Mitt Romney has been modifying his stance on abortion depending on who the audience is, in what the Rev. Al Sharpton on PoliticsNation called “the almost shameless shifting by Romney.”
It began with Romney’s comments Tuesday to the editorial board of the Des Moines Register, which seemed to signify a shift to the middle on abortion. “There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda,” he said.
Later, Romney spokesman Andrea Saul “clarified” to the National Review Online, a key outlet for reaching conservatives: “Governor Romney would of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life.”
Then: “Mitt Romney is proudly pro-life, and he will be a pro-life president,” Saul reiterated to the New York Times. Meanwhile, Paul Ryan, whose record is even farther to the right on abortion than Romney’s, told reporters in Florida that “our position’s unified. Our position is consistent and hasn’t changed.” The Obama campaign charged that Romney is trying to mislead voters because his stance on abortion is unpopular. “We’re saying he’s trying to cover up his beliefs,” said Obama’s deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter. “They know that his anti-choice position, his anti-Roe v. Wade position, is bad for his campaign.”
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