This was the signal for HORDS of reporters to dig through every little thing that relates in even the most fuzzy way to faithfulness.

They’ll find something. Maybe it was Romney spending acouple minutes alone in a room with a female clerk reviewing some government documents. Maybe another female rode with him to some meeting.

Enough money, maybe some personal dislike of him, and we’ve got a story.

HORDS should be HOARDS, seesh, use spell check BE!

Romney's Wife Gave Money to Planned Parenthood

Republican Abortion Opponent Accused of Shifting His Views

Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts, and his wife, Ann, arrive at the White House for a state dinner February 26, 2006 in Washington, DC. Many of the nation's governors spent the evening at the White House, attending a state dinner and entertainment, in honor of the states and territories of the U.S. (

By RICK KLEIN
May 9, 2007

Former Gov. Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, gave an $150 donation to the abortion-rights group Planned Parenthood in 1994, at a time when Romney considered himself effectively "pro-choice," the Romney campaign confirmed today.

Campaign spokesman Kevin Madden said Ann Romney had no recollection of the circumstances under which she donated the money.

He said an internal review of Romney's personal records has not turned up any instances in which Romney, a Massachusetts Republican, himself sent money to groups that supported expanded abortion rights.

"The governor has not donated to Planned Parenthood or abortion-rights groups," Madden said.

Madden said he did not know whether the former governor was aware of the donation, but he noted that Romney had been publicly committed to upholding a woman's right to an abortion until late 2004.

"This is an issue that the governor has changed his position on, that the governor was wrong on in the past and believes he is right on now," he said.

Giuliani Donated to Abortion-Rights Group

The issue of past donations to abortion-rights groups has exploded in the Republican presidential campaign in the past few days, with the revelation that former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani gave six separate donations to Planned Parenthood during the 1990s.

That information -- obtained from tax returns that Giuliani released when he served as mayor -- has forced Giuliani to scramble to explain his statements that he has always been personally opposed to abortion.

Planned Parenthood is the nation's biggest abortion provider and lobbies actively to expand abortion rights.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his top aides have been particularly strong in denouncing Giuliani for making the donation, but the Romney camp has not entered the fray.

Romney Changed Mind

Madden said a search of Romney campaign records unearthed only one donation the former governor had made to an abortion-related group: His foundation gave $15,000 in 2005 to Massachusetts Citizens for Life.

Thursday, Romney is scheduled to deliver a speech before that organization's Pioneer Valley chapter -- the first speech of his presidential campaign to an anti-abortion rights group.

The speech is expected to draw protesters from both sides of the abortion debate, with both abortion rights activists and abortion righs opponents upset with Romney's position on abortion.

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For the Campaign '08 Obsessive Who Has Everything

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Candidate Watch

Romney's 'Flip, Flop, Flip'

Romney at Planned Parenthood fund-raiser, June 12, 1994.

"Every piece of legislation which came to my desk [as] governor, I came down on the side of preserving the sanctity of life."

--Mitt Romney, NBC "Meet the Press", December 16, 2007.

It is becoming difficult for Mitt Romney to keep track of his twists and turns on the abortion issue. The photograph above shows Romney back in June 1994 during his first big political campaign, running against Sen. Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts. It was taken at a fund-raiser for the pro-abortion rights group, Planned Parenthood, in Cohasset, Mass. The woman with her back to Romney is Nicki Nichols Gamble, former president of the Massachusetts branch of Planned Parenthood, which accepted a $150 contribution from Romney's wife Ann (in a white jacket to Romney's right.)

The "pro-choice" candidate for senator, and later governor, of Massachusetts is now the "pro-life" candidate for president of the United States. His record as governor is controversial, however. Interviewed by Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" last Sunday, Romney claimed that he took a "pro-life" position on "every piece of legislation" that came before him. But that is untrue, at least by his present definition of what constitutes "life."

The Facts

Romney announced his conversion to "pro-life" views in an editorial in the Boston Globe on July 25, 2005, the day after vetoing a bill expanding access to the so-called "morning after" pill, which required that it be made available to rape victims. See my detailed and updated chronology here. Abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood expressed shock at the governor's change of heart, after he had personally signed a pledge to support increased access to the "morning after" pill. "Pro-Life" groups hailed the decision.

That was not the end of the story, however. The controversy over "emergency contraception" continued to haunt Romney. In October 2005, another bill came to his desk, seeking a federal waiver to expand the number of Massachusetts citizens eligible for family planning services, including the "morning after" pill. Romney signed that bill over the objections of his new anti-abortion allies. On this occasion, he was applauded by "pro-choice" advocates.

The issue came up yet again in December 2005. After weeks of agonizing, Romney instructed all hospitals in the state to comply with the terms of the emergency contraception law, and make the morning-after pill available to rape victims. He acted on the advice of his legal counsel, over the objections of half a dozen Catholic hospitals, which had previously refused to provide emergency contraception on the grounds that it conflicted with their religious views.

"Flip,flop,flip," editorialized the Boston Herald, on December 9, 2005. "Yes, Gov. Mitt Romney has now executed an Olympic-caliber double flip-flop with a gold medal-performance twist-and-a-half on the issue of emergency contraception."

Views on the acceptability of the "morning after" pill vary greatly, depending on exactly how you define "life." Many "pro-life" advocates, including Romney, take the view that life begins at the moment when a female egg is fertilized by the male sperm. They are opposed to the "morning after" pill, because it can prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus. "Pro-choice" groups argue that life begins much later.

Romney's gyrations on abortion have upset both sides. "For Mitt Romney, this has been not just a flip-flop, but an extreme makeover," said Angus McQuilken, vice president for public affairs with the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts. "Where he stands on any issue is always a moving target."

"I don't see how he can sign bills like that and say with a straight face that he is taking a pro-life position," said Joseph M. Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League, which is opposed to all forms of abortion. "There's no way we can accept that.".

UPDATE THURSDAY 11:30 A.M.: I just spoke with Nichols Gamble, the Planned Parenthood official who accepted the $150 cheque from the Romneys in June 1994. She says she had no reason to believe at the time that Romney was "not 100 percent behind the pro-choice public policy position." She now thinks that Romney "tried to have it both ways and every way to Sunday" on abortion, depending on what political office he was seeking.

The Pinocchio Test

Romney has changed his position so often on abortion that he lacks much credibility on this one. The Romney campaign did not respond to a e-mailed request to clarify the governor's position, so he loses the argument by default on this occasion. Three Pinocchios.

(About our rating scale.)

“Flip,flop,flip,” editorialized the Boston Herald, on December 9, 2005. “Yes, Gov. Mitt Romney has now executed an Olympic-caliber double flip-flop with a gold medal-performance twist-and-a-half on the issue of emergency contraception.”

OMG, you really think so?

Hordes?

What do you think about what BE wrote?

You think Rush was intimating something?

I heard it and my head started spinning, but it didn’t occur to me he was issuing a challenge to find some dirt.

HORDS should be HOARDS, seesh, use spell check BE!

Wrong. Should be HORDES.

Hordes?

Yeah, nothing like correcting a corrected post!

Well, actually, since he’s talking about the media, it should be WHOREdS.

Don’t misinterpret what I posted.

I’m not saying Rush was issuing a challenge, or anything of the sort. That’s waaaay beneath him.

I heard the segment in question, and the very first thought that occurred to me was just what I posted.

It’s inevitable that whoever our guy is, the DBM is going to us his most appealing quality and really work hard to trash it. Right now, with Romney, the flag of faithfulness has been raised

Thanks for the ping, Lion. Calling in to a talk show is something I have never been able to do. I hang up while I am on hold; I’m terrified of speaking on the air.

Whew. Thanks. Had me worried there.

I agree with those mitten callers that Romney is likely squeaky-clean in the marital department.

But Rush did emphasize that....

Thanks for the ping! Something that has often been overlooked is how kind the entire family is. My sister, a dyed in the wool lib, compliments Ann Romney for being THE ONLY other candidate’s wife who called Elizabeth Edwards to offer her support when EE’s cancer recurred. She thinks that is a very classy thing, and I agree. (And no, I have no idea where she got that information.)

Usiny the left to trash our candidates on helps the left. Do you work for the DNC?

I’m not big on calling in either!

Bravo! I’ve always half-believed that “Mitt” was a Michigan nickname based on the shape of the state.

And he’s paid them off to keep their mouths shut about anything political or personal, so what’s the point?

Just want to add this;

I’ll bet that RIGHT NOW, even as we are discussing this, Hillary! has a dozen people working on this. Not one stone will be left undisturbed. They WILL find something.

It probably will be something with no meaning, but it will be made to look like he has 5 wives on the side, 10 girls, all in different towns, several of whom have had at least on abortion.

Think about it, isn’t that what the Left, and especially Hillary! is all about?.

Take a make a mental comparison between either Bill, or Hillary!, and Romney on the issue of fidelity. What do you see? Black and white. Add in the excitement the women on Rush exuded today. THAT did not go unnoticed by the Clinton camp. That was played over and over in their office. It will not go without response from Team Clinton.

Mitt and Ann have class!