2004 – 2007.  Romney invested in stem-cell research. Romney invested in Novo Nordisk and Millipore, two companies involved in stem-cell research. He also had investments in Warner Chilcott, the firm that produces Loestrin, an abortifacient.  (1)  Romney maintained investments in these companies for three years after his “conversion” but never bothered to instruct his trust manager to avoid investing in anti-life companies until after it became public knowledge. (2)

2004 – 2007, Romney promoted Planned Parenthood’s clinics on his Dept. of Health website during his entire term of office.  Under “family planning services,” Romney’s Dept. of Health appointees listed and promoted nearly every abortion clinic in the state, including those operated by Planned Parenthood.  An archived picture of the Dept. of Health website can be found in the footnotes.(3) 

2005. Romney refused to advance the pro- life agenda while Governor, even after his “conversion.” Yes, the Massachusetts legislature was and is controlled by the Left, but regardless, Romney made little to no effort to fight for pro-life issues or even fight against pro-abortion causes. Indeed, shortly after his ”conversion,” Romney even boasted about “successfully” ignoring pro-life issues in a video clip now on You Tube:  “I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintaining the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice and so far I’ve been able to successfully do that….”(4)

Flip:   

Those that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizeship….                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                 Mitt Romney, March, 2006 (1)

 Flop:

             I don’t think there should be a pathway to citizenship for people who are here illegally.

                                                                                                                                                                              Mitt Romney, March 2007 (2)

One of the top issues in the 2012 presidential campaign is illegal immigration and the candidate who has most taken advantage of this issue is Mitt Romney.  His campaign team has decided that this will be the main issue used to defeat Governor Rick Perry due mainly to Perry’s support for in-state tuition rates for illegal alien students. 

Indeed, Romney’s numerous consultants and image makers created a myth during the 2008 GOP presidential campaign that Romney had a conservative record on this issue, and this myth making has continued through the current campaign.  What’s troubling is many of America’s leading conservative pundits and mainstream reporters accepted this mythology with no questions asked.  However, nearly all of Romney’s “hard-line” positions on immigration policy appear to be phony since only a few years earlier his positions were different. It is clear Romney’s positions have been either created solely for his presidential campaigns or were based upon events that simply never occurred.   

Indeed, the immigration quotes Romney’s media team have released during both presidential campaigns appear as if they were written by pollsters after carefully testing the effect they would have upon the voters.  They certainly do not sound even remotely like the statements Governor Romney would have made just a few years earlier.  

During the ’08 campaign, Romney released, with much fanfare, an immigration reform plan that called for strengthening border enforcement, extending the border fence, implementing an enforceable employer verification system, increasing fines for employers who hired illegal workers, rejecting amnesty, deporting all criminal illegal aliens, and eliminating federal funding for “sanctuary cities.” (3)

Indeed, Governor Romney’s campaign speeches also sounded very conservative:

You’ve got to have a wall or fence or electronic surveillance. You have got to make sure we secure our border, that’s first. (4)

And he was very strong in the words he chose to oppose the amnesty legislation championed by his main primary opponent in the ’08 campaign, Senator John McCain:

 ’m against an amnesty and against anything that provides an incentive for people to come here   illegally. (5)

But the reality is that Romney’s record as governor was very different from the image his consultants have created for the 2008 and 2012 primaries.  Do we determine a man’s worldview by his actual record?  Or do we base our opinions of him upon statements made during a campaign?  It would be wise to choose the former and not the later.

Every since Mitt Romney first tossed his hat into the presidential sweepstakes in 2007, he has  repeatedly maintained that he opposes same-sex marriages and has always portrayed himself as a champion of traditional marriage.

However, in an incident that has gone mostly unreported, Romney, as Governor of Massachusetts, personally issued at least 189 one-day special marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2005. He likely issued a similar number of licenses in both 2004 and 2006 but the state records for these years are not easily available. One-day marriage licenses are in effect permits issued to a couple allowing them to designate anyone they choose to officiate at the wedding.  These special one-day marriage licenses are not to be confused with the thousands of regular marriage licenses granted to same-sex couples by Justices of the Peace and town clerks by order of Governor Romney in the aftermath of the Goodridge same-sex marriage decision.

More than any other action by Romney, these special licenses demonstrated where his heart was on the same-sex marriage issue since they were purely discretionary. There was no mandate forcing Romney to issue such licenses.  This calls into question his authenticity as an alleged social conservative candidate.

Romney began issuing the one-day marriage licenses shortly after the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued the Goodridge homosexual marriage decision. The court urged the legislature to codify its decision but to this day, this has never occurred.  The marriage statutes on the books today remain the same – only male/female marriages are legal.

Incredibly, even though the state legislature never codified the Goodridge decision, Gov. Romney unilaterally ordered his Department of Public Health to print new marriage licenses for same-sex couples and ordered all Town Clerks and Justices of the Peace to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or lose their jobs.

Indeed, many constitutional attorneys have opined that Romney is the father of gay marriage in America since he was never compelled by the court to implement gay marriage and the Massachusetts constitution is clear that only the legislature can alter the marriage statutes.

Professor Scott Fitzgibbon of Boston College Law School wrote that the Goodridge decision “did not mandate that the executive branch issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.” Constitutional scholar Herb Titus said that Romney “exercised illegal legislative authority” and added “there was no order.  There wasn’t even any order to the Department of Public Health to do anything.” Matt Staver, Dean of Liberty Law School, said that Romney “went out and ordered to licenses to be changed, and if fact, that’s not his duty.  His duty was to abide by the legislature….the governor actually participated, in my opinion, in advancing same-sex marriage.”

Tricia Erickson is the daughter of a Mormon Bishop and is thus far more familiar with the history and rituals of the Mormon faith than most. Currently, Erickson is a public relations professional and a political commentator. The book, as the author describes it, is “an in-depth exposé into the political, personal and religious life of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.”

Many of us who have opposed Romney for many years have attacked him as a phony conservative due to his long record of implemented liberal policies. Indeed, a good portion of Erickson’s book covers Romney’s history of promoting liberal social and fiscal policies.   But what makes her book unique is that it also reveals information about the Mormon Church that causes one to question whether one can be loyal to both the LDS church and to the United States Constitution. This is a very sensitive area that many writers have avoided.  But as a former Mormon, Erickson is able to write about this topic in a way that very few can. What many people don’t realize is that the LDS church requires oaths of all temple members that takes precedent over all other oaths – including the oath taken when one becomes president of the United States.

The first time I ever gave any thought about how Romney’s religion could impact his presidency was during the 2008 presidential campaign.  There was a press conference at the Washington Press Club sponsored by a handful of former prominent Mormons, at which details were shared about a Mormon prophecy called the “White Horse prophecy.” This prophecy predicts America will eventually collapse and that in the aftermath of this chaos, a Mormon will take charge and ultimately turn America into a Mormon theocracy.  Yes, all LDS members believe in this prophecy– its required.  One of the leaders of the press conference was Romney’s former fraternity brother and he made clear that Romney actually believes his candidacy is fulfilling this prophecy. It was all very spooky.

Erickson’s book also covers the White Horse prophecy and a variety of other Mormon rituals that call into question where Romney’s allegiances lie.  As Erickson states, “While he attempts to portray Mormonism as just another Christian Religion, Mitt Romney counts on his skills to shift our attention away from what he truly believes. If the American people knew what he truly believed, they would surely not place him in the highest office in the land.”

The book can be ordered here: 

Hardback versions of the book can be ordered here:  http://www.westbowpress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?Book=306757
If you would like to see a 10 minute U-Tube of Tricia on the Thom Hartmann Show, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2O_e7gDm1c

If you are with the media and would like to interview Tricia Erickson, please contact Kay at 910-270-0411, KayBellMedia@aol.com.

To get a glimpse of what the book is about, click below.  Tricia is speaking with Janet Parshall on Moody Radio regarding the secret temple ceremonies that Mitt Romney participated in.  http://asxarchive.moodyradio.org/IntheMarketwithJanetParshall/2011-07-11_In_The_Market__hour_01.asx

Contrada holds a B.A. summa cum laude (Tufts University), an M.A.T. (Brown University), and a Diploma in Violin Making. She is a 40-year resident of Massachusetts. Contrada has been a reporter, researcher, writer, and office staffer for the pro-family organization MassResistance (Waltham, MA) since 2004.

It is gratifying to finally read a book that penetrates the cloud of propaganda that the media, the establishment Republicans, and yes, even some so called “conservative” leaders have woven around Mitt Romney and his past. Mitt Romney’s Deception documents in great detail how Romney was clearly the most pro-homosexual governor in American history – of either party!  For a man to pull off what he did – including dramatically advancing the cause of homosexual marriage — and still campaign for president as a “pro-family” conservative,  demonstrates not only his arrogance, but the length to which many Republican leaders have gone to cover up for this man.

It’s high time all Americans find out who the real Mitt Romney is. Candidates should be judged by their past actions, not by their campaign rhetoric.  This book documents actions by Romney that will shock you to your core.   The depths that Romney went to force the homosexual lifestyle on our children almost borders on the psychotic.  Contrada details how Romney supported the homosexual and transgender agenda on same-sex “marriage,” promoted this dangerous lifestyle to school children and advocating societal transformation in regards to same-sex culture – all while posing as a defender of the Constitution and traditional family values.

Much of what Contrada writes about has never been revealed in the mainstream press.  Here are a few highlights:

* How Romney unconstitutionally implemented same-sex “marriage,” thereby dramatically advancing the same-sex  marriage battle nationwide.

* How Romney followed a constitutional amendment strategy doomed to failure, while ignoring the possibility of removing the judges who ruled for same-sex “marriage.”

*How Romney undermined the principle of religious freedom and failed to defend Catholic Charities when they refused to allow homosexual couples to adopt children in accordance with the Christian principles. 

*How Romney implemented radical homosexual and transgender programs in his Department of  Social Services and Department of Public Health.

*How Romney funded and promoted homosexual and transgender indoctrination in the public schools through his Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth and his Department of Education “Safe Schools” programs.

*How Romney appointed and promoted homosexual judges, homosexual staff, and homosexual candidates, all of whom were committed to destroying traditional marriage.  

*How Romney financially contributed to radical homosexual groups.

*How Romney worked directly with radical homosexual activists to promote their self-defined “rights.”

Romney front groups such as “Evangelicals for Romney” have tried for years to pooh-pooh this information, claiming that conservatives were making all this stuff up.  As a result, Contrada has made sure everything is documented. Indeed, the book has over 900 detailed footnotes. It also includes a compendium of Romney’s public statements related to “gay rights,” a detailed timeline covering Romney’s implementation of same-sex marriage, and many previously unpublished photographs. It is a unique resource by an activist on the front lines of the culture war during Romney’s term as Governor.

I highly recommend the book. It can be ordered from Amazon here.

To follow Amy’s work, one can visit her website at www.amycontrada.com  or her blog at http://www.massresistance.blogspot.com/

Contrada is available for media interviews and can be reached by email at Amy@AmyContrada.com or leaving a message at 781-890-6001.

As Mitt Romney prepares for his second presidential campaign and gay marriage threatens to undermine America’s Judeo-Christian culture, there’s a raging debate about the role he played in instituting gay marriage in Massachusetts during his gubernatorial term. This is important because Governor Romney has positioned himself as a champion of traditional values and claims to have been an opponent of homosexual marriage his entire career.

When the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a decision in favor of homosexual marriage, — the Goodridge case — Romney unilaterally ordered his state agencies to implement homosexual marriage in Massachusetts. The court did not order him to do this nor had the legislature codified this ruling.  Combined with a promise by President Obama to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, this action by Romney has led significantly contributed to the spread of homosexual marriage nationwide.

Make no mistake; Romney’s action was utterly illegal.  In four different parts of the Massachusetts Constitution, it is clearly stated that only the legislature can change laws and one section specifically states that the marriage statutes are determined by the legislature, not by the courts.  Even the Supreme Court itself stated that it could not order the legislature to act.  All Romney had to do was to declare the court had no authority to enforce its unconstitutional opinion and ignore its decision.

But instead of doing that, Romney abruptly claimed the court opinion was now the law of the land and ordered his Town Clerks and Justices of the Peace to marry homosexuals — even though the legislature never acted to codify the ruling.  Indeed, according to a Fox News/AP story, the attorney for the homosexual plaintiffs in Goodridge, held the view that the legislature would have to codify the Goodridge ruling:

Attorney Mary Bonauto, who represented the plaintiffs, said the only task assigned to the       Legislature is to come up with  changes in the law that will allow gay couples to marry. (1)

Thus, Romney violated his oath to uphold the state constitution.  Indeed, while there have been numerous attempts by the legislature to codify homosexual marriage SINCE the Goodridge decision, the original marriage statutes remain unchanged. (2). The flatly illegal charade of “gay” marriage exists solely in Massachusetts due to Governor Romney’s illegal actions.  By ordering Town Clerks to participate in the solemnization of illegal marriages, it is clear Romney violated the state constitution. (3)

Recently, various media outlets have reported on Romney’s statement in which he expressed support for global warming:  “I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that.”  This despite the last two winters being among the coldest in recent history and the recent evidence revealing pro-global warming scientists to have made fraudulent claims and suppressed contrary views.  Romney also called for America to “reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases,” which, will, of course entail massive new government programs despite air quality in the United States being among the cleanest in the world.

I have always argued that Romney’s long history of promoting liberal causes make him unfit as the GOP nominee and that should he win, his lack of a consistent worldview would set the party back decades.  But the “Romney is a conservative” myth has become so entrenched that when people hear about his global warming views, they’re surprised.  But Romney has always held liberal views on the environment – he’s just downplayed them for the last five years and hoped no one would notice.

Most voters seem unaware of that Romney ran for Governor on a global warming platform.  In 2004, Governor Romney initiated the “Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan” which just about every New England free market group attacked due to the harmful effects the plan would have upon the state’s economy.  This plan morphed into a larger regional plan called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), that Romney and ten other liberal Northeastern governors signed.  The goal of the pact was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by ten percent by 2019.  This pact, of course, assumed the global warming theory was scientific fact and to carry it out its wide-ranging dictates, Romney hired Douglas Foy, a radical environmental activist.

Foy’s claim to fame was his notoriety for suing businesses for not complying with various draconian environmental regulations.  Not surprisingly, RGGI was a disaster from day one and created such economic uncertainty that businesses began to flee the state. Indeed, the job creation record of Gov. Romney became the second worst in the country, another shocking fact most voters are unaware of.  Nevertheless, against all evidence, Romney insisted that RGGI was “good for business,” a statement which sounds like Obama’s statements about how his policies promoting alternative fuels are “good for business.”

As a result of the negative economic impact and a pressure campaign mounted by the business community, Romney did eventually pull out of RGGI.  However, shortly after pulling out of RGGI, Romney initiated new regulations that essentially did the same thing RGGI was planning to do: a series of damaging emission regulations targeted at power plants.  Incredibly, in preparations for these regulations, Romney proceeded to demonize the plants, even claiming “the Salem Harbor Plant is responsible for 53 premature deaths, 570 emergency room visits and 14,400 asthma attacks each year.”   It turned out that these stats were false and borrowed from extremist environmental propaganda.  Moreover, the stats were based upon a theoretical model created by the American Cancer Society and had nothing to do with the Salem Harbor plant.   Even though there were zero deaths associated with the Salem Harbor power plant, Romney held a press conference in front of the power plant with all his extremist environmentalist friends present and recited these phony statistics while hysterically announcing “that plant kills people.”  Bear in mind Salem Harbor was a legal power plant in full compliance with the law in every respect.  Due to the impact Romney’s regulations had upon energy rates, the Salem Harbor power plant filed for bankruptcy two years later but was then purchased by Dominion Power.   Foy later became a “super-secretary” in the Romney administration, responsible for overseeing the transportation, housing, environmental and energy agencies.

One of the most irresponsible treaties even proposed by the United Nations is the Kyoto Accord, which was an attempt to place draconian caps on energy emissions worldwide in the name of global warming.  This goal remains one of the top goals of the international left.  When Romney became a presidential candidate in 2007, he stated on his campaign website that a “Kyoto-style sweeping mandate, imposed unilaterally in the United States, would kill jobs, depress growth and shift manufacturing to the direct developing nations.”

But this statement was hypocritical since RGGI was essentially a mini version of the Kyoto accord. Moreover, Romney even contradicted this statement a short time later when he stated in a speech, now on You Tube, that he would support the Kyoto Accord, as long as “the other developing nations are part of any effort to reduce Green house gases.”    Elsewhere, Romney again stressed that “if you do it unilaterally, [referring to Kyoto treaty], without involving all the world, you’d impose on the American people a huge new effective tax….”   So, in Romney’s worldview, a “huge new effective tax” on the American people is fine as long as we involve “the rest of the world.”

But that’s not all.  One of the key elements of the Kyoto Accord is its funding mechanism and that would be a worldwide carbon tax. When asked at a May 2007 speech in Rochester about whether he would support a carbon tax, Romney responded, “Carbon tax?  That’s something we’re looking into.”  You got to be kidding.  He’s not even sure of his position on a carbon tax?  But now Romney campaigns as an anti-tax warrior.

Incredibly, during the 2008 campaign Romney attacked John McCain for his position in favor of a Cap and Trade program, even stating on Fox News that  the “McCain-Lieberman [climate change bill] would depress the economy” and  in the New York Times stating that McCain’s “views [on climate change] are outside the mainstream of Republican conservative thought.”  But Romney’s s role in creating a regional cap-and-trade program and his statements in support of the Kyoto Accord – as long as the rest of the world is involved – and now his recent statements supporting the global warming theory contradict his criticism of McCain.  It is clear that Romney was attempting to portray himself as something he wasn’t.  Once again, Romney has flipped flopped on a critical issue and reveals that he doesn’t possess any core beliefs.

From: Read the List of Signers Here

Date:   January 20, 2011

Subject:  America Needs Bold Conservative Leadership, not a Manufactured Candidate

A few weeks ago Mark DeMoss circulated a letter urging conservative and evangelical leaders to get behind Mitt Romney’s presidential bid. We, the above listed individuals, have decided to respond with the argument that a Romney candidacy would be disastrous for the conservative movement and for the country.

Romney’s Business Management Experience Does Not Guarantee He Will Govern As A Conservative

One of the primary arguments presented by Mr. DeMoss is that Romney’s business management experience and his allegedly outstanding performance managing the state of Massachusetts thereby qualifies him to not only be president but to have the support of the conservative movement.  However, business experience does not guarantee  a person will govern as a conservative.  There have been many liberal presidents with business experience; one that comes readily to mind is Jimmy Carter, who managed a peanut farm business.  Indeed, the RINO population is full of businessmen and some of America’s leading businessmen supported the candidacy of Barack Obama.

The goal of conservatives is to scale back government, not manage big government more efficiently.  Ronald Reagan had little business experience, but he also knew the business of government was carried out by people he appointed so he set about appointing conservatives. The lesson Reagan left us is that, when it comes to governing, a candidate’s worldview is far more important than business experience, primarily because one’s worldview will determine who you appoint to carry out the duties of government.

Romney Raised Taxes And Destroyed Job Creation In Massachusetts

But let’s take DeMoss at his word that Romney’s business experience will make him a good conservative president.  How did his business experience help him govern Massachusetts? And did he govern as a conservative?  For the last five years Romney and his supporters have cultivated an image of Romney as a fiscal superstar and who ran a very tight ship as Governor of Massachusetts. Indeed, DeMoss claims Governor Romney “turned a $3 billion deficit into a nearly $1 billion surplus, without raising taxes.” But that statement is simply not true. The reality is that Romney’s tenure as Massachusetts governor was an economic disaster for the state.

Governor Romney passed a host of new tax and fee increases, hitting the corporate world hard and devastating job creation.    As Peter Nicholas, chairman of Boston Science Corporation, stated, “tax rates on many corporations almost doubled because of legislation supported by Romney.”  (1)

The Cato Institute reported that in his first year as Governor, Romney “proposed $140 [million] in business tax hikes through the closing of ‘loopholes’ in the tax code.” (2) As Nicholas explains, “Romney’s tax policies were not helpful for many small businesses…when Romney took many IRS subchapter S businesses in Massachusetts and almost doubled their tax rates, it was an important disincentive to investment, growth and job creation.” (3).   As Joseph Crosby of the Council on State Taxation stated, “Romney went further than any other governor in trying to wring money out of corporations.” (4)

Romney also raised taxes on business again in 2004 and 2005, for a grand total of $309 million levied upon the corporate sector. (5) He then increased taxes on business property (6), tried to raise taxes on hotels (but was stopped by the Democrat legislature!) (7), joined a coalition lobbying congress to tax internet activity (8), and supported a tax on out of state commuters. (9)

Nor did Romney fight the passage of higher rates on death taxes; indeed, his official position on a state bill was “no position.” (10).    Moreover, Governor Romney supported gas tax hikes both for Massachusetts and for the federal government. (11)  He also proposed a new excise tax on SUVs and a new sales tax on all used cars. (12)

Indeed, Romney failed to reduce ANY of the myriad taxes Massachusetts imposes on its citizens, even though the previous two Republican governors, William Weld and Paul Cellucci, were both able to reduce tax rates.  As Governor Cellucci confirmed, Romney “did not have any broad-based tax cuts in his four years as Governor.” (13).   Indeed, while Romney raised over a hundred different fees and taxes, the two previous Republican governors signed more than 40 tax reduction bills, even though Democrats controlled the legislature.

Nor are there any taxpayer groups in Massachusetts in agreement with the notion that Romney never raised taxes.  As the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation stated, “fees and taxes have increased more than $700 million per year under Governor Mitt Romney….” (14)  For a detailed list of the fees and taxes raised by Romney, go here:  http://romneyfacts.com/assets/Romney_taxandfee_hikes.xls

We should not also forget that Romney refused to support the Bush tax cuts while governor, (15) and when campaigning for Governor, refused to sign the “no new taxes” pledge, calling it “government by gimmickry.” (16) He only signed the pledge when he began to campaign for the presidency.

By Romney’s last year in office, Massachusetts was ranked by the Public Policy Institute of New York on its Cost of Doing Business Index, as the 4^th most expensive state in which to do business in. (17) Data compiled by the Tax Foundation reveals that during Romney’s term, the per capita tax burden increased from 9.3% to 9.9%, a .6% increase.  In real dollars, the per capita tax burden increased $1175.71 during Romney’s term. (18)

Contrary to DeMoss’s comments, Romney didn’t “turn a $3 billion dollar deficit into a nearly $1 billion surplus.” Rather, the deficit was $1.3 billion according to Factcheck.org (19) and he balanced the budget with mostly tax and fee increases with very little spending cuts. According to the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, Romney “proposed four budgets while in office…each budget increased spending over the previous year.” (20). As Club for Growth echoed, Romney’s last budget “was a whopping 10.12% larger than the preceding fiscal year.” (21) Out of the 25 freshmen Republican Governors rated by the Cato Institute on fiscal issues, Romney had the 2^nd worst score. (22)

Indeed, Carla Howell, president of the Massachusetts-based Center for Small Government, is blunt about Romney’s record: “Romney claims to have cut the Massachusetts budget by ‘2 billion.’ Sometimes he claims he cut it ‘3 billion’….but these cuts were merely budget games….not only did Mitt Romney refuse to cut the overall Massachusetts budget, he expanded it. Dramatically….Romney initiated massive new spending –without any prodding.” (23)

The alleged budget surplus DeMoss refers to is also mythical. The Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation and the conservative Massachusetts think tank, Beacon Hill Institute, both challenged that notion (24). In fact, Romney left a billion dollar deficit for his successor. (25).

Romney’s budgets were also full of pork and he was infamous for lavishing money on staff salaries, incurring outlandish travel expenses, and granting pay hikes for state officials and lawmakers.  (26). Moreover, he had no problem with corporate welfare, granting millions to local corporations in an effort to persuade them to NOT leave the state or to hire more workers, hardly a sign of a fiscal conservative. (27)

Finally, job growth was devastated by Romney’s policies. The Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation says that under Romney, “job growth has been anemic.” (28).   According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate was 5.2% when he assumed the governorship and 5.3% by the end of his term, a figure significantly higher than the national average at the time of 4.6%.(29) But Romney’s unemployment figures are, in reality, 2-3 points higher than what they appear because Massachusetts was ranked 2^nd in the nation for the number of people leaving the state to look for employment elsewhere.  Since they’re no longer residents, they weren’t counted in the employment statistics. (30).

According to job creation experts Andrew Sum and Joseph McLaughlin of Northeastern University, manufacturing employment during the Romney years “declined by 14%, the third worse record in the country.” (31)  The same scholars wrote that “from 2001 to 2006, Massachusetts ranked 49^th in the nation in job creation…” (32)  The Boston Globe business columnist Steve Baily wrote that “there are 40,000 fewer people in the workforce than when Romney took over.” (33). This view was echoed by the Boston Herald’s business columnist, Bret Arends, who wrote, “During the four years Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, it had the second worst jobs record of any state in America…it wasn’t a regional issue. The rest of New England created nearly 200,000 jobs.” (34)

Another way to judge a state’s economy is to look at its Gross State Product and these statistics are kept by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Between 2001-2005, the percent GSP increase for Massachusetts was an anemic 8.44%, one of the lowest five-years increases in the country – 44^th out of 50 states. (35).

We’ll let labor market economist Andrew Sum summarize: “as a strict labor market economist looking at the record, Massachusetts did very poorly during the Romney years…on every measure  you’ve got, the state was a substantial under-performer.”  (36)

Romney Does Not Have A History Of Sharing Our Worldview Or Values

The letter’s author  wants conservatives to take his word for it that Romney “shares our values.”  The collective evidence of his entire career, even after his alleged “conversions,”  dramatically refutes the claim that he shares our values.  Indeed, the media essentially ignored Romney’s history of repeatedly changing his views over the last five years.  Yes, the media did focus on his abortion flip-flops, but they choose to ignore Romney’s history of changing his mind on virtually every other important issue.

Indeed, Romney changed his position on over thirty key issues as he prepared to run for President four years ago. We all expect a politician to change their mind on one or two issues over the course of their career, but when someone changes their mind on EVERY foundational issue of importance to conservatives, we must be skeptical.  Indeed, it is hard to accept Romney’s conversion on so many issues as authentic.

We must not forget that just a few years ago Human Events newspaper listed him as one of America’s “Top Ten RINOs.” (37)   Only when Romney prepared to run for the Presidency did his views suddenly change. He hired an army of image consultants and pollsters and, wham zam, he changed into a “conservative” overnight.

Presidents are under enormous pressure to compromise; if the president does not have a long history of adherence to a particular worldview, he will flip-flop all over the place.  Even Ronald Reagan was pressured into compromising a few times despite his forty year history of advocating conservative principles.  Romney has no such history.  Before he started to campaign for the presidency, he never attended conservative functions, spoke at conservative events, or wrote articles of interest to conservatives. He socialized with liberal Republicans and indeed, in the 1960’s his father was one of the national leaders of the liberal Republicans and actually walked out of the 1964 GOP national convention to protest Barry Goldwater’s candidacy.

As recently as 2007, Mitt Romney was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, at the time America’s leading liberal Republican group. The RMSP is pro-abortion, pro-stem cell research, pro-gay rights, and in general, embraces a liberal position on all social issues.  They often work in conjunction with the pro-abortion group, Republicans for Choice, and the Republican homosexual group, the Log Cabin Club.  They also opposed the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and set up a 527 campaign committee that received funding from far left funder George Soros. (38). It’s no wonder Romney distanced himself from Reagan while campaigning for Governor when he said, “I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush.  I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.” (39)

We also must not forget Romney’s long history of supporting Democrats. He was not even a registered Republican until 1993. (40) Previous to that, Romney supported Democrat Paul Tsongas in the 1992 presidential primary. (41). Moreover, Romney made contributions to Democratic congressional and senatorial candidates as recently as 1992 (42) and in 1993 supported the election of Democrat Rocky Anderson, perhaps the most liberal mayor in America.  Anderson, a former ACLU director and Planned Parenthood attorney, called for the impeachment of President Bush. Indeed, Romney even produced a campaign commercial for Anderson which one can watch here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuFe9_BCvXY

Even as recently as 1994 Romney was bashing Republicans by attacking the extremely mild “Contract with America” statement as “a mistake” and considered it too partisan, even though its most ideological plank was to call for a balance budget. (43)

Romney’s Actions On Homosexual Marriage Demonstrate Deception, Incompetence or Both

When Romney first ran for President, he declared himself to be a social conservative but as governor he did great damage to America by unilaterally ordering homosexual marriage to be instituted in Massachusetts.  The Massachusetts Constitution clearly prohibits the judicial branch from specifically changing marriage statutes so when the court issued the Goodridge opinion favoring homosexual marriage, all Romney had to do was to declare the court had no jurisdiction and ignore it.

Neither does the state Constitution allow the court to order a sitting governor to change a statute but Romney, instead of ignoring the illegal decision, asserted the opinion was now the law and then ordered his town clerks and Justices of the Peace to marry homosexuals — even though the legislature never acted to codify the ruling.  Thus, Romney violated his oath to uphold the state constitution.    Indeed, the Massachusetts legislature has never changed the marriage statute, which, continues to this day to prohibit same sex marriages. The flatly illegal charade of “gay” marriage exists solely in Massachusetts due to Governor Romney’s illegal actions.  By ordering town clerks to participate in the solemnization of illegal marriages, Romney committed a felony. (44)

A letter signed by 45 Massachusetts and national pro-family leaders including the late Paul Weyrich, Sandy Rios, Gary Kreep, Robert Knight, Linda Harvey, Rev. Ted Pike, Peter LaBarbera, Gary Glenn, Brian Camenker, John Haskins, etc. was sent to Romney in December 20, 2006, urging him to use his power as Governor to reverse himself on homosexual marriage:

We note that you swore no oath to execute court opinions, but rather laws and the constitution…like much of America, many of us accepted as sincere your explanation of your role in this social and constitution crisis that is fundamentally altering the moral fabric of our culture…we are now forced to look at your role, as constitutional sentry and a gatekeeper of our form of government, in a different light.  We would be greatly disappointed if your principal contribution to history will be imposing homosexual marriage – knowingly or unknowingly, willfully or negligently – in violation of the state constitution you swore to uphold. (44)

There was no response to the letter and Romney continued full speed ahead implementing illegal homosexual marriages, thus creating a precedent that led to many other victories for the homosexual movement nationwide.  Just a few years earlier, Romney promised the homosexual leadership in Massachusetts — and even wrote one group a letter on his letterhead – to “make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern. My opponent [Sen. Kennedy] cannot do this.” He also promised them that he would not fight homosexual marriage. The homosexual leadership of Massachusetts believed that Romney’s action on Goodridge fulfilled that promise.

However, pro-family leaders in Massachusetts were not surprised.   After all, Romney had, in 2002, opposed a marriage protection amendment that would have preempted the court ruling.  His official reason for opposing the amendment was that it didn’t allow domestic partner benefits. In other words, he refused to support a ban on homosexual marriage because it didn’t grant benefits to homosexual lovers!

Moreover, after the Goodridge decision, Romney had the opportunity to remove the activist judges for their illegal opinion based on a procedure the state constitution grants a governor for just this type of situation.  This procedure has been used many times in Massachusetts history but Romney publicly opposed their removal even though he  accused the judges of violating the state constitution.  (45)  Moreover, in 2006, Romney’s Department of Social Services honored a homosexual couple as “Parents of the Year.”  The DSS was managed by Romney’s appointees who certainly would not create such a controversial news story without consent of the Governor.   (46) However, by 2006, Romney was running for the presidency as a same sex marriage opponent, and hoping, to be sure, that no one noticed his illegal actions or the DSS “Parents of the Year” story.

Lastly, the most revealing action by Romney regarding his personal beliefs on same sex marriage occurred  following the Goodridge decision.  Apparently excited by the new homosexual marriage “law” he had created out of thin air, Governor Romney issued special Governor’s one-day marriage licenses to 189 same-sex couples in 2005, including to a homosexual activist state senator and to many other personal friends of his in the homosexual community.  Romney defenders claim he could not legally give such special marriage licenses to heterosexual couples but not to homosexual couples. True, but he simply could have stopped this practice altogether. Moreover, as Romney knew well, a court opinion issued while running for governor clearly stated that only the legislature could legalize homosexual marriage; therefore Romney had to know that every time he issued a special license to a homosexual couple, he was committing a felony.  This incident alone demonstrated where Romney’s heart was on this issue.  (47)

Romney Has A History Of Supporting Homosexual Rights – And Still Does Today

One could write a book on how Romney promoted the homosexual agenda while Governor but due to space limitations, we have pointed out the highlights of this bizarre agenda:

• As Governor, Romney implemented a Executive Order that created a vast “diversity” agency to make sure those of all races and “sexual orientations”  be hired throughout state government. (48)
• Romney’s senatorial and gubernatorial candidacies were endorsed by homosexual groups because he lobbied them and promised that he would be an advocate for “gay civil rights.”  (49)
• Romney supported President Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of allowing homosexuals to serve in the military, saying it was a step toward “gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military.” (50)
• Romney opposed a US Senate amendment by Senator Jesse Helms to the 1994 Elementary and Secondary Education Act to ban federal funding to public schools that encourage or support “homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative”. (51)
• Romney supported the Federal ENDA “anti-discrimination” law which is a full assault upon

religious freedom. (52)

• Romney is on record supporting Domestic Partner Benefits: “I support Domestic Partner benefits.” (53)
• Romney increased funding for a commission led by homosexuals appointed by the Governor whose sole duty was to fund and promote homosexual speeches, dances, and disseminate homosexual propaganda in the public schools. (54)
• Despite an epidemic of homosexual molestations in the Boy Scouts, Romney opposed the Scout ban on homosexuals:  “All people should be able to participate in the Boys Scouts of America regardless of their sexual orientation.” This is a full attack upon the rights of private groups to be able to set their own moral standards. (55)
• Romney appointed leading homosexual activists to key positions all over his administration. One was Patrick Guerriero, former National President of the Log Cabin Club and one of the nation’s top homosexual campaign operatives working to defeat pro-marriage candidates and initiatives such as Prop 8 in California.  Guerriero served on Romney’s gubernatorial transition team.(56)
• Romney issued a state proclamation honoring “Gay/Straight Youth Pride March.” (57)
• In 2002, Romney supported hate crimes legislation (58)
• In 2005, Romney nominated Stephen Alban, a radical homosexual judge active in the battle to legalize homosexual marriage, to a district court. (59)
• In 2004, Romney donated $10,000 to AIDS Action committee, a radical homosexual group that pushes homosexual literature in the public schools and opposes all abstinence education. (60)
• When the state passed a homosexual “anti-discrimination” law, Romney’s Dept of Social Services informed Catholic Charities that it had to comply with the law by placing children with homosexual couples. However, the law didn’t actually require such action;  The law specifically applied to “Hospitals…..operating for profit.”  Apparently, Romney’s bureaucrats were creating their own  implementing regulations which Romney could have easily waived. Even former Governor Michael Dukakis told the press that the State’s anti-discrimination statutes didn’t apply to Catholic Charities, stating that “there’s nothing in there to the best of my knowledge that mandates anything…” . After chasing Catholic Charities out of the adoption business, Romney had the gall to say in 2006, “there are many, many other agencies that can meet the needs of those gay couples and I recognize that they have a legitimate interest in being able to receive adoptive services.”  (61)

While the above actions occurred during Romney’s Gubernatorial term, once his presidential ambitions began, he altered his position on some of these issues such as Hate Crimes and ENDA. However, he continues to support many aspects of the homosexual agenda even today, though in a far more subtle fashion.  During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Romney told CNN commentator Roland Martin off stage that he was “pro gay rights.”  (62)  Likewise, in 2008, The Washington Blade, a homosexual newspaper, reported that Romney’s representative at a Log Cabin forum stated that Romney “won’t oppose them [gay rights]. (63)

In 2008, Romney informed Tim Russert that rather than support a federal ENDA, he would support state versions of ENDA:  “I think that policy makes more sense to be evaluated or to be implemented at the state level.” (64) And Romney continues to support the “right” of homosexuals to adopt children, a position he took during the last presidential campaign:  “There are other ways to raise kids that’s fine: single moms, grandparents raising kids, gay couples raising kids.  That’s the American way…” This confirmed what he said two years earlier in 2005 when, in response to a question about homosexual adoptions he said, “I believe that there should be rights and privileges associated with those unions and with children that are part of those unions. (65)

Romney’s Pro-Abortion Roots Are Deep And His Alleged “Conversion” Is Questionable

For thirty years Mitt Romney was a strong advocate of abortion.  His wife, Ann, contributed money to Planned Parenthood in 1994 at a PP event both her and her husband attended, but she was filmed during the 2008 campaign claiming, “I’ve always been pro-life.”   (66)  Moreover, another video has appeared showing Ann insisting that pro-abortion women need not worry about her husband due to his commitment to the abortion issue. (67)   Like her husband, Mrs. Romney has engaged in deception in regards to abortion, giving us yet another reason why we doubt the sincerity of the Romneys.

Romney claims to have had a sudden epiphany that changed his mind on abortion, but what about Ann?  Are we to believe that his wife had an epiphany at the same time?  We must also remember that in 1970, three years prior to Roe vs. Wade, Romney’s mother, Lenore, made abortion an issue when she ran for the United States Senate in Michigan.  To be an abortion advocate in 1970 was considered extremely radical. (68)

During the 2008 election the media focused a lot of attention to the series of flip-flops by Romney on the abortion issues going back a decade. By the time Romney started to plan his 2008 presidential candidacy, he was claiming to be a strong pro-life advocate as a result of a “epiphany” he had while meeting with stem cell researcher Dr. Douglas Melton. Romney claims that Melton stunned him by casually referring to killing embryos.  But Dr. Melton was astounded to hear about this and quickly informed the media that regarding the conversation in question, “we didn’t discuss killing or anything related to it.” (69)

Romney Continues To Engage In Pro-Abortion Actions Since His Alleged Pro-Life Conversion

More disturbing than what appears to be a faked conversion is the number of pro-abortion actions Romney has engaged in SINCE his alleged November, 2004 epiphany, actions that cause us to question the depth of his commitment to the sanctity of life:

• 2004 – 2007.  Romney invests in stem cell research. Romney had investments in Novo Nordisk and Millipore, two companies involved in stem cell research. He also had investments in Warner Chilcott, the firm that produces Loestrin, an abortifacient.  (70)

Romney defended these investments by claiming his investments are chosen by a blind trust, but as

Romney himself stated, “You give a blind trust rules. You can say to a blind trust, don’t invest in

properties which would be in conflict of interest …”  Romney maintained investments in these

companies for three years after his conversion but never bothered to instruct his trust manager to avoid

investing in anti-life companies until after it became public knowledge. (71)

• 2005. Romney celebrated “Right to Privacy Day.”  Every year Romney was governor he signed

a “Right to Privacy Day” proclamation which, up until 2005, made reference to Roe vs. Wade.  In 2005, he signed it again, but, apparently mindful of his impending presidential candidacy, removed the reference to Roe vs. Wade.  While the day was originally conceived to celebrate the Supreme Court’s 1972 decision legalizing birth control for unmarried people, abortion advocates also celebrated this proclamation since they regard “privacy” as foundational to their worldview.  Regardless of how Romney tweaked the fine print in the proclamation, the question is why would he issue such a proclamation after his conversion?

Moreover, when Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom was questioned by the media about  the omission of  the Roe vs. Wade reference, he said the change was a clerical, not political! (72)

• 2005. Romney refused to advance the pro life agenda while Governor, even after his “conversion.” Yes, the Massachusetts legislature was and is controlled by the left, but regardless, Romney made little to no effort to fight for pro-life issues or even fight against pro-abortion causes. Indeed, shortly after his conversion in February, 2005, he stated, “I am personally pro-life. However, as governor I would not change the laws of the commonwealth relating to abortion.” (73)

Romney even boasted about his “success” with ignoring pro-life issues in a video clip now on You Tube:  “I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintaining the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice and so far I’ve been able to successfully do that….”(74)

• 2005. Romney forces Catholic hospitals to distribute the abortion pill. In 2005 the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill requiring all hospitals to provide women with the abortion pill.  Even though Romney had campaigned on expanding access to the abortion pill he vetoed this bill, something which has become a fixture in pro-Romney propaganda “proving” he fought for pro-lifers while Governor.  What the Romney forces don’t mention, however, is that Romney reversed himself on this issue a few days later!   The legislature, as expected, overrode the veto, but Romney publicly claimed the bill didn’t apply to private religious hospitals.   This was an accurate statement since the Massachusetts Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the state had existing religious conscience protection statutes on the books. The Massachusetts Catholic Conference even announced that “the new bill does not expressly nullify the older statute; the conscience protection already on the books still remains in force.”

Moreover, the State Health Commissioner, Paul Cote, Jr., announced, “his department felt strongly that the new emergency contraception law did not compel all hospitals to provide the morning after pill.” However, the pro-abortion crowd started protesting and Mark Nielson, Romney’s legal counsel, suddenly claimed the new law superseded the preexisting conscience protection statute, even though there was nothing in the bill to indicate this.  Indeed, wording that expressly removed the conscience protection exemption for religious entities was removed from the bill in committee, so Nielsen was claiming the bill said something the bill’s authors had purposely left out.

Nielsen had run for congress in 2000 as a pro-abortion candidate and had received over $7,000 from pro-abortion groups, but Romney blindly accepted his opinion over those opinions of the Catholic Church, the State Health Commissioner, and his health department — and it was contrary to the intent of the bill’s author.

Incredibly, Romney, after being opposed to the bill a few days earlier, then announced, ”I think, in my personal view, it’s the right thing for hospitals [referring to private hospitals] to provide information and access to emergency contraception to anyone who is a victim of rape.” Remember, this is not a public hospital but a private Catholic hospital opposed to abortion except when the mother’s life is in jeopardy.  This is a frontal assault on religious liberty but Romney not only did not fight for Catholic hospitals and religious freedom, he readily switched his position based upon a very weak and illogical legal opinion supplied to him by his pro-abortion counsel. (75)   Romney not only acted on Nielsen’s opinion, but personally agreed with it, thus creating a horrible precedent allowing government to strip away the religious freedom rights of a private institution.

• 2005- 2007.  Romney belonged to a pro-stem cell research GOP group.  Romney belonged to the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group supported by George Soros that made stem cell research its most important issue.  Its web site listed Romney as a gubernatorial member during the 109^th Congress which ended in 2007.  Wikipedia describes the group as being allied  “with other moderate Republican groups, including Christine Todd Whitman’s It’s My Party Too, Ann Stone’s Republicans for Choice, the Log Cabin Republicans, the Republican Majority For Choice…” . In 2005, the group was instrumental is passing the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act in the House of Representatives. (76)

• 2005 -2007.  Romney appointed pro-abortion judges to the bench. The Boston Globe reviewed Romney’s Judicial nominations and found that Romney “passed over GOP lawyers for three-quarters of the 36 judicial vacancies he has faced, instead tapping registered Democrats or independents – including two gay lawyers who have supported expanded same-sex rights.” Given the fact the Democrat party in Massachusetts is extremely pro-abortion, we can assume that most of the Democrats Romney nominated to the bench were pro-abortion.  Many of the appointments occurred after Romney’s conversion, including that of Stephen Abany, a far left Democrat homosexual activist nominated in 2005. Just two months after his epiphany, he nominated liberal pro-abortion Democrat Matthew Nestor to a lifetime seat on the Somerville District court.  Romney claimed he does not look at political leanings but only at “legal experience and toughness on crime.”  That comment raises additional concerns and it’s also false. When Romney met with NARAL leaders in 2002, he promised them his judicial picks would be MORE likely to protect abortion rights than those of a Democrat Governor!   He kept his promise – even after his conversion. (77)

• 2006 – Present.  Romney develops a “states rights” position on abortion.  In Romney’s words:  “My hope is that the Supreme Court will give to the states over time or give to the states soon or give to the states their own ability to make their own decisions with regard to their own abortion law.” He is opposed to a “single federal rule” and thus opposed to a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution.  If one believes abortion is murder, why would you allow states to decide whether or not murder is permitted?  However, he has also told some pro life activists he now supports a HLA as long as it has exemptions for life of the mother, rape, incest, and embryonic stem cell research.  HLA is opposite of the State Rights approach.  Which approach does he favor?  It depends who he is talking to. (78)

• 2006. Romney introduced RomneyCare which dramatically increased state funded abortions.  As Governor, Romney signed into law a government-controlled health care behemoth which mandates that all citizens pay into.  The program covers abortion and makes it much easier for people to obtain a state-funded abortion for as low as $50.  The Romney team claims that the state Supreme Court ruled in 1981 and 1997 “that the state constitution required payment for abortion services for Medicaid-Eligible women.” However, a court ruling is not a law and is not binding unless the legislature codified them – and there’s no evidence they did. (79)

Secondly, the Massachusetts Constitution specifically prohibits the courts from changing laws or ordering the legislature to change law so Romney could have ignored the court opinions by stating they have no jurisdiction over RomneyCare. Nor are there any utterances in the State Constitution about abortion, a laughable assertion since abortion would be aberrant to the founding fathers who authored that document.

However, as with the pro-homosexual marriage Goodridge decision, Romney has deferred to the courts for policy making, a situation which would have shocked our founding fathers.  (80)

Lastly, the two court decisions made it clear that the state was only to fund “medically necessary” abortions, a phrase not found in the RomneyCare legislation.  Indeed, the legislation doesn’t have any restrictions on abortion.  One can have an abortion funded by the state for any reason whatsoever.  While state funded abortions existed in the past, RomneyCare created a whole new category of people now eligible for abortions.  Around 250,000 previously uninsured women are now eligible for state funded abortions.  According to studies, at least 25% of all women have an abortion at some point, so this means that 62,000 women previously not covered will likely get an abortion compliments of RomneyCare. (81)

Romney also created a permanent position for a Planned Parenthood representative on the MassHealth Payment Policy Advisory Board that governs RomneyCare. No, there are no pro-life representatives involved in any capacity with RomneyCare nor is there any evidence that Romney or any member of his team fought for legislative language restricting abortion in any way – such as banning third term abortions.

However, they did choose to fight with the legislature over certain aspects of dental care coverage.  More disturbing, Romney also fought to keep coverage of in-vitro fertilization out of the bill so at least he is consistently anti-life. (82)

*       2006. Romney’s administration gave funds to Planned Parenthood.  In November, 2006, Romney’s economic development agency approved a $5 billion tax-exempt bond to be used by Planned Parenthood to build an abortion clinic in Worchester.  Romney claims he “was not aware” of what his own appointees were doing, but this begs the question: If Romney is unable or unwilling to control what his own appointees do when it comes to abortion related decisions, what makes anyone think things will be different when he’s president?    (83)

*      2006. Romney refused to oppose Planned Parenthood’s radical sex ed bill.  Romney’s refusal to use his power as governor to help with pro life issues is echoed by Ray Neary, the director of Pro-Life Massachusetts. In 2006, he issued this statement:  “Since his election as governor, he has not lifted a finger to allow one single unborn child the breath of our environment, and his posture has been to stay aloof from a messy issue. The Romney record in support of our efforts in this state is zero…there’s no evidence of a Damascus experience by Mitt Romney on abortion…On the Opt-in rather than Opt-out issue regarding sex education, while low-level personnel were always pleasant, it was impossible to get an appointment with a single [Romney] staffer to discuss the ramifications of the mandated Sex Ed core curriculum proposed by Planned Parenthood (H1641).” This 2006 bill never made it to Romney’s desk for a number of non-ideological reasons, but Romney never spoke against it or used his power to lobby legislators about it. (84)

* 2007. Romney opposed legislative interventions to save Terri Schiavo.  In the course of the last presidential election, when Romney was questioned about efforts by Congress to save the life of Terri Schiavo, he responded, “I think it’s probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts.”   Then he said, “I generally think that it’s not a good idea for courts to legislate. Nor is it a great idea for the legislature to adjudicate in a specific circumstance.” In others words, allow Schiavo to die.   (85)

*       2007.  Romney refuses to state his position on laws that require ultrasound screening before an abortion.  While campaigning in South Carolina, a reporter asked Romney about his position on the pending ultrasound bill, but all he would say is that “I would like to see each state be able to make its own law with regards to abortion.”  Does he really think such a bill is that controversial?  Is he afraid to anger the Planned Parenthood crowd?  (85A)

*      2007 to present.  Romney continues to support stem cell research. Romney says he opposes creating human  embryos for research purposes (cloning), yet, he supports research on stem cells “obtained from surplus embryos from invitro fertilizations,” even though there is no moral distinction. The Republican National  Coalition for Life, founded by Phyllis Schlafly, states that “Romney’s claim that he is ‘pro-life’ is belied by his position on the ‘use’ of human embryos for research purposes.” Carol Tobias of National Right to Life stated, “He’s still in favor of killing new lives that are in existence right now.” (86)

Romney Has Also Switched His Position On Numerous Other Issues

Due to lack of space we can’t go into great detail, but there is ample evidence showing that aside from switching his views on gay rights issues and abortion, Romney has also been both in favor and against minimum wage legislation, capital gains taxes, gun control, amnesty for illegal aliens, campaign finance reform, the Kyoto agreement, gambling, gun control, and many other issues.  He even enrolled Massachusetts into a very expensive regional cap and trade scheme that would have destroyed many jobs in that state.  Only after the business community screamed bloody murder did he withdraw from the pact.  He has also called for companies to disinvest from countries that support terror while investing personally in companies tied to terrorist regimes. He has been critical of activist judges but as Governor appointed dozens of liberal and Democrat judges using “diversity” as his guideline.  As a candidate he spoke out against pornography but he sat on the Marriott Hotel board for ten years without ever raising his voice against the company’s policy of providing pornography on demand.

And then there’s RomneyCare, a mini-version of ObamaCare that Romney continues to defend to this day.  It forces everyone to buy health insurance and massively regulates the market, just like ObamaCare. And RomneyCare is bankrupting the state, creating sharp premium increases and destroying the quality of health care, just like ObamaCare will do if it survives.  But this should be no surprise.  ObamaCare was inspired by RomneyCare, and Health Care For All, a socialized medicine advocacy group, was heavily involved with both efforts.  Even Obama’s chief of staff David Axelrod admitted, “we got some good ideas from him.”

Jonathan  Gruber, a MIT economist involved with designing both programs, told the Wall Street Journal that, “if any one person in the world deserved credit for where we are now [with passage of ObamaCare], it’s Mitt Romney.  He designed the structure of the federal bill.” As conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote in the Washington Post, “unless Mr. Romney is more honest about the system he set in motion in Massachusetts, he will have a hard time convincing Republican primary voters that he has learned his health-care lesson.” (87)

Let’s face it; Romney simply doesn’t have a consistent worldview and much of what he does believe is contrary to the conservative and Christian worldview.  That might be fine for someone running for city council, but he’s running for the presidency of the most powerful nation in the world.  To accept his multiple conversions as authentic and then give him the keys to the White House would be foolish. At this critical time in American history, we need a leader more than ever who has spent a lifetime defending and promoting conservative principles.  The last thing we need is someone whose ideology abruptly shifted only after he and his consultants decided to prepare him for his first Presidential campaign.

There Will Be Other Candidates Besides Romney Able To Raise Enough Money To Be Competitive.

DeMoss points to Romney’s prodigious fundraising record as another reason why conservatives should support him, arguing that because he out-fundraised everyone else in the 2008 primary, he should be our nominee. But it can also be argued that Romney is not electable because he raised so much money in 2008 and was still unsuccessful.   Indeed, he managed to win only three primaries and only in states where he had some strong personal connection: Utah, the base of the LDS church, Massachusetts, and Michigan, where he was raised.  The states in which Romney campaigned the longest and spent the most money – Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina — he lost, so one could conclude that where voters got to know Romney best, he was rejected. Indeed, Gov. Mike Huckabee spent 1/7^th of what Romney spent and yet cleaned his clock in a number of primaries.

Indeed, as the letter boasts, Romney raised a record $107 million in 2008, but the fact is he was still unable to defeat John McCain in the GOP primary.  McCain was a terribly weak candidate with no consistent worldview to speak of but Romney and his millions were unable to defeat this bland, boring, establishment candidate. What makes DeMoss think Romney can defeat Obama?

As for fundraising, there are plenty of other potential candidates we believe are capable of raising enough funds to be competitive.  The idea that only Romney can raise enough money to be competitive is absurd.  There are some very successful conservatives considering a presidential run such as Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, not to mention a number of governors, former governors and U.S. Senators with successful fundraising track records.  It should also be noted that should Mike Huckabee decide to run again, he will have a much easier time raising money as his name ID is well known due to the success of his top rated Fox weekend show.  Additionally, Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin have all maintained high media visibility and have outstanding fundraising capabilities.

The Tea Party Movement Will Not Support Romney

The Tea Party movement has transformed American politics and the vast majority of Tea Party activists are across- the-board conservatives who will be voting in GOP primaries.  This will change the whole dynamic of many GOP primaries but the Tea Party movement will not accept Romney as a conservative.  They view him — for good reason — as precisely the type of shallow, slick, manufactured career politician they believe has wrecked this country over the last few decades.

Nothing captures Romney’s phoniness better than what happened at the 2008 presidential debate in Florida in which a campaign worker had to prompt Romney on the tax issue using the candidate’s ear piece.  It was picked up by the microphone and is now on You Tube. One can easily hear a voice whispering, “raise taxes” to Romney shortly before he states, “I’m not going to raise taxes.”   The whisper is NOT an echo as it occurs before Romney’s statement.  You can listen to it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcmFvg24XK4&feature=related

Nor will Tea Party activists be impressed with the way Romney used his foundation and a half dozen PACs over the last five years to spread money around the conservative movement, thereby creating new “supporters.” Indeed, without naming names, dozens of conservative leaders endorsed Romney during the last presidential election after their organizations received money from the Romney empire.  Romney knew his record as governor was so liberal that the only way he could gain “cred” with conservative voters was to obtain the endorsements of key conservative leaders.  So he bought them.   There is something very distasteful about that.

DeMoss cites a number of polls to bolster his idea that Romney can win, but these are polls not of GOP primary voters but of all voters. Another poll DeMoss cites is simply a survey of Republican “insiders”, which usually means the RINO crowd.  Yes, we already know RINOS love Romney, but such a poll is not very convincing to conservatives who have been fighting RINOs for control of the GOP for decades. Moreover, there are many other polls showing Romney doing poorly, especially in the southern states.  And the latest Washington Post/ABC News national poll shows Romney in 3^rd place behind Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin.  In any case, polls this far out mean very little.

The real reason Mark DeMoss sent his letter is the concern by the Romney campaign that many of their most important supporters and big name endorsers have abandoned   him.  As outlined in a recent edition of Politico, “an array of Republican heavyweights who backed Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential bid are not yet committed to – and in some cases, downright skeptical of – the former Massachusetts governor’s all-but-certain 2012 campaign.” (88)

Thanks to a large influx of Tea Party activists into the GOP, conservatives have an historic opportunity to dominate most GOP state primaries and we should use that influence to elect someone with a history of supporting the Constitution.  Millions of voters have been shocked by the effort by Barack Obama to transform America into a socialist country and have flocked to Tea Party rallies by the millions.  They are looking for an authentic conservative to lead America out of the chaos we now find ourselves in.  They are looking for someone with a history of upholding conservative values and who will not compromise once elected.  Romney is simply not this person.

Concluding Remarks

The evidence is overwhelming that Romney’s business experience did not help him govern as a conservative when in fact, he governed Massachusetts as a big government, anti family liberal. His flip-flops on numerous foundational issues shortly before he became a presidential candidate causes us to question his sincerity, and his suspect “conversion” to the pro life view has been undermined by the numerous pro-abortion actions taken after his alleged epiphany.

Most disturbing is the key role Mitt Romney played in accelerating two of the greatest threats to our Judeo-Christian culture and free enterprise system:  Homosexual marriage and government control of health care. In both instances, the actions Romney took – or didn’t take – on homosexual marriage and RomneyCare have done lasting damage to our country.  Romney’s aggressive efforts to implement the unconstitutional Goodridge decision set a precedent which inspired pro-homosexual marriage activity nationwide, and his RomneyCare bill served as the model for ObamaCare, the biggest lurch toward socialism since the New Deal.

As such, Romney has done more damage to America in his four years as Governor than any Democrat officeholder we can think of.  But Romney, to this day, defends his actions on both fronts and sincerely believes he has done nothing wrong, an attitude which only raises additional questions about his fitness for national office.  We must question his worldview, his sincerity, and his judgment.  We believe the election of Mitt Romney would be a disastrous mistake for the conservative movement and for the country.

_________________________________________

Footnotes

1)       Boston Herald, 1/6/09

2)       Cato Institute, Annual Fiscal Policy Report Card for America’s Governors, 2004.

3)       Boston Herald, 1/6/08, Editorial by Peter Nicholas

4)       Boston Globe, Oct 24, 05

5)       http://romneyfacts.com/assets/Romney_taxandfee_hikes.xls

6)       Boston Globe, 10/24/05, Quincy Patriot Ledger, 12/16/05

7)       Boston Herald 12/21/04

8)       Commonwealth Magazine, Winter, 2004, Paying Up, by Shawn Zeller

9)       Union Leader, 1/3/08, Romney Raises taxes on NH commuters. http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Deroy+Murdock%3A+Romney+raised+taxes+on+NH+commuters&articleId=6d1e7087-4e6c-4e05-ad11-81ec4e5e8509.

10)   Boston Globe, 11/15/02

11)    Boston Herald, 6/27/03; Boston Globe, 6/29/07; Associated Press, 5/2/06, Romney, Healey part ways on rollback of state gas tax; Boston Globe, 4/27/06, Real Relief on Gas Prices; Boston Globe, 4/11/03.

12)   Boston Herald, 1/14/08, http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/lone_republican/index.php/2008/01/14/;http://romneyfacts.com/issue_tax.php; http://cltg.org/cltg/clt2003/03-04-17.htm;Boston Herald, 4/17/03

13)   National Review Online, 1/28/08, Flashing Lights on the Fiscal Highway by Deroy Murdock.

14)   Boston Globe, 9/27/06

15)   Boston Globe, 4/11/03

16)   Boston Globe, 3/28/02; Associated Press, 3/27/02;The Hill, 03/27/07, Romney’s record gets a closer look.

17)   www.ppinys.org/reports/jtf/costbusiness.html

18)   www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/335.html

19)   www.factcheck.org/more_mitt_missteps.html

20)   Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation statements,  6/23/03, 6/704, 6/10/05, 6/22/06

21)   Club for Growth, The Romney Record: Promise and Puzzlement,  www.clubforgrowth.org/2007/08/mitt_romneys_record_on_economi.php

22)   http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6724

23)   Cato Institute, 03/01/05, Fiscal Report Card on America’s Governor: 2004, by Stephen Moore and Stephen Slivinksi.

24)   New York Times, 03/16/07, Romney Candidacy Puts Massachusetts Economy in Spotlight, Pam Belluck.

25)   New York Times, 03/16/07; South Coast Today, 01/17/07, AP story by David Weber.

26)   Boston Herald, 1/24/07;Wiki entry, Governorship of Mitt Romney, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governorship_of_Mitt_Romney; Boston Globe, 6/21/06; http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/06/21/taxpayers_face_leap_in_governors_travel_costs/; Boston Herald, 11/16/03; Boston Herald, 12/12/04; Boston Herald, 12/07/04; Boston Herald, 12/18/04; Boston Herald, 7/19/05; Boston Herald, 2/5/05; Boston Globe, 1/4/07; Boston Herald, 2/5/03

27)   Boston Globe, 1/15/08

28)   New York Times, 3/16/ 07

29)   www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/laus_nr.htm

30)   Boston Globe, 7/29/07, the study this article is based upon is called Mass Jobs, Center for Labor Studies, November, 2007.

31)   Mass Jobs, Center for Labor Studies, November, 2007, Northeastern University.

32)   Ibid

33)   Boston Globe, 2/15/06

34)   Boston Herald, 2/21/07, http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=184105

35)   www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061206t.htm

36)   Reuters, 1/21/08, www.reuters.com/artilce/politicsNews/idUSN2033704120080120

37)   Human Events, 12/27/2005, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=11129

38)   www.potomacdesign.com/RMSP/members.htm; www.potomacdesign.com/RMSP/pastsuccess.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Main_Street_Partnership;

http://www.potomacdesign.com/RMSP/stem_cell_main_temp.htm

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1573355/posts

www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?cycle=2004&ein=820569828

http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/lookup.php?cycle=2010&donor=soros&page=2

39) Boston Herald, 10/27/94

40) Washington Post, 12/21/06

41) http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/02/romney_explains.html

42) FEC records or go to www.opensecrets.org

43) Washington Times, 10/28/94; One can watch Romney attack the contract here on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jzno_apP1Q&feature=channel_page

44) For a summary of the great damage Romney did by instituting homosexual marriage, see here:

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/effects_of_ssm.html.  To see more details about

the Goodrich decision and how Romney illegally imposed homosexual marriage on

Massachusetts, see here: http://massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/

To see the full text of the letter sent by 44 pro-family leaders to Romney, see here:

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/dec_letter/letter.pdf

For a detailed timeline of how Romney betrayed the pro family movement regarding homosexual

marriage, see here:  http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/timeline.html

Go here to see a letter by Romney to the homosexual Log Cabin group promising to fulfill their

agenda:

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/record/RomneyLogCabinLetter.pdf

45) At a 6/15/05 State House press conference, Romney stated “I’m not looking to recall the judges.”

See also: WorldNetDaily, 04/12/05,

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=29792

46)  http://massresistance.org/docs/gen/07c/romney_dss.html

47)  Boston Globe, 1/02/06

48)  Executive Order No. 452 titled “Governor’s Diversity and equal Opportunity Initiative.”

49)  http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=the_romney_files&sc2=&sc3=&id=53677;

http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=the_romney_files&sc2=&sc3=&id=53670;

50)  http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=the_romney_files&sc2=&sc3=&id=53687;

http://cmrlink.org/printfriendly.asp?docID=322; Associated Press, 12/09/06 which can be found here:

www.libertylounge.net/forums/political-news/7283-gov-romneys-record-gays-questioned.html

51) http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=the_romney_files&sc2=&sc3=&id=53670;

52) http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=the_romney_files&sc2=&sc3=&id=53670;

53 ) http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=the_romney_files&sc2=&sc3=&id=53670

54)  Bay Windows, 3/3/05; Boston Globe, 7/01/05. Or go here to see a detailed history of Romney’s support for

homosexual school programs: http://massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/record/

55)  One can see Romney stating this on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEOJNw4lmlI

56)  http://americansfortruth.com/news/gay-money-man-tim-gill-ex-log-cabin-leader-guerriero-lead-stealth-   campaign-to-turn-state-legislators-democratic.html;

www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid63821.asp;

57)  See Romney’s proclamation here:

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/GayYouthProclamation.pdf

58)  Lowell Sun, 3/30/2002

59)  Gov. Romney press release dated May 4, 2005. You can see the press release here:

http://myclob.pbworks.com/w/page/21956071/05-04-2005

60)  Boston Globe, 8/28/05 or see here: http://www.massresistance.org/romney/aac_donation.html

61)  For the actual law, see  www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter272/Section92A;

See also: www.donfeder.com/articles/0702Romney.pdf;  Bay Windows, 3/23/06;

www.consumerprotectionlawyer.com/romneytone.htm

62)  CNN correspondent Roland Martin repeated this conversation on a CNN post debate show in January,

2008 and also confirmed this conversation with the author of this letter.

63) Washington Blade, 1/25/08

64)  Meet the Press, 12/16/07

65)  Associated Press, 6/6/07; www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/press_conf_061605.html

66)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKwVNUz52vo ;

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3157749&page=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQokCDVY2k&NR=1&feature=fvwp

67)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQokCDVY2k&NR=1&feature=fvwp

68)  Boston Globe, 6/25/05 www.boston.com/yourlife/health/women/articles/2005/06/28/romney_releases_mothers_statement_on_abortion_issue/

69)  /www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17023959/ns/politics/

70)  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1882949/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1882601/posts

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/8/15/193454.shtml?s=tn

71) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/14/AR2007081401710.html?referrer=digg

72) Boston Globe, 3/25/05

73) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001266.html

74) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxV-QNXoRIc

75) These websites cover the controversy: http://www.catholiccitizens.org/platform/platformview.asp?c=30353

http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2005/12/07/private_hospitals_exempt_on_pill_law/

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/09/romney_says_no_hospitals_are_exempt_from_pill_law/

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS/312099957&cid=sitesearch

http://www.macathconf.org/05emergencycontraupdatejuly.htm

A video or Romney switching his position can be viewed here:

http://realserver.bu.edu:8080/ramgen/w/b/wbur/wburnews/2005/me_1209_2.rm

76) www.potomacdesign.com/RMSP/members.htm;

http://www.potomacdesign.com/RMSP/stem_cell_main_temp.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Main_Street_Partnership

77) http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/romney/articles/part6_main/; ABC News.com, 6/14/07

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/25/78

78) National Journal, 02/10/07;  We are in possession of messages from prolife activists that have confirm such

conversations with Romney.

79)  Here’s the official RomneyCare website where abortion coverage is clearly listed:

http://www.massresources.org/pages.cfm?contentID=81&pageID=13&Subpages=yes

http://mittromneyroadtothewhitehouse.blogspot.com/2007/12/real-romney-record.html

80)   Massachusetts Constitution, Article XXX of the Part First.

81)  Kaiser Family Foundation, “Fact Sheet,” State Estimates of Health Insurance Coverage of Women Ages 18

to 64,”  2003-2004, www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/1613-05.pdf

82)  http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2006/Chapter58

Boston Globe, 5/05/06,

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/05/05/reilly_appoints_3_members_to_new_state_healthcare_board/

83)  Boston Globe, 12/29/07,

www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/29/romney_officials_approved_clinic_loan

84)  Statement issued on 12/20/06 by Ray Neary

85)  St. Petersburg Times, 3/11/07

85A) http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/04/the_republicans_1.php

86)  http://www.rnclife.org/faxnotes/2007/feb07/07-02-02.html

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/600111316/Romney-sets-off-a-stem-cell-furor.html

87)   http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-turn/2011/02/mitt_romney_is_struggling_to.html;

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703625304575115691871093652.html;

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/12/19/the_great_romneycare_denial

88)  Politico, 1/28/11, www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48336.html