Romney Defends Conservative Values, Says Obama Has ‘Secular Agenda’
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SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Mitt Romney attacked President Obama’s “secular agenda” during a town hall in which he drew contrasts between himself and GOP rival Rick Santorum and defended his stance on conservative social issues for voters still making up their minds before next week’s primary.
“You expect the president of the United States to be sensitive to that freedom and protect it and, unfortunately, perhaps because of the people the president hangs around with, and their agenda, their secular agenda, they have fought against religion,” Romney said, responding to a question about religious freedoms, in particular the Obama administration’s recent controversial attempt to require all institutions, including hospitals and colleges with religious affiliations, to offer free birth control and other contraceptives.
The policy was later rewritten to allow certain institutions to refuse to pay for the contraception and instead allow for private insurance to offer the cost of the coverage.
“I can assure you, as someone who has understood very personally the significance of religious tolerance and religious freedom and the right to one’s own conscience, I will make sure that we never again attack religious liberty in the United States of America,” Romney said, seemingly referring to his own Mormon faith, which has frequently been questioned during his various campaigns.
Romney, who was introduced by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette as “an underdog,” spoke optimistically about his chances in his home state, telling reporters when asked about his state of mind, “Plan on winning, hope to win.”
But not all audience members came to the town hall, held at fabrication company Eagle Manufacturer Corp., convinced that Romney is the one they’ll vote for next Tuesday.
Feleiteau Epley, admitting that she had attended “the other fella’s thing last week,” in reference to one of Santorum’s campaign events, asked Romney about abortion and gay marriage.
“I actually came in here undecided and I’ve been listening and everything is absolutely wonderful,” Epley said. “One last question though will help me feel more comfortable. I just want to hear you say that you are 100 percent pro-life. … 100 percent no abortions … and 100 percent supporting marriage between one woman and one man.”
“I am pro-life,” Romney said flatly of his anti-abortion stance. “I am in favor of protecting the sanctity of life. I will cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. I’ll reinstate the Mexico City policy. I’ll make sure we appoint justices who follow the Constitution, don’t stray from the Constitution to follow their own path.”
Romney, 64, even invoked his pro-life position during an answer to a question about who might fill the vice presidential slot if he becomes the nominee.
“My vice presidential nominee will be pro-life,” he said. “If I am fortunate to become the nominee ,I will also choose someone who is conservative to the core, who understands what it takes to make America strong again, and who is unquestionably an individual who can lead the nation if something were to happen to me.”
Another woman in the audience asked Romney how he and his “campaign people” are going to “convince Michiganders in the next week that Rick Santorum is nothing but a Washington insider.”
“I don’t understand the surge,” she added.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well you make a good point,” Romney said. “We have very different backgrounds. Sen. Santorum hasn’t been as carefully viewed by the American public as have the others. We had Donald Trump for awhile and then we had Herman Cain and we had Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich. They have all been vetted pretty carefully. Rick Santorum is now just being seen for the first time in many homes and his background and mine are very different.”
“The fact that he continues to defend earmarks including his $500,000 earmark to the Pittsburgh zoo for a polar bear exhibit. I don’t think that is consistent with the principles of conservatism,” Romney said. “I don’t think Rick Santorum’s track record is that of fiscal conservative.”
This is Romney’s first town hall event since Feb. 10, when he held a similar event in Maine. Town Hall events were commonplace in the weeks leading up to the New Hampshire primary but have been less frequent as the primary season has progressed.
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All the GOP candidates seem ravenously radical to us. Ron Paul may be a bit sensible, but he seems like a wise counselor rather than a POTUS material. At least Paul is not as crooked and venomous as the others. He may be a sagacious VP mate, but that is it.
Posted by: Marat | February 21, 2012, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
LOL! You go girl! Come on Willard, you are lagging because you haven’t been pandering to the stupidest portion of the GOP, the religious base. You need to fix that ASAP, or you will lose the nomination to Santorum. Never mind that the USA IS a secular nation. Just ignore that detail. I love how so-called religious Republicans never, ever feel constrained to tell the truth when it comes to attacking each other or the Left.
Posted by: Disgusted with gop | February 21, 2012, 3:33 pm 3:33 pm
Why is birth control covered at all by health care? Unless a woman has a legitimate medical reason to be on it, she should have to pay for it out of her own pocket. Or else make condoms covered by health insurance…. That would be equal “protection” under the law. ;-)
Posted by: Working_Class | February 21, 2012, 3:33 pm 3:33 pm
What I hear when Mr. Santorum and Mr. Romeny speak this way is that they want to throw out the versions of the Constitution they don’t like and create some sort of Christian version of Iran. A place where only their beliefs and ideas are allow or even valued. I do not want to live in a place like that and I am Christian.
Posted by: MTATL67 | February 21, 2012, 3:37 pm 3:37 pm
Um, I’m pretty sure not having a baby is a medical reason to take birth control. Prevention is medical, just like seeing the dentist, getting your health screening, taking lab tests, blood samples, and almost every other Dr. Visit. Do you want the Insurance companies only to pay for stuff if you’re dying. Men cant’ get pregnant, just like women don’t need to get checked for prostrate cancer. We are not “Equal” in everything. Women need birth control, old people need to checked for stuff young people dont. Would you rather pay for birth control or pay for abandoned and poor children and be a 3rd world country. Birth Control is probably cheaper outside of insurance than it is for the $20 copay anyway so I’m not sure this should even be a discussion. It’s quite ridiculous to me that this has become an important issue when we have so many other problems.
Posted by: Brian | February 21, 2012, 3:44 pm 3:44 pm
Ummm….WHEN did we become a theocracy?????? Obama’s ‘secular’ agenda? Good God (no pun intended), I HOPE his agenda is secular.
Posted by: mshare | February 21, 2012, 3:44 pm 3:44 pm
Maybe some of you had better read the Constitution! If you had you would know that the Prince of Fools is wearing no clothes. Obama is a scam. Obamacare is unconstitutional on so many levels it is hard to know where to start. Not sure I am a Romney, or Santorum supporter, but I am certainly for ridding the white house of the inept one!
Posted by: HUH? | February 21, 2012, 3:55 pm 3:55 pm
Since Romney is Mormon, and he is against a secular approach, then, by definition, Romney will base his would-be presidency on the socio-political-economic principles of the Book of Mormon.
Similarly, Santorum, a Catholic, has also discredited Obama’s secularism, and thus, by definition, Santorum will base his would-be presidency on the socio=political-economic principles of Catholic theology.
God, help us, save us from these pretenders of your faith.
Posted by: Mike in Asheville | February 21, 2012, 3:58 pm 3:58 pm
Seperation of church and state. Romney is that stupid… sadly. He doesn’t understand a President is suppose to have a secular agenda. Is he wanting to give us a Mormon agenda for crying out loud?
Posted by: Karon | February 21, 2012, 4:00 pm 4:00 pm
what the heck is with all the religion and obama about? Quit pandering to the religious right Romney and Santorum. It’s not gonna work!
Posted by: onthebeach | February 21, 2012, 4:02 pm 4:02 pm
What I hear when Mr. Santorum and Mr. Romeny speak this way is that they want to throw out the versions of the Constitution they don’t like and create some sort of Christian version of Iran. A place where only their beliefs and ideas are allow or even valued. I do not want to live in a place like that and I am Christian.
Posted by: MTATL67
___________________
Where were you when Obama attacked the Constitution because it says he can’t circumvent the opposite party in Congress? I’m very sure that if a Republican were President and Democrats controlled Congress you would be barking up a storm if the Republican president said it.
Where were you when Judge Ginsburg stated that here are other governing documents, such as South Africa’s constitution that she might consult if she were to draft a constitution in the year 2012?
So liberals are for the Constitution and Republicans are opposed. That’s a new one for me..
Posted by: spike | February 21, 2012, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
HUH: Inasmuch as Obama is a constitutional scholar and you’re not, I think I’d prefer his judgement over your opinion. If The Affordable Healthcare Act is “unconstitutional on so many levels”, why didn’t you bother to name and explain just one. To do that you’d have to know what you’re talking about. I’d be willing to bet you think it’s unconstitutional because Rush and Hannity said so.
Posted by: Cloteasboy | February 21, 2012, 4:11 pm 4:11 pm
as the Constitution is completely secular, I absolutely want my President to have a secular agenda.
Posted by: bajacalla | February 21, 2012, 4:13 pm 4:13 pm
Since Romney is Mormon, and he is against a secular approach, then, by definition, Romney will base his would-be presidency on the socio-political-economic principles of the Book of Mormon.
Similarly, Santorum, a Catholic, has also discredited Obama’s secularism, and thus, by definition, Santorum will base his would-be presidency on the socio=political-economic principles of Catholic theology.
God, help us, save us from these pretenders of your faith.
Posted by: Mike in Asheville
________________________
You can also make the argument that Obama would base his Presidency on the socio-political principles of Rev. Wright who said “God D___ America”.
Actually Romney and Santorum are going to base their would-be Presidencies on the socio-political principles of the 1st amendment which guarantees Freedom of Religion. That applies to Mormon’s, Christians, and even atheists like yourself.
Posted by: spike | February 21, 2012, 4:13 pm 4:13 pm
SPIKE: Since when is stating a fact about our balance of power an ‘attack’ on the constitution? Either you don’t know the definition of attack or you just listen to so much right wing propaganda that you don’t bother to use your own brain anymore.
Posted by: Cloteasboy | February 21, 2012, 4:17 pm 4:17 pm
Of course he is “secular” the Constitution does NOT allow one religion or religious belief to be the basis for laws. As for birth control, it is not just to prevent pregnancy. There are several actual Medical reasons for a woman to receive it.
Posted by: pksk531 | February 21, 2012, 4:19 pm 4:19 pm
Working Class said “Why is birth control covered at all by health care?” Why shouldn’t it be?! Many healthcare plans include dental and vision coverage, too. What is it about birth control that *you* think it shouldn’t be covered? And as the poster Brian pointed out, birth control is no LESS health care than anything else for which we visit a doctor. Yeesh.
Posted by: ethelbert | February 21, 2012, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
Veterans for Ron Paul 2012. Thanks for not posting a picture of the Veterans for Ron Paul March ABC
Posted by: Pa | February 21, 2012, 5:02 pm 5:02 pm
I think people are confused; this is a race for a presidential nominee, not a religious leader. The more I hear from these GOP candidates, the more it sounds as if they are running for the head of a religious organization. I fear a theocratic takeover. Whatever happened to American Democracy; whatever happened to separation of church and state? Why is a person’s religious beliefs more important than his fiscal, foreign and domestic policies? When are the candidates going to talk about jobs and the economy instead of defending their religious beliefs. It’s ridiculous.
Posted by: carole | February 21, 2012, 5:07 pm 5:07 pm
Obama’s AGENDA, is that of a dictator, not a secularist.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | February 21, 2012, 5:14 pm 5:14 pm
Romney Defends Conservative Values, Says Obama Has ‘Secular Agenda’
Sounds right.
What’s the big deal?
Posted by: Noz | February 21, 2012, 5:32 pm 5:32 pm
Question: Who wants a President that advocates for their religious beliefs? Answer: The people that adhere to his brand of religion. If we’re talking Christianity, there are many “brands” of Christianity. Hundreds of them. Which brand do we want our President to hawk? The “right” one. Go figure that one out.
Posted by: plantain_11 | February 21, 2012, 5:44 pm 5:44 pm
In other words, Romney is complaining that Obama hasn’t yet established the “correct” brand of Christianity as the Official Religion of the U.S.
Posted by: Pax Tayer | February 21, 2012, 7:49 pm 7:49 pm
EXCUSE ME…. but the country that I LIVE IN is a country where church and state are separated so the a politician’s agenda SHOULD BE SECULAR… This just makes me so damn angry…
Posted by: Willpen | February 21, 2012, 9:31 pm 9:31 pm
Maybe Romney should be a little more secular..his Mormons are baptizing dead people and he is silent about it.
Posted by: Rich | February 22, 2012, 12:41 am 12:41 am
“Which brand do we want our President to hawk? The “right” one. Go figure that one out.” – plantain_11
Exactly, which is why lots of folks are trying to figure out what brand of religion Obama is hawking.
Posted by: Noz | February 22, 2012, 7:45 am 7:45 am
What is wrong with a “secular agenda”? Our constitution is secular. What would Romney’s agenda be? A Mormon agenda? A sectarian christian theocratic agenda. Isn’t fiscal policy secular by nature? Does he base his fiscal policy on his religious beliefs? No thank you. These candidates do not even know what secular means.
Posted by: RQ | February 23, 2012, 10:06 am 10:06 am