A national conservative group yesterday attacked Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney for espousing a "left-wing agenda" and urged its followers not to support his candidacy.
The group said Romney's nationally televised debate performance against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy showed he is "anti-family" and running away from conservative Republican themes.
"It makes no difference who wins (the Senate race)," said L. Brent Bozell, executive director of the Conservative Victory Committee, a fiercely conservative fund-raising group. "Romney is not going to be a fighter for a conservative agenda."
The group's attack is not likely to hurt Romney in Massachusetts, where he is trying to appeal to the critical voting group of moderate independents.
Romney adviser Charles Manning last night dismissed Bozell's group as a right-wing organization that has not been involved in Romney's campaign.
"This is the type of gimmick that groups like this use to try to get publicity and it's really silly," Manning said. "There isn't anyone, anywhere who could ever say that Mitt Romney is anti-family."
Manning said Bozell's group has not contributed to Romney because he does not accept political action committee money.
Bozell said in an interview that he helped collect more than $ 3,500 in individual donations for Romney over the last few weeks.
He said he now regrets asking his group members to contribute to Romney because the debate "demonstrated very clearly that (Romney) has more in common with liberal Democrats than he does with conservatives."
Bozell's group is one of the most conservative in the country, and has been a constant critic of Kennedy's record in the Senate.
"I'm sorry we ever raised a penny for his campaign," Bozell said in a statement.
Other conservative leaders in Washington also were reportedly upset with Romney for voicing support on Tuesday night for gay rights, abortion rights and forcing employers to release information on their hiring record of women and minorities.
"Any man who runs on quotas for women is not one of us," Bozell said.
Kennedy attempted to link Romney several times during the debate to conservatives such as Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and accused him of trying to return the country to the policies of the Reagan-Bush administrations.
Romney objected to the characterizations, saying: "I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush."
Romney has sought throughout the campaign to portray himself as a "Bill Weld Republican" who is is liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal matters.
One conservative strategist, however, said a Romney victory would hurt Republicans who are attempting to appeal to conservatives in the 1996 election.
"In their minds, if Romney is elected, that's a disaster to the future of the Republican Party," the strategist said.