The Political Whore

The Romney campaign sent out this e-mail to Florida supporters today, under the subject line “Preserving Traditional Marriage in Florida:”

Dear Friend:

Preserving traditional marriage between a man and a woman is imperative for America’s future. Families are the building blocks of society, and we must recognize that the ideal setting for nurturing and raising children is in a home with a mother and a father.

Unfortunately, traditional marriage is under assault by liberal, activist judges in many states. I experienced this first-hand when I was Governor of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Supreme Court, on a 4-3 vote, created a right to same-sex marriage by judicial mandate. We must prevent the same thing from happening in Florida.

As President, I will champion a Federal Marriage Amendment to protect the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. Until we have a federal solution that restores and protects our societal definition of marriage, we must continue to protect the traditional marriage relationship state by state.

In Florida, a ballot initiative has been proposed that would give constitutional protection to the definition of marriage as one man and one woman and prevent unelected activist judges from trying to invent and impose new laws that disregard the will of the people. I strongly support this initiative.

I encourage you to learn more about this important issue by visiting Florida4Marriage.org or MittRomney.com/issues/american-culture.

That in contrast to this account of a 1994 pro-gay stance he held:

Bay Windows, the Boston-based gay and lesbian newspaper, republished excerpts from an August 1994 interview the paper did with Romney during his campaign against Senator Edward M. Kennedy. In the interview, Romney said it should be up to states to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage and he criticized Republican “extremists” who imposed their positions on the party.

“People of integrity don’t force their beliefs on others, they make sure that others can live by different beliefs they may have,” Romney is quoted as saying.

… Asked about Romney’s remarks in 1994, his communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom, said in an e-mail statement: “Governor Romney believes Americans should be respectful of all people. What he opposes are the efforts by activist judges who seek to redefine the longstanding institution of marriage being between a man and a woman.”

And the revelation last year of a 1994 letter he wrote to Log Cabin Republicans in Mass:

“…a letter he sent to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts [said] that he would be a stronger advocate for gay rights than Senator Edward M. Kennedy, his opponent in a Senate race, in a position that stands in contrast to his current role as a champion of a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

“We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern,” Mr. Romney wrote in a detailed plea for the support of the club, a gay Republican organization.

Here’s some vid of Romney in 1994 addressing the idea of being more liberal on gay rights than Ted Kennedy (about halfway through, after his flip-flop on abortion);

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