaire! I'll crawl over broken glass to vote for Hillary over Mitt!!! How DARE he flip-flip on abortion! It's ONLY okay when Zell Miller and George H.W. Bush do that! And if Condi's 100% pro-abortion, that's just FINE! Yeeeeeeeeeeah!!!"

[Dan from Michigan]

He's anti-gun too. No deals!

[inquest]

What conservatives are saying they'll vote for Hillary?

[tom h]

"Meanwhile, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean is criticizing him by saying he has flip-flopped his position on abortion for political gain. Dean's correct about this."

So what. Maybe Romney's faith has strengthened about the subject over time.

BTW, nearly all Democrats were once anti-abortion, before their party was known as the abortion party. It's the big secret and the MSM will ignore the issue. But in the mid to late-1980s you can find quotes from most prominent Democrats, including Al Gore, Dick Gephardt, Robert Byrd, and probably even Ted Kennedy saying that abortion is wrong.

Romney's change of heart, or political adjustment, is far less a stretch than the referenced Dems'.

[tom h]

"Meanwhile, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean is criticizing him by saying he has flip-flopped his position on abortion for political gain. Dean's correct about this."

Correction. Anti-abortion Democrats included Al Gore, Dick Gephardt, Jessie Jackson, Ted Kennedy, and Bill Clinton.

See: http://www.gargaro.com/lifequotes.html

[inquest]

So what. Maybe Romney's faith has strengthened about the subject over time.

I doubt that's it. We only began to hear about how anti-abortion he is after he started going into presidential candidate mode. And his (not very plausible) claim is that he's never changed his position.

[Know your rights]

Dean's correct about this.

Even a stopped clock ....

[JohnnyZ]

What Romney means when he says he is pro-life is another question.

Well, Mitt's been a supporter of legal abortion for 40 years, since even before Roe v Wade came down. He echoes Bill Clinton's "safe, legal, and rare" bulls*** -- except he doesn't even bother with "rare", just "safe and legal".

Just because he wants to call himself pro-life doesn't mean he's actually changed his position. He's still pro-abortion as far as anyone knows. That makes him a hypocrite and a fraud, not a flip-flopper.