Posted on 02/20/2007 10:38:36 PM PST by AFA-Michigan
VIDEO: Romney gubernatorial debate
November 2, 2002
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_w9pquznG4
VIDEO: Romney senatorial debate
October 1994
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IJUkYUbvI
In response to YouTube's posting of Romney's pro-abortion comments during the 1994 U.S. senatorial campaign debate with Sen. Ted Kennedy, the Romney campaign last month issued a news release that attempted to mislead the public by portraying his support for abortion on demand as "ancient," failing to acknowledge that he maintained that pro-abortion position until -- according to his own tale of alleged conversion on the issue -- November 2004.
The Romney news release said "opponents have focused attacks on ancient footage from 13 years ago."
What attacks? The video was Romney's own words, in his own voice, coming out of his own mouth. Nothing more.
Romney himself is then quoted in the news release, saying the 1994 debate video "also shows what 13 years will do. I'm grayer. I'm a little heavier. And I hope I've grown a bit wiser as well. Of course, I was wrong on some issues back then...maybe that's why people on the other side are dredging up 13 year old history and attacking me now." http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Romney_Debate_Kennedy
Presumably, with YouTube's new posting of Romney's insistent, even indignant pro-abortion on demand rhetoric in his far more recent November 2002 gubernatorial debate -- a mere four years and three months ago -- the Romney campaign will soon issue a new news release condemning "attacks" (defined by Romney as video footage of his own words coming from his own lips) using "ancient footage from four years ago."
This can't be right. I've been told by romney supporters that he's been against abortion all his life!
Unlike Rudy and McCain, Romney has been a conservative for nearly six months now.
I'm a Duncan Hunter fan, but I can accept Romney's conversion ... most folks have some point of reason which awakened their heart and mind to the dehumanization of the alive unborn. His vocalizations on the abortion issue is not the best reason to reject his rino-ness.
it's a cumulative thing. I doubt any conversion he has after his lifelong of professing the opposite.
In MA (politicians need to be liberal)
Pro roe v wade
Anti-gun
Running for president: (need to be conservative to win GOP nomination)
Pro life*
Pro Gun*
All a little too conveeeenient.
(* Yeah, right)
Like you, I too am for Duncan Hunter and I am proud to say that our candidate has never had to flip flop on the issue of abortion, Congressman Hunter has been consistently opposed to the murder of unborn children, and 'what you see is what you get'.
If Mitt Romney is against abortion now, that's all well and good and good for him. I think the voters of Michigan would receive him well, remembering his famous Dad, and I'm sure he is capable of going on to become an excellent governor.
At least with Rudy, we know where we stand. Ready - aim - FIRE!
What a disgusting thing to watch.
Every pro-life conservative needs to find the stomach to do so, however.
I shall defer to whatever issue you think IS the best reason to reject his RINO-ness.
His endorsement of full-fledged "gays in the military" and Kennedy's federal "sexual orientation" legislation and homosexual Scoutmasters tops the list for me, right up there with his promotion of abortion on demand.
The last message in the world we want to send to FUTURE presidential aspirants is this:
You can spend your entire political career attacking conservative values and giving aid and comfort to the opposition, but so long as when it's time to run for president, you claim you've ever so sincerely (and conveniently) seen the light, all us social conservatives will drink that Kool-Aid and go charging to the ramparts on your behalf.
Nada. And Mitt is the perfect object lesson.
The message instead is this:
If you expect our support four or eight or twelve years from now, you better be standing up for life and traditional family values and gun rights NOW.
Pretty sound reasoning that!
I copied this from some other freeper Unmarked Package!
War on Terror
Mitt Romney holds some of the most hawkish, anti-jihadist positions among the top-tier candidates; especially against Iran as revealed in his major foreign policy speech delivered at the Herzliya, Israel Security Conference. Romney was the only candidate who traveled to Israel to attend the conference and speak.
Listen to the short video clips about Iran and see if you like what you hear from Mitt Romney concerning the WOT.
Romney: On Why Wishful Thinking on Iran is Wrong
On Confronting the Iran Threat: A 5-Point Plan
Concluding Remarks on the Iran Threat (Israeli remarks at end are key)
Mitt Romney had to manage the first Olympic Games in a post-9/11 world just five months after the attacks. Complex and costly security arrangements for the huge international event were a major part of the challenge of turning around the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. That counts for something in real world management experience with the WOT.
Finally, there is a personal example showing how Romney feels about Iran's leadership. It was Mitt Romney that denied Massachusetts state police protection to Iran's former President Khatami when he visited Boston to speak at Harvard. Romney thought it was a mistake to invite Khatami to the U.S.
Guns
Governor Romney: "Americans should have the right to own and possess firearms as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. I'm proud to be among the many decent, law-abiding men and women who safely use firearms." - Jan. 12, 2007 statement by Mitt Romney at Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show
Hasn't Gov. Romney been against the right to bear arms?
No. Gov. Romney has always supported that right. In fact, despite a heavily Democratic anti-gun Legislature in Massachusetts, he lifted numerous restrictions on pistols and hunting rifles.
Much is made of the fact that Gov. Romney signed a permanent assault weapons ban in Massachusetts in 2004. However, the bill enjoyed the support of Massachusetts gun owners because it also encompassed several measures they favored, including a lengthening of the terms of firearm identification cards and licenses to carry.
To review all actions taken by Gov. Mitt Romney in each year of his administration pertaining to the right to keep and bear arms, please see Governor Mitt Romney and Firearms Policy
Abortion
Mitt Romney was presented with legislation from a Democrat controlled Legislature concerning the sanctity of life on four occasions as Governor of Massachusetts. In every instance he took the pro-life position by vetoing bills or lobbying for the pro-life approach, including the following actions:
He vetoed the bill providing state funding for embryonic stem cell research
He vetoed a bill that provided for the "morning after pill" without a prescription because it is an abortifacient and would have been available to minors without parental notification and consent
He vetoed legislation which would have redefined Massachusetts longstanding definition of the beginning of human life from fertilization to implantation
He fought to promote abstinence education in the classroom.
Governor Romney has received the important endorsement of James Bopp, Jr, a nationally-known attorney and leading figure in the pro-life movement. Jim Bopp reviewed Romney's record as Governor and questioned him personally before giving Romney his endorsement.
Bopp said about the record of Gov. Romney, "These actions as Governor, and others, have led leaders of the most important social conservative groups in Massachusetts, including Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Massachusetts Family Institute and the Knights of Columbus, to observe that, while previous comments by Romney "are, taken by themselves, obviously worrisome to social conservatives including ourselves, they do not dovetail with the actions of Governor Romney from 2003 until now - and those actions positively and demonstrably impacted the social climate of Massachusetts." They conclude that Romney "demonstrated his solid social conservative credentials by undertaking these actions", and has, therefore, "proven that he shares our values, as well as our determination to protect them."
Governor Romney believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned and the States should set abortion policy.
Romney believes that controversial social issues, such as abortion policy, should be decided through the democratic process by citizens in the several states and their elected representatives rather than by federal judicial mandate.
Governor Romney: "I understand that my views on laws governing abortion set me in the minority in our Commonwealth. I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate." (Boston Globe Op-Ed, July 26, 2005)
Homosexual Rights
Romney has always opposed same-sex marriage. He diligently lobbied Congress in favor of a Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage to be between one man and one woman. Sen. John McCain opposed the FMA.
After the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, Gov. Romney enforced a little-known 1913 law in the state that prevents marriages in MA which are illegal in other states, thus preventing gay couples living outside MA from coming to the state to be married.
Mitt Romney does not favor action at the national level to sanction civil unions and would leave it to the several states to define the permissible contractual relationships between two people. Romney would not seek to impose, at the national level, a prohibition on contractual relationships between two people. (ABC News This Week interview with Mitt Romney on Feb 18, 2007)
Governor Romney upheld the right of Catholic Charities in Massachusetts to deny placing adoptive children in the homes of gay couples.
Whereas Mitt Romney believes sexual orientation should not preclude joining the Boy Scouts, he supports the right of local Councils of the Boy Scouts of America to decide and enforce their policy regarding homosexuals in their organization and leadership. Romney served on the Boy Scouts of America's National Executive Board from 1993 to 2002.
Immigration
Mitt Romney opposed a bill that would have allowed illegal aliens to get driver's licenses.
He vetoed a bill to give illegal aliens the right to in-state tuition at public universities.
He arranged a federal and state agreement enabling Massachusetts State Troopers to investigate immigration status and arrest illegal aliens that they encountered during the normal course of their duties.
Governor Romney: "I'm against an amnesty and against anything that provides an incentive for people to come here illegally."
Romney proposes an immigration plan with the following features:
1. Strong border and internal enforcement and security.
2. An enhanced, fair and workable employee verification system that eliminates the burden and uncertainty of the current workplace enforcement system.
3. A temporary worker program that enables willing foreign workers to be matched with participating employers to meet increasing workforce needs.
4. Provisions that will allow undocumented workers to earn legal status so that they can continue to remain in the workforce.
For the 12+ million illegal aliens in the country now, Romney favors deportation of criminal illegal aliens and deportation of illegal aliens who refuse to get off public welfare assistance.
Watch the video of Mitt Romney discussing his immigration plans during a visit to Columbia, SC.
Size of Government and Spending
Governor Mitt Romney inherited a $3 billion deficit in Massachusetts upon taking office in 2003 and over the course of his administration he balanced the annual state budgets and erased the deficit by cutting spending and without raising taxes. The state had a $1 billion budget surplus when Romney left office in 2007.
Romney included the following items about federal budgets, spending, and taxes in an economic policy speech at the Detroit Economic Club on Feb. 7, 2007:
FISCAL DISCIPLINE: Unless Given The Line-Item Veto, Governor Romney Would Veto Any Appropriations Bills If They Exceed Spending Targets. "I have a fairly simple idea for keeping spending in check. Give Congress a spending target and then insist that it is met. If Congress does not meet the spending targets, then its appropriations bills should be vetoed. I regularly exercised my veto power while governor. The alternative is for the Congress to vest the President with a power held in some form by 43 governors, including this Governor - the line-item veto."
MAKING THE 2001 AND 2003 TAX CUTS PERMANENT: "Which course is better for America? A European model of high taxes and regulations? Or, low taxes and free trade - the Ronald Reagan model? That's the choice the next President will make. Some are already fighting to implement a massive tax increase. Instead, we should make the tax cuts permanent."
Gov. Romney sought to cut the state income tax from 5.3% to 5%
He opposed Kyoto-like "global warming" regulations, unlike John McCain
He secured the enactment of a market-based, private sector healthcare reform plan supported by the Heritage Foundation, America's premier conservative think tank. When the liberal Legislature of Massachusetts added costly, unnecessary mandates to the market-based healthcare plan, Gov. Romney vetoed the added mandates (the Legislature overrode the vetoes).
Mitt Romney has received the endorsement of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) who is a leading figure in the U.S. Senate advocating reduced federal budget spending and smaller government (a hero to fiscal conservatives).
Talking points straight from the spinners in the Romney campaign. Not impressed.
Voluminous as they are, the Romney campaign talking points are as believable as his telling South Carolina Republicans less than two weeks ago on abortion:
"I was ALWAYS for life."
http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=182048
Uh, see YouTube video linked in original post above.
Did you even watch the video?
LOL.
I liked what you posted elsewhere as well:
If you don't agree with Romney, wait ten minutes.
A couple of other very interesting links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8bSyAihn18&NR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzZC92IXHyw&mode=related&search=
Actually, Now and Later, I specifically remember watching the 1994 Senate race.
Having managed or consulted the campaigns of many a member of Mitt's church, I was initially excited at the prospect of Romney's stronger-than-expected candidacy against Kennedy.
Then I remember learning -- by either watching the debate or reading news accounts -- of his deeply disappointing left-wing views, and I was disgusted.
So I certainly complained to myself at least, though don't recall ever doing so in any public venue.
And FREE REPUBLIC didn't exist.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.