John McCain is on record, just in the last few weeks, as saying gay marriage should be both allowed and prohibited. It’s early for the 2008 fists to start flying, but if you want a hint of what’s to come, Mitt Romney is showing the way.
…In an interview with Bill Sammon in today’s Washington Examiner, Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) called Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “disingenuous” and accused him of pretending to “have it both ways” for telling ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he personally believes that same-sex marriage should not be legal while also thinking that the issue of same-sex marriage should be decided by the states.
“Look, if somebody says they’re in favor of gay marriage, I respect that view. If someone says — like I do — that I oppose same-sex marriage, I respect that view,” Romney told the Examiner. “But those who try and pretend to have it both ways, I find it to be disingenuous.”
Asked about Romney’s comments to the Examiner, McCain strategist John Weaver told ABC News, “We’re too disciplined to respond.”
It’s probably a minor point, but that’s an odd response. The trick of a campaign is to be disciplined, not talk about how disciplined you are.
Regardless, Romney obviously recognizes McCain as the biggest obstacle to the nomination, and isn’t going to let McCain’s waffling and flip-flopping go unnoticed. “Disingenuous” is the kind of language Romney is using now, but watch carefully as that rhetoric becomes gradually more provocative over the next year or so.
Of course, it’s probably worth noting that Romney has some flip-flopping problems of his own.
Where Romney may take some heat, especially from the social conservatives who are instrumental in early primary voting, is over his positions on same-sex marriage and abortion.
Romney ran as a moderate during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Despite saying he personally opposed abortion, he not only pledged to leave the state’s abortion laws intact, but noted his mother, Lenore, ran for U.S. Senate in 1970 as a supporter of abortion rights. He now stresses his opposition to abortion in speeches across the country.
In 2002, Romney’s supporters also handed out fliers with well wishes from him and his running mate during Boston’s annual Gay Pride Parade. He was endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay party activists. In 2003, he signed a proclamation hailing a gay youth parade.
Nonetheless, Romney has insisted his opposition to same-sex marriage has been unflinching.
2008 sure will be entertaining, won’t it?