Yet another Republican presidential candidate is declining to sign the controversial “Marriage Vow” pledge put forward by the Iowa conservative group Family Leader: Herman Cain.
“While I commend their intent regarding the pledge, I believe my stated position encompasses their values without the need to sign the pledge,” Cain said, the Des Moines Register reports. He also added: “I am, and will continue to be, an ardent defender of traditional marriage and will work to preserve and protect the sanctity of human life, which I believe begins at conception.”
The “Marriage Vow” involves a candidate pledging personal fidelity to his or her spouse, that he or she would change divorce laws to make “quickie divorces” more difficult, and would oppose gay marriage, pornography, and “Sharia Islam,” among other things.
Two Republican candidates, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, signed the pledge, and then immediately encountered controversy due to the resolution’s original preamble language on slavery — which has since been edited out — stating, quite contrary to the facts, that African-American families were more secure under slavery than they are today, under an African-American president.
Earlier this week, Newt Gingrich declined to sign the pledge for now — instead wanting to work with the group to clarify other language in the pledge. Then today, Tim Pawlenty released a statement saying in part: “rather than sign onto the words chosen by others, I prefer to choose my own words, especially seeking to show compassion to those who are in broken families through no fault of their own.”
But the most contrary of the refusals came Tuesday night, when Mitt Romney’s campaign slammed the pledge, saying that it “contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign.” In response, Family Leader head Bob Vander Plaats blasted Romney in an interview with TPM.
