Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is having still more trouble trying to convince social conservatives that he is one of them.Again past comments made in his 1994 Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy are coming back to bit Romney, who is trying to stake out the conservatice niche in the GOP presidential field.
The conservative newsmag, The National Review, reports the latest comment to rile the right wing were made by Romney in an effort to distance himself from Ronald Reagan in the liberal-leaning Massachusetts.
The National Review quotes Romney as he was quoted by The Boston Herald in 1994:
"I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush."
The National Review article reports conservatives in South Carolina, an early-primary state, remain concerned about Romney's late anti-abortion conversion and his prior support for gay rights.
ROMNEY TALKS WITH THE PRESS
Romney spoke with Bay State press yesterday for the first time in three weeks, addressing the issues that have recently thrown Romney off track.
It was recently discovered that Romney, who has a get-tough policy on illegal immigration, employed a landscaping company which hired illegal workers.
He has also been dogged by his 1994 assertions that he would be a better advocate for gay-rights issues than Ted Kennedy.
Romney insists he has not changed his tune on gay-rights issues:
"I'm not in favor of discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against people who have a different sexual preference than myself, and never have been in favor of discrimination. At the same time, I'm very committed to traditional marriage between one man and one woman and believe that marriage should be preserved in that way."-- Mitt Romney as quoted in The Boston Globe
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Quotes from Governor Mitt Romney about President Ronald Reagan
2004
* “It is appropriate and fitting to set aside a day to honor the memory of Ronald Reagan, who inspired the nation with his optimism and belief in the greatness of the American people. He led the nation with vision, courage and humor and defended freedom and democracy around the world.”
o Governor Mitt Romney, 06-08-2004 Press Release
* "And if you think that during the great national policy debate of the 1980's, Ronald Reagan was wrong and Ted Kennedy was right, then by all means send in John Kerry."
o Governor Mitt Romney, 09-01-2004 2002 Republican Convention
2005
* “I believe people who are in a position of visibility and leadership affect the character of young people and individuals who look to them as leaders. And in some respects just as important as their policies and positions is there character and their substance. What for me makes people like Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt and John Adams and George Washington and Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan such extraordinary leaders is that they had integrity through and through. What they were on the inside and what they said on the outside was harmonious. There a lot of people like that. I think that if people try to live a very different personal life not consistent with the role they’ve assumed as a governor or senator or president, we lose something as a nation.”
o Governor Mitt Romney, The Atlantic (September 2005)
* Ronald Reagan is one of my heroes," Romney said as he praised Reagan's strategy for winning the Cold War: We win; they lose."
o Governor Mitt Romney, Source
* “Ronald Reagan is also my hero and a friend of all of ours…I believe that our party’s ascendancy began with Ronald Reagan’s brand of visionary and courageous leadership.”
o Governor Mitt Romney, Speech in South Carolina (February 2005)
* "And for all those people, for all those people like myself who yearn for world peace, don't forget that a strong America is peace's best ally. As Ronald Reagan said, he said, I saw four wars start in my lifetime and not one of them was started because America was too strong. We have a president who is committed to defending this land and to spreading liberty throughout the world and we are firmly behind him. We just had a--we recently just had a visit from Shimon Peres of Israel. He said America is unique in the world and plays a unique role. In the history of the world, he said, when wars are fought, they're fought over land and the victor takes land. But when America has been drawn into war and when millions of its sons and daughters' lives have been taken, it asks for nothing in return. No land did we take from Germany, no land did we take from Japan. In fact we invested in their countries to preserve their liberty, because we recognize their liberty and their freedom provides freedom for us and the entire world. This is a nation which is unusual in the history of the world, it is unique, and this is a nation which helps preserve the peace of the entire planet. And I'm proud and privileged to know that we have such great militrary and such great leadership carrying out and fulfilling that promise."
o Governor Mitt Romney, 06-03-2005, NH Federation of Republican Women's Lilac Dinner
2006
* "When I was running for office for the first time in 1994, I was trying to define who I was, not who I wasn’t. I was trying to define that I was an individual who had his own views and perspectives and I wasn’t a carbon copy of someone else. I’ve said since, and continue to reiterate, that one of my heroes is Ronald Reagan. I’ve been asked time and again in interviews, who are your heroes? And I mention Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower among others as some of my favorite heroes, and I feel that deeply. But I am a different person than any other person and my interest is, of course, looking forward to defining who I am. Of course, now there’s no need for me to try to define myself in reference to others. I’ve got a record. And people can look at my record and see, for instance, that when people were clamoring to raise taxes in Massachusetts, I said “no” and we held the line on taxes, and held the line and borrowing, and we balanced our budget. They can see that I vetoed literally hundreds of line items in budgets because I thought there was too much spending. They can see that I fought for better schools. They can see that I fought for a better environment. And they can recognize that a lot what Ronald Reagan was doing I’m also doing. So I’m pretty proud to follow in his legacy, if you will, recognizing, of course, that there’s some differences. He’s just a lot better than anyone else I know."
o Governor Mitt Romney, Human Events, Robert B. Bluey, 12-28-2006, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18683
* Now of course there's some big differences between Massachusetts and New Hampshire as well. There is this affection that some people in Massachusetts have for toll booths. I don't understand it. This Memorial Day weekend my wife and I waited in the toll booth line at the Hampton tolls for just about half an hour. And I have a message for your Democratic governor. Tear down that wall.
o Governor Mitt Romney
* "Not really. Not at this stage. You know its possible that there will come some point were there is a question that galvanizes interest and there is an occasion to say something that cuts through the confusion that may develop but at this stage it is kind of hard to predict what will happen. I mean I remember in the race with Ronald Reagan, it was in his debate that he said, "I'm not going to let your youth and inexperience become an issue in this campaign". That sort of put aside his age issue. And there may well be something of that nature. I just don't think Americans will do something the constitution forbids. The constitution says that no religious test shall ever be required for qualification for office in these United States, and I don't think my party or the American people would ever do that."
o Governor Mitt Romney, discussing his religion on the Charlie Rose Show. Was asked, "John Kennedy, we remember, looked for and found a venue where he could talk about his catholic faith. The Houston ministry is a very famous speech that he gave. Would you look for and are you looking for a place were you can make a statement like this and are you looking for the right place and time?"
* "Well, I think people in this country want a person of faith to lead them as their governor, as their senator, as their president. I don't think most people care what brand of faith they have. And I don't believe that that's been an issue for me in my race for governor. It wasn't an issue, I believe, serious, for John Kennedy when he ran for president. People said oh, gosh, Ronald Reagan, he's been an actor who's been divorced, you can't elect him. Those things, I think, get swept away as people get to know the individual, understand their character, their vision, their values, and I think that's true regardless of a person's faith if they are a faithful person."
o Governor Mitt Romney, 02-27-2006 Interview with CHRIS WALLACE on FNS
Press Releases from Governor Mitt Romney about President Ronald Reagan
06-08-2004, ROMNEY DECLARES JUNE 11th DAY OF HONOR FOR PRESIDENT REAGAN
ROMNEY would in fact, if elected president run this country by the MORMON faith. MORMON companies who take over other companies quickly let it be known how the company will be run. NO GAYS. NO SMOKERS, NO BODY MARKING OR PIERCINGS. COUNTRY BEWARE . YOU DO NOT WANT A MORMON RUNNING THIS COUNTRY. UNLESS YOU WANT A DICTATORSHIP !!!
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