GOV. ROMNEY IN MIDDLE ON GAY UNIONS: From the Washington Post

As a Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2002, Mitt Romney told a local gay and lesbian newspaper that he opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions but saw no need for a proposed constitutional amendment that would deny state benefits to gay couples.

Staking out the political middle ground, he wrote on a questionnaire, "I would do everything in my power as Governor to educate the public on the need to fight discrimination of any kind."

Times change. The once abstract campaign issue has swirled into a political maelstrom here in the state whose highest court sparked a nationwide controversy last fall when it ruled that a ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. And Romney, a former financier, is now a first-term governor at the center of the nation's culture wars and among the most outspoken advocates of amending his state's constitution to ban gay marriage.

Perhaps more than any other politician embroiled in the marriage debate, Romney -- who favors limited benefits for gay couples such as hospital visitation and survivorship rights -- could feel the impact of the intensely divisive issue on his political future.

Widely thought to be biding his time for a presidential run, he is earning his stripes with national GOP leaders, who strongly oppose gay marriage. But at stake is his moderate reputation among Massachusetts voters, who like their Republicans to be liberal on social issues.

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posted by Eve at 12:55 PM | link

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