Romney says Obama shouldn't fundraise off same-sex marriage
(CNN) – The day after President Barack Obama publicly endorsed same-sex marriage, and later issued a call for donations, his Republican rival said the hot button topic shouldn't be used to raise campaign cash.
"I don't think the matter of marriage is really a fundraising matter, either for the president, and it is certainly not for me," Romney said Thursday on Fox News.
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He added, "I hope the issue as tender and sensitive as the marriage issue is not a source of fundraising for either of us."
On Wednesday, hours after Obama told ABC News he supports the rights of gay and lesbian couples to get married, he sent an email to supporters explaining the decision and making a fundraising pitch.
"Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer: I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry," Obama wrote in the email.
The last line was a call for donations: "More than 1.9 million people like you power this campaign. If you can, please donate today," Obama wrote while linking to a form for giving money to his campaign.
Romney remarked that political positions, like support for same-sex marriage, shouldn't be taken to score political points.
"I don't know there is a calculation about which positions are going to help and which positions will hurt politically. You have positions. You describe what they are. And hopefully people are focusing on the major issues of the day which relate to our economy and getting people back to work," Romney said.
Romney decried any attempts to sway votes by shifting positions – something the candidate himself has been accused of throughout the GOP primary and the general election.
"You don't change positions to try and win states, or certain groups of Americans," Romney said. "You have the positions you have. And for a long time, from the beginning of my political career I made it clear I believe marriage should be a relationship between a man and a woman."
When pressed to explain the perceived shifts in his position on same-sex marriage, Romney reaffirmed his platform, which he said was shared by his wife Ann and the rest of his family.
"Let me make it very clear, that my preference is to have a national standard that defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. That would then allow states to determine what rights would be provided for people of the same gender that wanted to have a relationship," Romney said.
In the interview, Romney said it was "fine" for states to allow gay couples to adopt children, but said it was his preference to "encourage the marriage of a man and a woman and we continue to define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman."
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Too late, Mitt. The left donated strongly to Obama and you'll get your share from right-wing evangelicals.
i frankly dont see the big deal in this arument about same sex couple wanting to marry. how is that anyne elses buisness? let them marry for peace sakes and enough of all this discrimination crap in the name of relgion.
Yes only Mormons can do that as they did so effectively in California during proposition 8.
Everybody knows that when we're getting old, our children are our hopes and our future for human being living on Earth. I don't think gay and lesbian are not going to be able to understand that. At this point, how could Obama make people sure that gay and lesbian couples are asking for the support they want, rather than the help they need?
Mr Rawmoney, do try not to outdo yourself in being pathetic. You keep succeeding!
One Word " SUPERPACS ".
too much smoke not enough substance...
marriage, like religion, is a waste of time and effort.
He is just jealous that our president raised a million dollars in 90 minutes.. How about you ban all secret donations Pacs going toward your campaign Willard.
He is really a cry baby and is unsuited for the white house
What a response. This man is supported by wall street and big oil along with shady money coming from Karl rove and other Pacs. Tell me Willard what do you stand for?
GOP the party o NO Hope just Shame.
Their goal the TSA Theocratic States of America....
At war against women, FREEDOM, Education, the middle class, the poor....
Karl Rove will (on Mitt Rmoney's behalf). He always has used gay baiting.
This is more phony baloney stuff. I am more interested in why Mitt denied remembering the incident where he physically assaulted and bullied a gay kid a year younger when he was a senior in high school when 5 witnesses, not all part of it, well remembered.
It's not like 4th or 5th grade, it was senior year and a physical altercation. I'm almost Mitt's age I certainly remember any physical altercation going back to grade school, and CERTAINLY the last year of high school. Either it's early Alzheimer's or just plain old LYING, by prep school bully boy, Mitt Rmoney.
I'm sure the Mormon wants to steer clear of this topic. His religion is as flip floppy as he is.
Marriage is a state issue. The power to regulate marriages has always been left to the states. Republicans, if you believe in state's right, don't federalize a state issue when it suits your need. This is different from Obama's health care bill. Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce (health insurance is undoubtedly interstate commerce) and there are Supreme Court precedents that Congress can regulate people's FAILURE to enter a market (Wickard v. Filburn, Gonzales v. Raich). In those cases, the Supreme Court held that Congress could regulate people not putting a product (wheat in Filburn, marijuana in Raich) on the market, because their INACTION would affect interstate commerce.
"You don't change positions to try and win states, or certain groups of Americans," Romney said.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't believe he actually said this. Isn't this what he does four or five times a day!
So, even though the SCOTUS found that separate but 'equal' was inherently unequal, even though the constitution actually prohibits laws like DOMA (full faith and credit shall be given for the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings – article 4, section 1), you still want to deny people equal rights just because of an attribute?
Now Romney's making rules on how to target fundraisers? And he can prove that all his millions raised is corporations and people just plain support him, not because they agree with anything he says about ripping away health care from people, or taking away a woman's legal right to having a safe abortion? What a hypocrite!!
But it's okay for the mormon church to fundraise on marriage? Then take that money to fight same sex marriage all over America?
Romny has tons of money and his superPACs have enormous funds. So, of course, he now wants to impose all forms of limits on how Obama can raise funds.
How silly!
This country is already distracted from the life and death struggle it faces to stay viable as a superpower. It already is to the wall on the economy and providing a future for its children. The burden of this added division will not do anything but cause more contempt into our already hate-filled and mistrustful lives. It will not make anything better. It is time to stop trying to control others through our own morality and to accept the fact we will only destroy our country by imposing our way on others.
Romney pulls the hypocritical IOKIYOAR routine yet again as he has been campaigning on the I'm the most conservative Republican on the bandwagon and his fundraising is directly tied to his social conservatism which includes being against anything that runs counter to the religious dogma of the fundagelicals
Says Romney: "Let me make it clear, it's ok for me to raise money off of whatever issue I please. But if Democrats want to raise money off of any issue, it is a blatant political play. So says I from my 'moral high ground' soapbox. Purchased by exhorbitantly huge donations from Wall Street."
You just know that, deep down, the republican base is ashamed of this guy. Thats why they dont show up to his rallies.
I thought that we as americans have the civil right to do what ever we want with in certain contents as long as its not harming anyone who cares if same sex people want to get married