Remembering Romney 1.0

The headline on this article in Bay Windows by Laura Kiritsy is grossly inaccurate. Gov. Mitt Romney is not fat. Indeed, not only is he always impeccably turned out, but he’s as slim as a twentysomething gay guy at the gym.

Am I out of bounds? Well, 12 years ago Romney might have taken a remark like that it in stride, or even hoped it would win him a few votes. After all, he had adopted the persona of a gay-friendly, Bill Weld-style moderate Republican in his unsuccessful attempt to defeat U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy. In 2002 Romney was at it again, courting gay men and lesbians in his campaign for governor.

As we all know, Romney is now running for president as a hard-right conservative, flipping on such crucial social issues as abortion rights (he used to be in favor; now he’s against) and gay and lesbian equality (he’s become an outspoken foe of same-sex marriage).

The problem is, everyone knows when Romney is lying: his lips move. You may recall that, some years ago, former senator Bob Kerrey referred to Bill Clinton as “an unusually good liar.” It’s always seemed to me that Romney was the opposite. There’s a long public record of Romney’s making statements that are 180 degrees different from what he’s saying today. There’s no shading them; all he can hope for is that everyone forgets.

So kudos to Kiritsy and Bay Windows for digging up and publishing what the rest of us knew was there but were too lazy or distracted to go looking for.

And here’s one of my personal favorites, from a 1994 Kennedy-Romney debate at Faneuil Hall that I watched from the balcony. According to the Boston Globe of Oct. 27, 1994, here’s what Romney said about the Boy Scouts of America’s policy of discriminating against gay boys and adult leaders:

Asked about the policy in Tuesday’s debate, Romney said, “I support the right of the Boy Scouts of America to decide what it wants to do on that issue.” But he then added, “I feel that all people should be allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation.”

After Romney’s defeat, Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby lambasted him as “a watered-down liberal” whom voters found less appealing that “the genuine article.” Well, he’s not going to make that mistake again.

Here is today’s Globe story on the Bay Windows revelations.