Going into this week, Mitt Romney’s late-life conversion to social conservatism was largely treated as old news from the 2008 campaign. Things are changing quickly, however, as both Democrats and Republicans are pushing to revive the original “flip flop” campaign against Romney. One area that could be particularly dangerous: his past ties to Planned Parenthood.
The family planning organization will be in the spotlight throughout the campaign as Congressional Republicans ratchet up efforts to defund it. A House panel recently requested more than decade’s worth of records from the group in order to investigate whether it inappropriately used public funding to finance abortion. If recent budget fights are any indication, it’s likely to be a flashpoint issue almost any time the House votes to fund the government.
Rick Perry drew big applause over the weekend at the Values Voters Summit bragging about how he defunded Planned Parenthood in Texas and used his speech to take a pointed shot at Romney over his pro-choice past.
“For some candidates, pro-life is an election year slogan to follow the prevailing political winds,” he said. “For me, it’s about the absolute principle that every human being is entitled to life.”
Romney, who publicly announced he had become pro-life in 2005, has already seen his various run-ins with the group become a source for attacks in recent years. Romney attended a fundraiser for the organization in 1994 with his wife, who donated $150 – a piece of news that broke during the 2008 primary campaign. He filled out their questionnaire for his 2002 gubernatorial run and wrote that he supports Roe vs. Wade.
But even after his reversal on abortion, there are some issues. In 2005, he vetoed a bill expanding access to the morning after pill, but then ended up signing another family planning law expanding access to the drug, drawing open praise from the state chapter of Planned Parenthood. His health care law requires that one member of a payment advisory board be appointed by Planned Parenthood. Although the panel has no control over abortion policy, his campaign rivals brought it up in the 2008 campaign. In the last weeks before he left office, his administration approved a $5 million tax-exempt bond for a Planned Parenthood clinic that provides abortions, a move that his spokesman said at the time was made without the governor’s knowledge or consent.
The good news for Romney is that most of these issues were dealt with in 2008 so it may be tougher to turn off any potential supporters with rehashed attacks. But Perry is clearly starting to tack in that direction. And Democrats are as well: a new DNC site, WhichMitt.com, highlights his past support for Roe v. Wade.
