White House hopeful Mitt Romney has launched the first serious inter-party attack of the 2008 South Carolina primary, challenging his opponents on the wedge issue of abortion via a statewide mail piece. In what appears to be an effort to sneak his way to the right of new rival Mike Huckabee, Romney touts himself as, “the only major Presidential candidate who supports the Republican Party’s pro-life platform: A Constitutional amendment banning abortion nationwide.”
Which is funny, because as The State newspaper noted Tuesday, Romney has been anything but supportive of a Constitutional ban on abortion in the past. His own campaign website proudly boasts a July 26, 2005 guest editorial piece he penned for the Boston Globe detailing his belief that states, not the Federal government, should determine abortion laws.
“I am pro-life. 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.”
And CNN has also raised a number of questions over Romney’s claims.
That blanket declaration is aimed directly at many of the state’s conservative primary voters, who believe abortion should be outlawed in full.
But the claim doesn’t completely square with Romney’s previous statements that the abortion issue should first be decided by state legislatures before a constitutional amendment can be passed, leading one conservative leader in the state to call parts of the Romney brochure “oversimplified” and “offensive.”
Romney’s claim in the mailer, obtained last week by CNN, also opened the door for three of his Republican opponents campaigning in South Carolina to hammer Romney on his past support for abortion rights. [...]
“Long before he was even pro-life, I was pushing the Human Life Amendment,” Huckabee said. “Where Mitt comes up with that, I have no idea. You’ll have to ask him how he can manufacture such ideas.”
Huckabee, along with former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson and Arizona Sen. John McCain, have all campaigned in South Carolina in recent days.
Asked about the mailer, all three blasted Romney for his past support for abortion rights, with Thompson on Saturday going so far as to call Romney “one of the most adamant pro-choice advocates that I had ever seen.” [PETER HAMBY - CNN]
So which is it Flip Flomney? Are you for or against a Constitutional ban? Because I’m seriously getting tired of wasting cyber-ink on these random continuous position changes.
Anyway, we’re not surprised that Romney’s S.C. blog, A Daily Shot or Shot Politics or The Shot or The Chaser or whatever the hell they’re calling it this week (which by the way is absolutely run by Warren Tompkins and Terry Sullivan… just in case you didn’t know), has remained silent about their mail piece. Although, to their credit, they have certainly done a good job following orders in going after Huckabee. Bravo! If only their guy was as good at building a consistent record as he is at tearing other people down.
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Photos: TPM
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Primary Season, Republicans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
