Mitt Romney 'Walks Back and Forth' on Abortion

Mitt Romney has a problem. In order to please his far-right base and gain the Republican nomination for President, he took an extreme position on abortion. He pledged to overturn the Supreme Court's 1973 decision legalizing abortion. If President, he would help do this by appointing Supreme Court justices who would reverse the decision. 

In addition, Romney promised to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood and to end financial support for any international aid program that "promotes or performs abortions on women around the world." Finally, Romney said that he supported an amendment to the Constitution that would legally define "personhood" as beginning at the moment of conception.

However, what pleased his far-right base didn't please women in general. His stands on abortion and other issues affecting women created a sizable gender gap where he trailed President Obama by double digits. What to do?

Romney used a political trick that he has been employing for years. First, take a public position that will please voters backing  his opponent and thus undermine their support for his rival. Second,  have a staff member privately "walk that position back," saying that Romney misspoke, and he still held to his original views. That "walk back" reassures his supporters. Ta-da! Romney ends up pleasing everybody - both supporters and those who had opposed him.

"Shannon O'Brien, the Democrat who lost to Romney in their 2002 race for governor of Massachusetts, said that whenever she hears about his staff 'walking him back,' the image I have is of this agitated dementia patient walking off in one direction. Then, the staff grabs him and walks him back to where he's supposed to be.'" (Boston Globe, 10/11/12)

Except that Romney is no demented patient. He knows precisely what he's doing.

Romney tried his "walking back" gambit to try to gain support among women concerned about his far-right position on abortion. First, Romney made a startling public declaration apparently softening his views on abortion.  "The GOP presidential nominee told the Des Moines Register Tuesday that he doesn't intend to pursue legislation to restrict abortion if he is elected president. 'There's no legislation  with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda,' Romney told the Register's editorial board." (USA Today, 10/10/12).

Then came the by now predictable  "walking back" part. "Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul told the Associated Press on Tuesday that
Romney is 'proudly pro-life and will be a pro-life president.' She also said
Romney would 'support legislation aimed at providing greater protection for
life.'" (USA Today, 10/10/12)

This isn't the first time Romney has callously  shifted gears on abortion to win votes.

William Saletan in Slate (10/10/12) summarizes Romney's bobbing and weaving over the years on the abortion issue. "Romney's whole track record on abortion is a history of feints and hedges. In 1993, he told leaders of the Mormon Church that he had to run pro-choice for the U.S. Senate because, according to his campaign poll, this was the only way to get elected in Massachusetts."

" Then, six years later, when he was thinking of running for office in Utah, he reframed his position as pro-life. Then, when the governorship of Massachusetts opened up in 2002, he repositioned himself as a pro-choicer. Then, as he prepared to seek the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, he recast himself as a pro-lifer. At every turn, he has taken the angle that looked safest politically. And each time, he has given himself an escape clause. "

The fact that we can consider someone like Romney with such
a flawed moral character to be our President is beyond belief. As Joan Vennochi
noted in the Boston Globe (10/11/12), Mitt Romney is not pro-life. He is not
pro-choice. He is always under any circumstances pro-Mitt Romney.