How important is homophobia to winning the Republican nomination for president? Important enough that Romney is willing to ditch the smallest semblance of legacy to appear a tiny bit more anti-gay:
Today’s Boston Globe reports that Romney is now moving to force the legislature to vote on the referendum by trying to stall a pay raise for legislators.
It’s a move that’s almost certain to fail. The pay raises are guaranteed by a constitutional measure meant to keep politics out of that process. Furthermore, Romney’s successor, Governor-Elect Deval Patrick, would likely overrule whatever hold Romney manages to put on the raises.
Still, that may not stop Romney from doing his best to salvage a P.R. victory of sorts from what has been a disaster for the Presidential hopeful. With his nascent campaign is already in trouble with social conservatives for past remarks that were deemed overly friendly to gay rights, this anti-gay-marriage push was supposed to help Romney win the conservatives back — and it’s gone nowhere.
So Romney’s last possible move will be to present his efforts to hold up the pay raises as a victory — even if it flops. As the Globe puts it, this last-ditch effort to hold up the pay raises would still “let Romney trumpet before key primary-state audiences his efforts to hold the line on spending and continue his outspoken opposition to gay marriage.”
Win or lose — and it certainly looks like he’s losing — Romney will apparently do everything he can before leaving office to get the last word in on this issue and stop any more questions about the authenticity of his conservatism.
2 Responses to “Romney’s Last Stand”
Something to say?
I think I have a new slogan for the Romney (pre)campaign:
Romnentum is just too played out.
Left by Matt Browner Hamlin
December 28, 2006 at 11:36pm