Mitt Romney’s nascent campaign is beginning to respond to questions (here, here, and here) raised about a letter that he sent to the Massachusetts Log Cabin Republicans back in 1994. David Brody, from the Christian Broadcasting Network, got a response from the Romney press operation:
Governor Romney believes Americans should be respectful of all people. Over the past four years as governor, Mitt Romney has not implemented new or special rights in this area and he has not advocated or supported any change in the military’s policies. As governor, he’s been a champion of traditional marriage. He’s fought the efforts of activist judges who seek to redefine marriage, and he’s testified before the U.S. Senate in support of the Federal Marriage Amendment. Governor Romney has been a leader in protecting marriage and in focusing this debate on the needs of children.
This is seems like a smart answer. He tries to focus on his role and record as governor. Well, what is his record? According to RightMarch, Romney nominated pro-gay marriage activists:
He nominated Stephen Abany to a District Court. Abany has been a key player in the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association which, in its own words, is "dedicated to ensuring that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision on marriage equality is upheld, and that any anti-gay amendment or legislation is defeated."
But is Mitt’s defense that he said that he was a moderate but governed like a conservative? That doesn’t seem like a winner for a guy who decided that the GOP’s problem in 2006 was "[w]here we get in trouble is where we say one thing and do something else."
Indeed, some activists didn’t even think he was opposed to gay marriage when he ran 4 years ago, and was again trying to court Log Cabin’s support:
According to David Rogers, who served as the group’s president at the time, "Candidate Romney said he wasn’t for gay marriage because it wasn’t popular yet. But he didn’t seem to care one way or the other." In fact, when reporters broke the news that Romney’s wife and son had signed a citizen’s petition to put a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and domestic-partnership benefits on the November 2002 ballot, the governor condemned such bans as "too extreme."
