CBNNews.com -- As if Mitt Romney's conversion from pro-choice to pro-life didn't make enough conservatives uneasy, a second You Tube video -- discovered and reported first by CBN News' Brody Files -- is almost sure to make a few more waves in his quest for presidency.
The 2002 video shows footage of Romney and his wife, Ann, being interviewed during his bid for the Governor of Massachusetts. He clearly states his firm position of being pro-choice in this video, which is sure to make lasting impressions of Romney in the minds of many voters.
Earlier this year in January, a video surfaced on You Tube of Romney's 1994 U.S. senatorial campaign debate with Sen. Ted Kennedy, where he clearly stated his pro-choice stance, as well.
In a press release which can be found on Romney's Web site, the governor's communications director, Kevin Madden, commented that the 1994 footage was "ancient," implying that he had long since departed from that view.
Romney also remarked on his former statements, "Well, I just got a look at the excerpts from my debate against Ted Kenney in 1994... Now, it also shows what 13 years will do. I'm grayer. I'm a little heavier. And I hope I've grown a bit wiser as well." He added,. "Of course, I was wrong on some issues back then," added the governor. "I'm not embarrassed to admit that. I think most of us learn with experience. I know I certainly have."
With Romney's more recent pro-choice statements publicized in the 2002 video, one wonders if he will qualify his four-year-old gubernatorial comments as antiquated, as well.
Will this video make it that much harder for the underdog presidential candidate to dismantle his image in the eyes of many as a wavering politician catering to popular demand?
Changing Sides?
Romney asserts that his revelation to become pro-life came over two years ago, saying that "the Roe v. Wade approach has so cheapened the value of human life that someone could think it's not a moral issue to destroy embryos that have been created solely for the purpose of research," in an Associated Press report.
However, Romney's 2002 campaign platform declared, "As Governor, Mitt Romney would protect the current pro-choice status quo in Massachusetts... Women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not the government's."
Despite this reasoning, Romney did tell voters in 2002 that he was personally opposed to abortion.
Eight years earlier in his 1994 televised campaign debate, Romney stated, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country," and continued, "I have since the time when my Mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a U.S. Senate candidate." Romney also said at this time that his personal beliefs did not support abortion, but the death of a family friend from an illegal abortion swayed him to want to make it legal.
Being a Mormon, Romney's current pro-life stance supports the beliefs of his church.
In a statement to the Boston Globe posted on his Web site, Romney proclaimed, I am pro-life. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother."
Regarding his contradicting stances and media attention on the subject of abortion, Romney told CBN "I think it proves that the media has determined who the conservative candidate is, because they’re going after me with hammer and tong and that's the way you would expect to go after the conservative candidate." He does not view his core beliefs as wavering.
Negative Toll?
One thing that Romney is not wavering on is his quest to win the conservative right of this nation.
However, the response to the recently publicized video clips could exasperate his attempts to win this crucial pool of voters.
Many evangelicals on the political right also question the governor's Mormon background as conflicting with their traditional biblical beliefs, and this is an issue that he said he would like to address in an upcoming speech.
Romney and his wife will join Larry King for an interview on CNN Thursday night, when many in the nation will be waiting for his response to the 2002 video.
Only time will tell what effect the recent video exposure will have on the Romney 2008 campaign.
After the Brody File obtained and posted the latest video, CBN News was contacted by Romney's camp Thursday with the following response:
"The video from 2002 doesn't show anything new and it's from before his stance on the issue changed. Governor Romney has been very clear and very emphatic about his pro-life position and, like Ronald Reagan and Henry Hyde before him, he has changed on this issue. Governor Romney stands as a testament that someone who was wrong on the issue of abortion can--by living, learning and understanding-change on this issue and be welcomed by those who have long advocated the cause."
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