Mitt Romney as Vice President? Social conservatives say no
by Jennifer Riley, US Correspondent
Posted: Monday, April 7, 2008, 9:43 (BST)
More than 20 leading social conservatives signed an open letter to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain expressing their opposition to the idea of having Mitt Romney as vice president on the Republican ballot.
The so-called "M&M" ticket is being pushed by top Republican strategist Karl Rove, conservative news host Sean Hannity and others in the economic wing of the Republican Party.
But opponents warned that having Romney - the former Massachusetts governor who was pro-choice and pro-gay rights - on the party's ticket could keep value voters at home this fall.
"If Governor Romney is on your ticket, many social conservative voters will consider their values repudiated by the Republican Party and will either stay away from the polls this November or only vote down ticket," warned signers of the letter which will appear in full page ads running in cities which McCain is campaigning in, beginning last Saturday in Prescott, Arizona.
"For the sake of your election, the health of your party, and the future of America you must not allow the obvious electoral consequences of that to occur," concluded the text of the ad addressed to McCain.
Among the signatories is Paul Weyrich, a prominent social conservative and head of the Free Congress Foundation, who had previously supported Romney but now is said to "publicly regret it".
Other signatories include Matt Barber of Concerned Women for America, Michael W Calsetta of Conservative Democratic Alliance, Janet Folger of Faith2Action, Peter LaBarbera of Republicans for Family Values, and Stephen Strang of Strang Communications.
The letter comes at the heels of McCain's announcement this past week that he has turned over a list of about 20 names to a group that will lead his vice presidential search team.
On the Don Imus radio programme on Wednesday, 71-year-old McCain quipped that his choice of vice president would be especially crucial because of his age, according to Agence France-Presse. If elected McCain would be the oldest first-term US president.
The Arizona senator noted that he would like to have his vice president set before the Republican convention in St Paul, Minnesota, in early September when his party is expected to officially nominate McCain as the party's choice to face either Democrat Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
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Added: Monday, August 25, 2008, 20:16 (BST)
Social Conservatives Against Romney is dedicated to making sure Mitt Romney is not elected as V.P. of the United States. Please visit our website for more info. God Bless
http://www.socialconservativesagainstromney.com/
Michelle, Cincinnati, U.S.A.
Added: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 0:49 (BST)
I think McCain needs to pick a Mormon, Huckabee is a Baptist Minister. The right-wing consists of Catholics, Born-again Christians and Baptists, Pentocostals and Evegenicals. There has never been a Mormon person on the ticket of either party. It will show that Mormons are not part of the GOP. This will have a major backlash in the fall. McCain will lose the Mormon vote in Utah
Adam Brabender , Monona, Wi
Added: Monday, May 19, 2008, 10:23 (BST)
Now we know for sure The Huckster is the one who was behind the push to keep Mitt Romney out of consideration for the VP nomination. This past Sunday, The Huckabigot offered Muckain his services as his running mate. If it looks like snake oil and smells like snake oil, it has to be The Huckabigot.
Theron, Carlisle, PA
Added: Thursday, May 1, 2008, 14:49 (BST)
The US faces some very difficult times ahead two of which are, the war on terrorism and the economy. McCain will see that the war is done right, and Mitt will see that the economy becomes strong so that we are better equiped to fight that war. As our economy strengthens so does the dollar...that means our enemies dollar will weaken...and that will give us the upper hand in not only negotiations, but within the world economy and funding for our troops to fight that war. It's not about religion for those who are stuck on Mitt's faith, it's about all of us taking our Country back and making it better for ourselves and our children. We must pick a winning combination for the Republican ticket and if we don't, we'll lose in the General. The American people agree without question that Mitt knows the economy better than anyone mentioned for the VP spot, and McCain knows the war better than anyone els. Let's give the American people a ticket they can vote for before Rev. Wright and his clan gets by default.
Scott Viola, Perrysburg Ohio
Added: Friday, April 25, 2008, 7:51 (BST)
This is a ploy by Huckabee to try to grab power in four years. He will wind up spoiling the chances of having a conservative run in four years, just as he did this time around. When we get our amnesty for illegal aliens, thank Huckabee.
Dougbh, Dallas, Texas
Added: Wednesday, April 23, 2008, 5:02 (BST)
I am a conservative republican and although I am from McCain's home stae, I am not a McCain supporter. He is a bit two faced for me. Unfortunately, no one on the Democratic ticket is any better. Mitt Romney as McCain's VP would give me hope that at least some conservative values would reside in the White House. I agree, Mormons are good people and they follow Christian values. We need Mitt to be McCain's running mate because he is the Best option for beating the socialist Democrats.
Colette, AZ, USA
Added: Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 1:35 (BST)
If Mike Huckabee isn't behind this movement to have mitt Romney disqualified as McCain's running mate, I'll be totally surprised. Huckabee has had it in for Romney since the day he made Romney's religious beliefs a campaign issue. While Huckabee trashed Romney's beliefs, Huckabee wore his religion on his sleeve, like it was the only thing that mattered. He ran his campaign more like Elmer Gantry than as a serious candidate. More and more Huckabee reminded me of the traveling snake oil salesman from the Wizard of OZ. I wouldn't trust Huckabee any farther than I can throw him. It's people like him who give Christianity a bad name. He's a bigot of the worst kind: A religious bigot.
Ivan, Carlisle, US
Added: Monday, April 14, 2008, 17:33 (BST)
If Paul Weyrich is able to “publicly regret” his endorsement of Romney, then he can allow Romney to publicly regret ever supporting pro-choice things as Governor. Romney CHANGED for the better. Weyrich has CHANGED for the worse. McCain needs a strong VP....and Mitt Romney is THE BEST option.
Kelly, St. Louis,MO USA
Added: Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 23:46 (BST)
The fact that social conservatives would not support an "M & M" ticket is utterly moronic. Romney is no longer "pro-choice", and leave it to the extreme right nut jobs to get their panties in a bunch over equal rights for gays. Grow up, realize that an M&M ticket is better than any other alternative, and realize that Romney was in a close second place to every winner in the states he didn't win. This reaks of Huckabee "Christian" right stench.
Pat Roberts, San Diego. CA
Added: Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 21:26 (BST)
Mr. Romney was NEVER pro-abortion nor pro-gay marriage. If reporters and readers would take the time to read Mr. Romney's offical political record they would understand the following: 1 - Romney believes in States Rights over Federal Legislation hence, he wants each state to vote to ban or legalize abortion. 2 - Since in many states judges have interfered with and ignored the people's vote against homosexual marriage, Romney SUPPORTS an amendment to the US Consititution to define marriage as between and man and a woman. Romney is a Constitutionalist. That means he honors each states' authority to create its own laws based on the voice of the people in their specific area. When that system breaks down, Romney wants to use the Federal Government's power to support and protect the voices of the people within each state. This is a difficult concept for some people, so some erroneoulsy simplify it as thus, "He won't use his federal power to address this issue, so he must be against it." Nothing could be further from the truth! So, please, don't write off Romney. It is wrong for the American People to look to one man (the president) to make laws straight across the board for every state. The president is the Executive Branch of our government, not the Legislative Branch.The US Constitueion gives people, communities and states (the common man) authority to create laws. We should not give up that privledge no matter what. Since the sanctity of life and marriage is so important to us, we should get out and vote in our communities to protect these precious entities, not look to one man to do it for us. Romney has a tremedous ability to help our country. He will strengthen the voice of the people, protect the democratic legislative process, and fix our economy. Let McCain focus on the war, and Romney on the economy. Let Romney use his skills to save us from our tremendous amount of debt, address Social Security, IRS, FDIC and other financial matters that have been dangerously ignored for too long.
Jacquelyn Skaf, Waialua, USA
Added: Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 20:39 (BST)
Conservatives would very much appreciate Mitt for VP spot. This whole notion that we would not comes from one man and his supporters. Mormons are good people. They follow the Christian tenets
MJ, CA
