"Governor Romney has been touring the country in the past few weeks, courting anti-gay right-wingers in South Carolina, Missouri, and Utah with speeches designed to show that he is firmly in their camp. Yet a look at Romney's record shows that his Rick Santorum drag act is a relatively new phenomenon."
- Bay Windows, 3/3/2005
But what struck the gay GOP during that campaign, according to Massachusetts Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), was Romney's accessibility to and comfort within the local gay community. Romney and his Republican primary opponent, John Lakian, attended an LCR-sponsored candidate's forum during the campaign, where they both competitively vied for the organization's endorsement -- which Romney eventually won. During the course of his campaign, LCR member and former president Mark Goshko told Bay Windows, Romney held several meetings with group members and at least two LCR members joined his staff. Though gay Republicans were by no means running Romney's campaign, "it was really a multi-level involvement," Goshko stated. "Our people were very involved officially and outside of [the campaign]."
- Bay Windows, 3/28/2002
"It's 9:15 a.m. and Republican gubernatorial nominee Mitt Romney is in good spirits. He's just wrapped up a meeting with the Massachusetts Log Cabin Republicans at Mario's restaurant in Boston, where he won his first endorsement from a gay organization . . . According to Mark Goshko, a former LCR president, the group's 15-member board of governors, the body that votes to endorse candidates, made the unanimous decision after meeting with the Romney campaign and holding extensive discussions."
- Bay Windows, 10/24/2002
"During his 2002 gubernatorial run his campaign distributed bright pink flyers during Pride that declared 'Mitt and Kerry [running mate Kerry Healey] wish you a great Pride weekend! All citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of their sexual preference.' Romney also argued that he would not only support gay friendly policies but would fight on behalf of the gay community to secure benefits such as domestic partner benefits and hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples."
- Bay Windows 3/3/2005
Such laws are usually carried out at the expense of freedom of religion and speech. For example, they would allow lawsuits against a Christian book store owner for refusing to hire a homosexual activist applicant.
"Basically I see the provision of basic civil rights and domestic partnership benefits [as] a campaign against Tom Finneran. I see Tom Finneran and the Democratic leadership as having opposed the application of domestic partnership benefits to gay and lesbian couples and I will support and endorse efforts to provide those domestic partnership benefits to gay and lesbian couples," says Romney.
- Bay Windows, 10/24/2002
"If this [proposed constitutional marriage] amendment were to pass, at that stage I would support legislation which would provide certain domestic partnership benefits, like hospital visitation rights, and rights of survivorship, and so forth.
- State House press conference, 6/15/2005
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said yesterday he was ready to work with lawmakers to craft a "civil union"-style law to give some marriage rights to homosexual couples, even though he also supports a constitutional amendment to preserve traditional marriage . . . Mr. Romney yesterday told TV news stations that he would support a Vermont-style civil union law in Massachusetts, but reiterated his support for a constitutional amendment that would clarify that "marriage is an institution between a man and a woman."
- Washington Times, 11/20/2003
Massachusetts Governor Romney is coming under fire for comments he made about gay marriage to Republican activists in South Carolina. Romney told Monday night's gathering in Spartanburg County that he's always been opposed to same-sex marriage as well as what he called "it's equivalent, civil unions." Romney, however, has for months backed a proposed amendment to the Massachusetts constitution that would ban gay marriage but provide for civil unions with the same rights and responsibilities as marriage. Massachusetts State Representative Phil Travis says Romney can't be for civil unions when he's in Massachusetts and against them when he's out-of-state. Travis has been a leading opponent of same-sex unions.
- Associated Press, 2/23/2005
Through all the twists and shifts during the gay-marriage debate this year, there was one constant: 22 Republicans in the House of Representatives opposed every measure that would grant gay couples civil unions in the constitution. That all changed yesterday, however, when 15 of that 22-member bloc broke away at the urging of Governor Mitt Romney and voted in favor of a proposed amendment that would ban gay marriage but create Vermont-style civil unions. Those 15 members provided the margin of victory, observers from both camps said yesterday after the measure passed by just five votes. In the end, the 15 agreed that approving a measure that they viewed as highly undesirable was preferable to the possibility that nothing would be sent to the state ballot for voters to weigh in on.
- Boston Globe 3/30/2004
(Note: This amendment, which included mandated provisions for civil unions, was ultimately defeated in the Legislature and never did go to the voters.)
The largest Boy Scout council in the country responded to the call for volunteers issued by the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee, but the welcome mat was rolled up and the door slammed in its face. Olympic spokesmen for the 2002 winter games say the exclusion has nothing to do with recent protests by gay activists. While the organizing committee for the Olympic event is prominently displaying a call for local volunteers, they have explicitly let it be known that the Boy Scouts need not apply. "For us not to be involved is discouraging, considering the Atlanta games. The Scouting council there was extremely involved," said Kay Godfrey, professional Scout executive for the Great Salt Lake Council of Boy Scouts.
- NewsMax.com, Dec. 18, 2000
Governor Mitt Romney pledged yesterday not to make a flurry of lame-duck judicial appointments in the final days of his administration . . . David Yas, editor of Lawyers Weekly, said Romney is "bucking tradition" by resisting the urge to fill all remaining judgeships. "It is a tradition for governors to use that power to appoint judges aggressively in the waning moments of their administration," Yas said. He added that Romney has been criticized for failing to make judicial appointments. "The legal community has consistently criticized him for not filling open seats quickly enough and being a little too painstaking in the process and being dismissive of the input of the Judicial Nominating Commission," Yas said.
- Boston Globe 11/2/2006
More recently Romney proposed allocating $250,000 for the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth for fiscal year 2006, twice what he proposed for FY05. The Legislature ultimately funded the commission at $250,000 for FY05, so Romney's proposal for next year amounts to level funding, and the proposal is still a far cry from $1.6 million the commission received in the mid-'90s before the state budget crisis. Yet as commission co-chair Kathleen Henry said, Romney could just as easily have dissolved the program. "We serve completely at the will of the governor," said Henry.
- Bay Windows 3/3/2005
Kathleen Henry, chairwoman of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, defended Romney. Henry said the governor's fiscal 2006 budget plan included $250,000 for the commission, twice as much as he proposed spending in 2005. ''The fact that he doubled last year's [proposed budget allocation] this year is huge to us. It's really huge. It says to us clearly that he gets the service for what it really is," said Henry.
- Boston Globe 7/1/2005
Romney said his vetoes were motivated by fiscal prudence, not opposition to the programs or presidential politics. Even with his vetoes, the state would spend more than $1 million on teen pregnancy prevention and $250,000 on the programs for gay and lesbian youth. . . [Romney said,] ''The work that they're doing to prevent suicide and prevent violence is important work, and we support the work which they're doing . . . [but] we didn't see a need to raise their budget by 40 percent."
- Boston Globe, 7/1/2005
"I would have opposed that amendment. I don’t think the federal government has any business dictating to local school boards what their curriculum or practices should be. I think that’s a dangerous precedent in general. I would have opposed that. It also grossly misunderstands the gay community by insinuating that there’s an attempt to proselytize a gay lifestyle on the part of the gay community. I think it’s wrong-headed and unfortunate and hurts the party by being identified with the Republican party."
- Bay Windows, 8/25/1994
"On April 26, Gov. Mitt Romney's chief legal counsel, Daniel Winslow, told the state's 1,200 justices of the peace that they had to marry same-sex couples, or be fired…. After being assured in February that the justices would be able file for conscientious-objector status, [a JP] was shocked to hear Winslow say they couldn't-and to hear an official from the state board of discrimination warn that trying to get out of officiating same-sex ceremonies could get them sued for $25,000 to $1 million." David Fried of the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination (a Romney appointed agency) said "that justices could be personally liable under the state's antidiscrimination law if they turned away same-sex couples who requested their services."
- Citizen (Focus on the Family online), 7/2004 and
- New York Times, 4/26/2004
"His harsh criticism of what he calls ''judicial over-reaching" always wins applause from Republican audiences. But the governor has at times taken pains to promote tolerance of gays and lesbians. When an administration official was dismissed and asserted that the action was related to her intention to marry her lesbian partner, Romney strongly denied it and noted that several high-ranking officials in his administration were gay…. The applications Romney approved from same-sex couples included at least four from state legislators, including Jarrett T. Barrios, a state senator from Cambridge, members of the clergy from out-of-state, family members, and friends …"
- Boston Globe, 1/2/2006
In summary, Romney has never said that homosexual marriage (especially the sodomy characteristic of the male unions) presents a problem for values, morality, public health, or parental rights in the schools. In almost every speech he gives on the topic, he simply focuses on "every child needing a father and a mother."
This would be considered “spamming the thread.”
Unless you typed all of it in just now.
Was that a nuke I just heard going off?
Good answer!
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
I think he is the Bill Clinton of the Republican party - the candidate who can say anything smoothly and get people to believe him. He does very well in the debates. I prefer Hunter.
It’s you who is the deciever! All this crap you are posting is slowly but surel delegitamizing this entire site.....But carry one.....You are talking to fewer and fewer people each day.
http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/front_page/jay_sekulow_responds_to_boy_sc.php
From the Archives...
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Monday, December 11, 2006
SEKULOW ADDRESSES FALSE BOY SCOUT ALLEGATION
I’m sure by now you’ve heard rumors Gov. Romney is not as conservative as he claims. One allegation bothersome to me was the idea that Gov. Romney somehow prevented the Boy Scouts from participating in the Olympics in Salt Lake to make a political statement. Constitutional lawyer Jay Sekulow sent me an e-mail which addresses this issue—which is just one of the many misrepresentations a group called MassResistance is circulating amongst conservatives:
Short Summary
Brian Camenkers claim in The Mitt Romney Deception that Romney Barred Boy Scouts from public participation in the 2002 Olympics is entirely false. There are several articles that directly contradict Camenkers conclusion. NewsMax.com, Camenkers source, did not even claim that Romney made the decision to bar the Scouts. In fact, Romney, at least at that time, sat on the Boy Scouts executive board. The Boy Scouts said that the NewsMax article was false. Even NewsMax admitted that the Olympic Committee said that there was an age restriction of 18 years old and up to be a volunteer. There are also inconsistencies in the two NewsMax articles, only one of which is cited by Camenker. There is also some negative treatment of the accuracy of NewsMax.com, but mostly by liberal critics. Since no major media source ran anything about this story, and the local media directly contradicted it, it appears that Camenkers claim is false.
I. Camenkers claim that Romney Barred Boy Scouts from public participation in the 2002 Olympics and his source, NewsMax.com.
Camenker does not accurately describe his own source, NewsMax.com. The NewsMax article did claim that the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Committee refused to let the Boy Scouts participate as a group. However, the NewsMax article states that the spokesperson for the Olympic Committee stated in an interview that the Boy Scouts were not allowed to participate as a group because of an age limit. The spokesperson, Caroline Shaw, went on to say:
I dont think were in a position to give every organization out there official status. Theres the Girl Guides and the Girl Scouts; I dont know, there must be at least a million youth groups out there . . . . Theyre a fabulous organization, but there are a lot of great organizations out there.
She also said that Scout Leaders could apply as volunteers and the younger members can certainly go on line and apply. Thats the one area where we are looking for younger adults and children to participate, and they can submit requests through going online to be cast members and so forth. She even said that Im sure we have volunteers, a large percentage of them have been former Boy Scouts, including our president and CEO who was Mitt Romney.
NewsMax made the bold statement that the Boy Scouts need not apply to be Olympic volunteers, but the article does not state why this determination was made. While Camenker blames the decision on Romney, NewsMax never states that this was Romneys decision. It is accurate that Mitt Romney would not respond personally to either the Boy Scouts or NewsMax at the time the article was written. According to NewsMax, Kay Godfrey, professional Scout executive for the Great Salt Lake Council of Boy Scouts, stated, For us not to be involved is discouraging, considering the Atlanta games. The Scouting council there was extremely involved. The article did imply that one reason that the Boy Scouts were not included was because of their stance on the homosexual issue, but the Olympic committee spokeswoman denies this. The article does not state if this is the only time the Boy Scouts have not been allowed to volunteer, but it does state that they were allowed to volunteer in the games in Atlanta. NewsMax, 12/18/2000 2002 Salt Lake Committee Bans Boy Scouts From Olympics, by David M. Bresnahan, http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2000/12/15/214301.shtml
According to a follow-up article to the earlier NewsMax article:
Earl Armstrong, Director of Field Services for the [Salt Lake City Boy Scout] council, said our scouts wont be participating in any official capacity though some did help erect temporary fencing. He first said that there was a rule prohibiting political involvement. When asked if that rule was an Olympic edict, Armstrong replied, No, there is a Boy Scout rule against getting involved in politics.
He went on to state that there was an 18 and over rule to volunteer for the Olympics. The article took a cynical stance that they did not quite believe the arguments. NewsMax, 02/07/2002 Boy Scouts Not Welcome at Olympics, by Dan Frisa, http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/ 2002/2/7/135258.shtml.
It is important to note that the next issue of NewMax Magazine has Rudy Giuliani on the front cover with the caption Yes, Rudy Can Win! in which there will be an article that the website claims This special edition of NewsMax Magazine may become the playbook for the Giuliani presidential campaign. See NewsMax Magazine Get It! NewsMax.com, available from http://www.newsmax.com/a/nov06/?PROMO_CODE=291F-1. NewsMax.com according to Wikipedia is a news organization founded by journalist Christopher Ruddy and based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It runs the NewsMax.com website and publishes NewsMax Magazine. Ruddy, who serves as editor-in-chief, describes NewsMax.com as the leading independent online news site with a conservative perspective. Wikipedia, s.v. NewsMax.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewsMax.com. According to Hoovers.com:
NewsMax Media serves up the news with a conservative slant. The company publishes alternative news and opinion content through its monthly 300,000-subscriber magazine NewsMax and corresponding Web site. Columnists include Reed Irvine (founder of conservative watchdog group Accuracy In Media) and national broadcasting hosts and analysts Bill O’Reilly, Ed Koch, and Dick Morris.
premium.hoovers.com/subscribe/co/factsheet.xhtml?ID=105844&mode=print. Conservative websites tend to defend NewsMax while liberal cites bash it. The reliability of the site is uncertain.
II. Refutation of the NewsMax.com Article By Mitt Romney and the Boy Scouts.
According to local Salt Lake City newspapers, NewsMaxs article is dead wrong. According to Desecret News (Salt Lake City), David Bresnahan posted the story on both NewsMax.com and InvestigativeJournal.com, but Boy Scout Officials and Olympic officials say the report is inaccurate and maintain they have good working relationship. Mitt Romney responded to the NewsMax.com article by stating, it happens to be 100 percent inaccurate. Romney also said, Were very pleased to have Scouts help out.
Kay Godfrey, the spokesperson who NewsMax quoted as saying he was displeased with the exclusion announced, Weve [The Boy Scouts] not been excluded. . . . The report is not accurate and not true. Both Romney and the Boy Scouts acknowledged that there is an 18 year old restriction as well as a uniform policy which excludes all uniforms. SLOC denies snubbing Scouts over gay stance, 12/19/06 by Lynn Arave, Desecret News (Salt Lake City), p. B1.
The same story is told by the Salt Lake Tribune, where Godfrey, spokesperson for the local Boy Scouts is quoted as saying, This is outrageous! . . . Ive been on the phone all day because of this. Its created quite a ruckus, but weve never been told we couldnt participate. Godfrey claims that he does not remember ever speaking with the NewsMax columnist regarding this issue. Bresnahan responded, Ive got him [Godfrey] on tape in telephone conversations with me. . . . The Scouts are either trying to cover their own backsides, or they are extremely forgetful people. In response to the uniform issue, Romney said, We have volunteers who work for us, and they all wear the Olympic volunteer uniform . . . so all volunteers will dress the same way. Scouts Honor: SLOC Says It Didnt Bar BSA From Olympics, by Bob Mims, 12/19/2000, Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), p. A1. See also Mitt, Rocky say Games are for all, 10/28/06 by Diane Urbani, Desecret News (Salt Lake City), p. A14; Helping Hands: Utah Boy Scouts Ready to Serve During Games, by Lori Buttars, 11/17/2001, Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), p. A1.
Boy Scouts were, in fact, allowed to help out during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympics. Lori Buttars, Helping Hands: Utah Boy Scouts Ready to Serve During Games, Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), November 17, 2001. For example, in 2001, Boy Scouts helped to get a biathlon venue (Soldier Hollow) ready for Olympic use and, several months later, were allowed to use the facility while Olympic participants practiced nearby. Rodger L. Hardy, Scouts get a taste of the biathlon at Games site, Deseret News (Salt Lake City), February 18, 2001, Pg. B06. The New York Times, in an article regarding the 2002 Olympic games states, Organizers have even solicited the help of 200 area Boy Scouts as volunteers doing ancillary tasks. Swifter, Higher, Stronger, Safer, The New York Times, January 6, 2002 Sunday, Section 5; Column 1; Travel Desk; Pg. 13. No major newspaper or magazine actually carried a story regarding the exclusion of the Boy Scouts from the Olympic Games.
III. Romneys Statements on Homosexuality and the Boy Scouts.
Aside from the 2002 Olympics, Romney has made public statements about homosexuality and Boy Scout policy. Romney was on the Boy Scouts of Americas 71 member National Executive Board from 1993 to 2002 and served in that capacity while working on the Salt Lake City Olympics. The Associated Press, Romney earned more than $500,000 in 2002, May 27, 2003.
According to the Boston Globe:
In a debate during [the 1994 campaign when he challenged US Senator Edward M. Kennedy], Romney was asked specifically whether he had done anything to change the Boy Scouts policy. He said then that he supported local councils right to make local decisions, but that he personally opposed the policy. I feel that all people should be allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts, regardless of their sexual orientation, he said.
On Boards, Silence On Gay Concerns, by Stephanie Ebbert and Benjamin Gedan, The Boston Globe, October 18, 2002, Friday, p. B1. In 1994, the Boston Globe reported that when Romney was asked about the Scouts policy he said, I support the right of the boy Scouts of America to decide what it wants to do on that issue. . . . I feel that all people should be allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation. Kennedy, Romney continue trading charges over facts, by Peter G. Gosselin, The Boston Globe, October 27, 1994, Thursday, p. 39. The Boy Scouts were not pleased with these statements given Romneys position on the Boy Scouts board: From where I’m sitting, that doesn’t appear to be a consistent statement,” said Richard Walker, the Boy Scouts’ national spokesman. His second statement seems to be inconsistent with our policy and as a member of the executive board he is expected to support our policy.
Thank you, Mr. Sekulow. I’m sure there’s more to be said about MassResistance’s effort to discredit the Governor, but this gives a pretty good insight about their general credibility.
Posted by Nancy French on December 11,