Posted on 12/14/2007 9:02:23 AM PST by lesser_satan
GOP presidential contender Fred Thompson is charging that Mitt Romney flip-flopped on gay marriage because he approved hundreds of special certificates that allowed regular citizens to officiate scores of same-sex weddings during his tenure as governor.
Romney, who has cast himself as the staunchest Republican defender of traditional marriage, reportedly signed off on almost 200 one-day certificates allowing gay and lesbian couples to use unlicensed friends to preside over their weddings. Under an obscure state law, the certificates can be granted only to couples that get approval from the governor’s office.
“This is why Mitt Romney is having such a hard time in Iowa right now,” said Thompson spokeswoman Karen Hanretty, who called the license approvals another reason to doubt Romney “on matters of principle and conviction.”
“It goes to his character,” Hanretty said. “Voters can see through these conversions on gay rights and a litany of other issues.”
Romney and Thompson have repeatedly traded accusations of flip-flopping in recent months, with each candidate battling to cast themselves as the true conservative in the Republican field.
Thompson has blasted Romney over a 1994 debate against U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in which Romney promised to protect abortion rights and be a stronger advocate for gay people. Romney has criticized Thompson for once lobbying to ease restrictions on abortion counseling.
A spokesman for the former governor dismissed the latest attack, saying it would have been illegal for Romney to deny the certificates to gay couples. “No one fought harder to overturn the court’s gay marriage ruling than Mitt Romney,” Fehrnstrom said in an e-mailed statement. “Until that day arrives, we are all required to follow the law, even though we may disagree with it.”
The governor’s hard line on the issue has offended previous Bay State supporters who remember him being more moderate on gay rights.
Ed Boesel, 61, of Saugus said he received a special certifcate from Romney in 2004 to marry his longtime partner, Darrell Martinie, a local radio astrologer known as the “Cosmic Muffin.”
The couple recruited former WBCN [website] program director Oedipus to officiate their wedding.
Boesel said he and Martinie, who died of cancer last year, developed close political ties to Romney and his wife, Ann, and even hosted the couple at a 1994 fund-raiser in their home. The couple also held a fund-raiser for Romney in 2002.
“We had a very pleasant friendship, and it didn’t seem contrived at all,” Boesel said of Romney. “He’s either being two-faced now, or two-faced when he knew us earlier.”
“The instinct I have is that, if the rest of the (political) world went away, (Romney) would accept same-sex couples quite nicely,” Boesel said. “It’s a very political thing.”
Can someone explain to me again why the far left assails against marriage as being other than a Christian practice that doesn’t mean anything, yet pushes for gays to get married?
Glad to see that there are people out there exposing Romney for what he is. A liberal trying to cast himself as a conservative.
following the law (even if you think the law is wrong) is pretty conservative sign, I would say.
It not that he voted against a bill or something, or tried to shut down free speech via legislation.
Meanwhile in the “No good deed goes unpunished” section, the Log Cabin Republicans are bashing Mitt on WRKO. The given reason is taxes, but my sources tell me it’s because he didn’t go FAR enough in support of Gay Marriage.
Mitt had no authority to issue those licenses. The court said that the Legislature had to “fix it” because the state constitution gives the Legislature sole purview over marriage.
The problem I’ve had with Romney from the start was that he was governor of Massachusetts. And the fact is no real conservative is going to get themselves elected governor of Massachusetts.
Fred has been a real roll lately.
And, he is doing the smart thing -- taking down Romney on these issues. Eliminate Romney and Giuliani from the equation and Fred can beat Huckabee heat-to-head.
You are right on target. I can’t think of any conservative getting elected to anything in The Peoples Republic of Massachusetts.
I have read the articles on marriage in the Constitution, and it gives purview over marriage to the Gov and his council, not the legislature, and most certainly not the court. This whole debacle was bungled from the get go by Romney. He in fact had many avenues of recourse, including ignoring the ruling. The claim the ignoring the court would be to break the law, is false, as the courts do not make laws, they only interpret them.
Romney DID NOT follow the law. He elected to ignore
the Mass Constitution and those who elected him,
as he got on his knees for PC and other reasons.
Romney = RINO + perpetualVICTIM
RomneyCARE = HillaryCARE
You can’t attack the charater of someone who doesn’t have any.
Mitt said his religion doesn’t affect his policies - I’m still wondering what are his core values? If not religious, if not conservative, maybe purely a pragmatic power grab?
Fred seems to be getting a bit desparate. He’s better when he’s delivering his positive message of hope.
Sound-bite politics are like hand-raising. Fred denounced the latter but is playing the former.
Fred isn’t attacking Romney for a position Romney has espoused, he is calling Romney a liar, but providing no evidence for the claim.
Fred did the same thing earlier on another issue. If this keeps up, I might start regretting helping him get on the Virginia ballot.
And if you can’t see why this is a bogus argument Fred’s making, maybe I’ll come back tonight and explain it.
Meanwhile, I will admit that I actually know gay people, and don’t actually want to kill them, even though I believe their lifestyle is immoral. I also know a couple of people who are living together without being married, and I don’t feel like stoning them either.
Some people seem really scared of the thought that someone else is not repulsed by the mere presence of a sinner in their midst.
You are wrong as a matter of law. This has been explained before. But don’t let that stop you.
You are of course correct. Reagan can’t be a conservative, he won Mass. twice.
We should abandon all the blue states now.
Wrong.
Sky is blue.
Water is wet.
Romney supporters fail to rebut with facts.
Well pardon the bleep out of me.
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