Not Clearly Pro or Con: "My view is that the Supreme Court has made an error in saying at the national level one size fits all for the whole nation. And instead, I would let states make their choices... I'd let states make their own decisions in this regard."
Face to Face with Jon Ralston, KLAS 8 Las Vegas, Aug. 21, 2007
[Editor's Note: Prior to Mitt Romney's Aug. 21, 2007 Not Clearly Pro or Con position above, his position was Con "abortion should remain a legal option," as indicated in his Aug. 6, 2007 statement below.]
Con: "We support a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make it clear that the 14th Amendment's protections apply to unborn children."
Good Morning America, Aug. 6, 2007
[Editor's Note: Prior to Mitt Romney's Aug. 6, 2007 Con position above, his position was Pro "abortion should remain a legal option," as indicated in his July 26, 2005 statement below.]
Pro: "I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate."
None Found: No position found as of Jan. 29, 2008. ProCon.org also emailed the Romney campaign on Jan. 21, 2008 with this question. They did not respond to our email.
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "About one-third of our trade deficit is with China alone; with one country. Now they artificially peg their currency so that their products are at a discount coming here. That's a problem. And they also don't protect our patents and our designs. We sell a lot of products over there, but we could sell a lot more... They don't protect our commercial property rights, like they need to, but if they did, we'd have a much different situation with our balance of payments with them."
"Ask Mitt Anything," Campaign stop in Tega Cay, South Carolina, YouTube.com (accessed Jan. 8, 2008)
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "I believe in building bridges not walls. We specifically addressed the detention of a Massachusetts citizen, Yang Jianli, with Chinese officials and we asked for special attention and consideration for his early release. Working with China on our own security interests รข€โ including the isolation of North Korea รข€โ must not be at the expense of our commitment to freedom and basic human rights."
"A Primary Factor: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in an Exclusive Pre-Christmas 2006 Interview," National Review Online, Dec. 14, 2006
Pro: "Unilateral concessions to a dictatorial regime are counterproductive, helping to secure a succession of power and repression instead of a transition to freedom. They will only embolden those who cling to power at the expense of the Cuban people. We must not weaken our policy on Cuba until the Castro regime is dismantled, all political prisoners are freed and Cuba transitions to free and fair elections."
"Press Release," Mitt Romney's official campaign website, Aug. 21, 2007
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "We're seeing jobs leave our state [Massachusetts] and go to Asia. It's a wonderful thing in some respects, but a little frightening in others. We've had jobs go from our state in the past. Textile came here [South Carolina], and ultimately left here and went off to Asia. We've had low end jobs leave our country before... But now we are seeing some high end jobs also leave our country... This is great news that they [developing countries] are getting into the world economy... They'll be able to buy our products and services from this country. So it's good news, but it's also a challenge because we want to make sure that this country always remains the superpower economically and militarily of this planet."
Speech in Lexington County, South Carolina, covered by C-SPAN, Feb. 23, 2006
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "The Doha Round and free trade agreements can be huge opportunities for America if we ensure no unilateral disarmament on agriculture and demand that they provide strong benefits for U.S. farmers and goods and services producers...
We need bold ideas to address the new global economy. Starting with a core of U.S. free trade agreement partners, Governor Romney would seek to bring together nations committed to open markets and playing by the rules in the largest ever Free Trade Area, and go beyond traditional trade to promote high standards in areas critical to U.S. competitiveness. The Reagan Zone Of Economic Freedom would act as an alliance working together internally, in the World Trade organization and elsewhere to push reforms and work cooperatively in areas like labor and the environment. Governor Romney would seek to expand these efforts to include the European Union and other nations that agree to meet these standards, while challenging China and others advancing agreements that exclude America."
"Romney Agenda: A New Vision to Open Markets and Help U.S. Workers to Succeed," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official candidate website, Oct. 23, 2007
Pro: "Governor Romney Will Improve Upon And Enhance No Child Left Behind (NCLB). He believes that No Child Left Behind has played an important role in stressing the role of accountability and high standards in improving our schools. Governor Romney will improve NCLB by giving states that meet or exceed testing requirements additional flexibility in measuring student performance. He will also improve the law by focusing more attention on individual student progress, rather than the overall progress of schools."
"Issues: Raising the Bar on Education," Mitt Romney's official campaign website (accessed Jan. 25, 2008)
None Found: No position found as of Nov. 28, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Romney campaign on Nov. 9, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.
Con: "I have not spent a career in politics, but I know enough about the laws of this country, and the way Washington works, to understand that the McCain-Feingold law [S.25: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 1997] is riddled with shortcomings.
Let's start with something basic: the American people should be free to advocate for their candidates and their positions without burdensome limitations...
We step into dangerous territory when politicians start eviscerating our fundamental freedoms in the name of amorphous principles, like campaign finance reform. If I am elected President, a top priority will be to push for the repeal of this deeply-flawed measure, and restore the full freedom of political participation and expression to the American people."
"In Case You Missed It: 'The Fundamental Flaws in the McCain-Feingold Law'," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official candidate website, Apr. 25, 2007
[Editor's Note: Prior to Mitt Romney's Apr. 25, 2007 Con position above, his position was Pro campaign finance reform, as indicated in his Oct. 11, 1994 statement below.]
Pro: "These kinds of associations between money and politics in my view are wrong. And for that reason, I would like to have campaign spending limits... I also would abolish PACS [Political Action Committees]... I don't like the influence of money, whether it's business, labor or any other group, I do not like that kind of influence. Lobbyists I want to register, I want to know who they are, I want to ensure that gifts are limited... I think that contributions are fine, I just don't want them to be larger and larger... The kinds of demands that are being placed on the economics of running a campaign suggest an increasing power on the part of money, and I think it's wrong and we've got to change it."
Speech made during Massachusetts Gubernatorial campaign in Burlington, Massachusetts, YouTube.com, Oct. 11, 1994
None Found: No position found as of Nov. 28, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Romney campaign on Nov. 9, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.
Pro: "We must become independent from foreign sources of oil. This will mean a combination of efforts related to conservation and efficiency measures, developing alternative sources of energy like biodiesel, ethanol, nuclear, and coal gasification, and finding more domestic sources of oil such as in ANWR or the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)."
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "Governor Romney Would Evaluate Reforms To CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] Standards To Develop A Better Way To Get Higher Fleet Mileage Without Market Distortions. 'What does this mean for Detroit? Well, it means that the automotive fleet will have to become more fuel efficient. CAFE improved mileage initially, but the consumer has gotten around it over the last couple of decades. CAFE has some real problems. It distorts the market. It penalizes the domestic automakers. It can ignore technical realities. So before I would change the CAFE standards, I want to sit down with every major knowledgeable party and evaluate each of the alternatives. A good number have been proposed; let's decide which is the best course by looking at the data and analysis, rather than by playing to the TV cameras Let's not forget that a far more fuel efficient fleet must be part of our energy future. The issue is which is the least distorting way to achieve it.'"
"Excerpts from Governor Mitt Romney's Remarks at the Detroit Economic Club," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official candidate website, Feb. 7, 2007
Con: "Unfortunately, some in the Republican Party are embracing the radical environmental ideas of the liberal left. As governor, I found that thoughtful environmentalism need not be anti-growth and anti-jobs. But Kyoto-style sweeping mandates, imposed unilaterally in the United States, would kill jobs, depress growth and shift manufacturing to the dirtiest developing nations.
Republicans should never abandon pro-growth conservative principles in an effort to embrace the ideas of Al Gore. Instead of sweeping mandates, we must use America's power of innovation to develop alternative sources of energy and new technologies that use energy more efficiently."
"Governor Mitt Romney on the Current Environmental Debate," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official campaign website, Feb. 23, 2007
Con: "When it comes to protecting the Second Amendment, I do not support any new gun laws including any new ban on semi-automatic firearms. As President, I will follow President Bush's precedent of opposing any laws that go beyond the restrictions in place when I take office. The laws I do and will support include decades-old restrictions on weapons of unusual lethality like grenades, rocket launchers, fully automatic firearms and what are legally known as destructive devices and would include similar restrictions on new and exotic weapons of similar or even greater lethality. I am proud of my record of defending life and the Second Amendment."
"The Real Romney Record: Setting The Record Straight About Governor Romney's Record," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official campaign website, Dec. 30, 2007
Con: "First of all, I'm not going to give the Democratic legislature credit for the plan that I helped build. So, I want to let you know I'm very proud of what we did in Massachusetts, and I think it's a model that other states can adopt in some respects.
But let me tell you something about our plan. It's different than Hillary Clinton's in a lot of important ways. But one thing that I'm happy about is that Republicans are talking about health care. This isn't a Democrat issue. It's a Republican issue.
For Democrats, they want to have government take it over. And I don't want to have the guys who did the cleanup at Katrina taking responsibility for health care in this country.
The right answer is to get people insured, all of our citizens insured so they don't have to worry about losing their insurance if they change jobs or have a preexisting condition.
But Hillary says the federal government's going to tell you what kind of insurance, and it's all government insurance. And I say no, let the states create their own plans, and instead of government insurance, private, market-based insurance.
Hillary's plan costs an extra $110 billion. My plan doesn't cost any additional money. We use the money we're already spending, we just use it a good deal more wisely.
And the real question here is, are we going to talk about health care and get everybody insured with private insurance? Absolutely. Because the alternative is unthinkable. As P.J. O'Rourke said, if you think health care's expensive now, just wait until it's free. We're not going Hillary's way."
Republican Presidential Debate, Orlando, Florida, hosted by Fox News, Oct. 21, 2007
None Found: No position found as of Jan. 9, 2008. ProCon.org also emailed the Romney campaign on Dec. 13, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email.
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "I believe it's important to end illegal immigration so we can maintain and encourage legal immigration. Immigration is good for this country; it's helped us over our history. We need immigration to provide some of the skills that we may miss, migrant workers, cultural advantages. It's a great source of vitality for America to have legal immigration, but illegal immigration รข€" that we need to bring an end to."
Morning Show With Chris Stigall, KCMO 710 Talk Radio, FOXNews Radio, May 22, 2007
Pro: "[I]f you're here illegally, you should not be here. We're not going to give you benefits, other than those required by the law, like health care and education, and that's the course we're going to have to pursue...
Let me tell you what I did as governor. I said no to driver's licenses for illegals. I said, number two, we're going to make sure that those that come here don't get a tuition break in our schools, which I disagree with other folks on that one."
Republican Presidential Debate, St. Petersburg, Florida, hosted by CNN, YouTube.com, and the Republican Party of Florida, Nov. 28, 2007
Pro: "Secure The Border. Follow through on Congressional commitment to build a physical and technological fence along the southern border, and secure other points of entry."
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "First, we should continue to tighten the economic sanctions... Second, we need to impose diplomatic isolation of Iran's Government... Third, Arab states must join this effort to prevent a nuclear Iran... Fourth, we have to make it clear that while nuclearization may be a source of pride to the Iranian people, it also should be considered as a source of peril. The military option remains on the table. And further, any people should know that if nuclear material their own nation develops falls into the hands of terrorists and would be used that would surely provoke a devastating response from the civilized world to any who provided that fissile material... Fifth, our strategy should be integrated into a broad approach to the broader Muslim world."
"Governor Mitt Romney's Remarks at the Seventh Annual Herzliya Conference," Mitt Romney's official campaign website, Jan. 23, 2007
Con: "It was the right decision to go into Iraq. I supported it at the time; I support it now.
It was not well managed in the -- after the takedown of Saddam Hussein and his military. That was done brilliantly, an extraordinary success. But in the years that followed, it was not well -- we were undermanaged, underprepared, underplanned, understaffed, and then we come into the phase that we have now. The plan that President Bush and General Petraeus put together is working. It's changing lives there.
And perhaps most importantly, it's making sure that al Qaeda and no other group like them is becoming a superpower, if you will, in the communities, and having a safe haven from which they launch attacks against us."
Republican Presidential Debate, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, hosted by MSNBC, St. Petersburg Times, Jan. 24, 2008
None Found: No position found as of Nov. 28, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Romney campaign on Nov. 9, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.
Con: "Today, the Democrats in the Senate have joined House Democrats in sending to the President a bill setting a date for surrender. In their attempt to micromanage the men and women in our military from Washington, Democrats in Congress have settled on a policy that demoralizes our troops, emboldens our enemies and jeopardizes the prospects for success in Iraq."
"Statement On Today's Iraq Vote In The U.S. Senate," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official campaign website, Apr. 26, 2007
[Editor's Note: Prior to Mitt Romney's Apr. 26, 2007 Con position above, his position was Pro timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal, as indicated in his Apr. 3, 2007 statement below.]
Pro: "There's no question that the president and Prime Minister al-Maliki [of Iraq] have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about, but those shouldn't be for public pronouncement. You don't want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you're going to be gone."
None Found: No position found as of Jan. 29, 2008. ProCon.org also emailed the Romney campaign on Jan. 21, 2008 with this question. They did not respond to our email.
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "She [Hillary Clinton] argued that our strategy of engagement with the Soviet Union during the Cold War was a model for how we could deal with Iran. I believe this strategy to be a mistake, and yesterday, to a group of fellow conservatives, I said as much. Advocating engagement displays a troubling timidity toward a terrible threat. The right strategy is not engagement, but economic and diplomatic isolation. Instead of responding to my policy criticisms, Senator Clinton has chosen to attack me personally. Let's take a step back and consider the broader and more pressing issue at hand - Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas and the threat they pose to us, Israel, and the civilized world. Ten days ago, I was in Israel and heard firsthand from those who have been on the front lines of the war against the Jihadist radicals... Rather than attacking me, why doesn't she join me in calling for a policy that puts even more pressure - not less - against these adversaries?"
"Governor Mitt Romney on Senator Hillary Clinton and Iran," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official candidate website, Feb. 3, 2007
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "[Katie] Couric: Well, what do you think of people who base their judgment at least partially on a candidate's ability to remain faithful to his or her spouse?
[Mitt] Romney: You know, I let people look at me any way they want to. I'm not gonna give advice to the American people in which aspects of a person's life they look at. After all, the president of the United States is gonna be under a microscope. He will be. The first lady will be. The whole family will be. Every mistake will be open to the world. In some respects, you respect the nation.
In some respects you represent an example to the children of America. So we're gonna get looked at in all sorts of ways. And I'm not gonna try and counsel the American people as to what to look at. I know they look at my faith, for instance. And I'm happy to have them do so. Some are critical. Some are positive. It's just part of the package. And take me as ... the whole character that I am.
Couric: Do you think that people shouldn't vote for candidates if they are -- commit adultery, for example?
Romney: I think people should be able to do what they want to do. And express their own views when they get into the ... voting booth. I'm not gonna tell them how to ... do that. And I know that people will, again, take their own counsel."
"Candidates Offer Views on Infidelity," CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, CBSNews.com, Dec. 19, 2007
Pro: "I support an amendment to our constitution which defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman... I supported a constitutional amendment at the federal constitution level to say a marriage is between a man and a woman... I'm not in favor of civil unions or same sex marriage."
Governor Mitt Romney's Address to the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit, Mitt Romney's official campaign website, Oct. 19, 2007
[Editor's Note: Prior to Mitt Romney's Oct. 19, 2007 Pro position above, his position was Con for a Constitutional amendment or federal law defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, as indicated in his Aug. 1994 statement below.]
Con: "[I]t's a state issue as you know - the authorization of marriage on a same-sex basis falls under state jurisdiction."
Con: "I believe marijuana should be illegal in our country. It is the pathway to drug usage by our society, which is a great scourge -- which is one of the great causes of crime in our cities. And I believe that we are at a state where, of course, we are very concerned about people who are suffering pain, and there are various means of providing pain management. And those that have had loved ones that have gone through an end of life with cancer know the nature of real pain. I watched my wife's mom and dad, both in our home, both going through cancer treatment, suffering a great deal of pain. But they didn't have marijuana, and they didn't need marijuana because there were other sources of pain management that worked entirely effectively. I'm told there is even a synthetic marijuana as well that is available. But having legalized marijuana, in my view, is an effort by a very committed few to try and get marijuana out into the public and ultimately legalize marijuana. It's a long way to go. We need less drugs in this society, not more drugs, and I would oppose the legalization of marijuana in the country or legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes because pain management is available from other sources."
Town Hall Event in Manchester, New Hampshire, Oct. 4, 2007
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "I don't do any arresting. In my view, marijuana should not be made legal either for medicinal purposes or recreational purposes. It's the opening way to drug use for many, many people in our country and I'm opposed to medical marijuana."
Speech at a town hall event, Exeter, New Hampshire, YouTube.com, Oct. 25, 2007
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "[Anderson] Cooper: Governor Romney, you said in 1994 that you looked forward to the day when gays and lesbians could serve, and I quote, 'openly and honestly in our nation's military.' Do you stand by that?
[Mitt] Romney: This isn't that time. This is not that time. We're in the middle of a war. The people who have...
Cooper: Do you look forward to that time, though, one day?
Romney: I'm going to listen to the people who run the military to see what the circumstances are like. And my view is that, at this stage, this is not the time for us to make that kind of...
Cooper: Is that a change in your position...
Romney: Yes, I didn't think it would work. I didn't think 'don't ask/don't tell' would work. That was my -- I didn't think that would work. I thought that was a policy, when I heard about it, I laughed. I said that doesn't make any sense to me. And you know what? It's been there now for, what, 15 years? It seems to have worked.
Cooper: So, just so I'm clear, at this point, do you still look forward to a day when gays can serve openly in the military or no longer?
Romney: I look forward to hearing from the military exactly what they believe is the right way to have the right kind of cohesion and support in our troops and I listen to what they have to say."
Republican Presidential Debate, St. Petersburg, Florida, hosted by CNN, YouTube.com, and the Republican Party of Florida, Nov. 28, 2007
Pro: "Well, we don't fund faith-based institutions, other than when they're performing a non-faith role.
So right now we have faith-based initiatives in our state. Ann [Romney, wife] happens to lead that effort. And some of the faith-based institutions, particularly in the inner city, are doing a lot better job helping the poor, helping kids, helping families get on their feet than some government social service agencies.
So helping them in their secular role is, of course, fine.
Helping them in a religious role... that would be unacceptable."
This Week With George Stephanopoulos ABC News, Feb. 18, 2007
Con: "A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.
Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin."
"Romney's 'Faith in America' Address," Speech at the George Bush Presidential Library, Dec. 6, 2007
Pro: "Currently, we're taking more money into Social Security that we actually send out. So our current seniors, their benefits are not going to change. For people 20 and 30 and 40 years old, we have four major options, for instance, for Social Security. One is the one Democrats want: raise taxes. It's the wrong way to go.
Number two, the president said let's have private accounts and take that surplus money that's being gathered now in Social Security and put that into private accounts. That works."
Republican Presidential Debate, Orlando, Florida, hosted by Fox News and the Republican Party of Florida, Oct. 21, 2007
Con: "I don't believe that somatic cell nuclear transfer or cloning and embryo farming are appropriate and would not pursue federal funding of those forms of stem cell research."
Pro: "Governor Romney Will Make The Bush Tax Cuts Permanent. Governor Romney believes making the Bush Tax Cuts permanent is the first step to ensuring that Americans are able to keep more of their hard-earned money."
"Policy Briefing: A Conservative Blueprint to Lower Taxes," Press Release, Mitt Romney's official candidate website, Oct. 4, 2007
Pro: "I support an amendment to our constitution which defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman... I supported a constitutional amendment at the federal constitution level to say a marriage is between a man and a woman... I'm not in favor of civil unions or same sex marriage."
"Ask Mitt Anything: Traditional Marriage (Mitt TV)," Mitt Romney's official campaign website (accessed Oct. 25, 2007)
Con: "I'm glad they're at Guantanamo. I don't want them on our soil. I want them on Guantanamo, where they don't get the access to lawyers they get when they're on our soil. I don't want them in our prisons. I want them there. Some people have said, we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo."
Republican Presidential Debate, Columbia, South Carolina, hosted by FOX News, May 15, 2007
Pro: "MR. [Brit] HUME: ...[T]he former director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, the current head of the CIA have both said that the most valuable intelligence tool they have had has been the information gained from what are called enhanced interrogation techniques to include, presumably, water-boarding.
What is your view whether such techniques should be applied in a scenario like the one I described?...
MR. ROMNEY: ...Some people have said, we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo. We ought to make sure that the terrorists -- (applause) -- and there's no question but that in a setting like that where you have a ticking bomb that the president of the United States -- not the CIA interrogator, the president of the United States -- has to make the call. And enhanced interrogation techniques have to be used -- not torture but enhanced interrogation techniques, yes."
Republican Presidential Debate, Columbia, South Carolina, hosted by FOX News, May 15, 2007