Bryan Fischer
Impossible now for Romney to go Etch-A-Sketch on natural marriage
By Bryan Fischer
The great news from the Obama-Biden-Duncan fiasco: all that dust in the air makes it politically impossible for Mitt Romney to go Etch-A-Sketch on the issue of natural marriage.
And if, as is likely, North Carolina puts protection for natural marriage into its state constitution today, it will make a flip-flop on marriage suicidal.
It's unfortunate that the governor did not endorse the North Carolina marriage amendment. This should have been right on the wheelhouse of a man who claims to support a defense of marriage and family platform.
Bill Clinton openly opposed it, which is a clear indication that it's perfectly appropriate for presidential types to weigh in when states are grappling with the marriage issue. It is telling that Gov. Romney remained studiously silent, even when polling data showed the amendment with a double digit lead. In other words, his silence on this issue is inexplicable if he truly supports man-woman marriage. Support would not only have been right, it would have been politically expedient for any but the most timid politician.
Gov. Romney has not spoken publicly, to my knowledge, to the issue of marriage since the Democratic party fell into total disarray over the issue. This is a perfect opportunity for the governor to brush off his marriage bona fides and show them to the voting public. It is frankly disturbing that he hasn't.
Even the notoriously apolitical Billy Graham came out with an unqualified endorsement of the marriage amendment. If you're looking for evangelical support, standing next to Billy Graham on the issue of marriage is a pretty good place to be. Yet the governor held fire. Why?
In Rick Santorum's endorsement email of today, he said he reminded Gov. Romney of the dictum that "personnel is policy." This, I believe, was a pointed reminder to the governor of the land mine he stepped on when he appointed homosexual marriage crusader Richard Grenell as the face of his campaign on foreign policy.
If Santorum received assurances from the governor that he won't make a similar mistake in the future, this is good for his campaign, good for America and good for his electoral chances in November. Santorum's statement at a minimum certainly serves as a warning to Romney not to go off reservation on values issues again.
So bottom line: Mitt Romney is stuck with a commitment to support natural marriage whether he likes it or not. Here's hoping he learns to like it.
(By the way, as a footnote, the media has been having some fun with my use of the word "yokel" on my broadcast Friday. I, of course, do not see myself as a yokel, but the media does. That was the point. Unfortunately, you can't put quotation marks around a word on air.)
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
May 8, 2012
The great news from the Obama-Biden-Duncan fiasco: all that dust in the air makes it politically impossible for Mitt Romney to go Etch-A-Sketch on the issue of natural marriage.
And if, as is likely, North Carolina puts protection for natural marriage into its state constitution today, it will make a flip-flop on marriage suicidal.
It's unfortunate that the governor did not endorse the North Carolina marriage amendment. This should have been right on the wheelhouse of a man who claims to support a defense of marriage and family platform.
Bill Clinton openly opposed it, which is a clear indication that it's perfectly appropriate for presidential types to weigh in when states are grappling with the marriage issue. It is telling that Gov. Romney remained studiously silent, even when polling data showed the amendment with a double digit lead. In other words, his silence on this issue is inexplicable if he truly supports man-woman marriage. Support would not only have been right, it would have been politically expedient for any but the most timid politician.
Gov. Romney has not spoken publicly, to my knowledge, to the issue of marriage since the Democratic party fell into total disarray over the issue. This is a perfect opportunity for the governor to brush off his marriage bona fides and show them to the voting public. It is frankly disturbing that he hasn't.
Even the notoriously apolitical Billy Graham came out with an unqualified endorsement of the marriage amendment. If you're looking for evangelical support, standing next to Billy Graham on the issue of marriage is a pretty good place to be. Yet the governor held fire. Why?
In Rick Santorum's endorsement email of today, he said he reminded Gov. Romney of the dictum that "personnel is policy." This, I believe, was a pointed reminder to the governor of the land mine he stepped on when he appointed homosexual marriage crusader Richard Grenell as the face of his campaign on foreign policy.
If Santorum received assurances from the governor that he won't make a similar mistake in the future, this is good for his campaign, good for America and good for his electoral chances in November. Santorum's statement at a minimum certainly serves as a warning to Romney not to go off reservation on values issues again.
So bottom line: Mitt Romney is stuck with a commitment to support natural marriage whether he likes it or not. Here's hoping he learns to like it.
(By the way, as a footnote, the media has been having some fun with my use of the word "yokel" on my broadcast Friday. I, of course, do not see myself as a yokel, but the media does. That was the point. Unfortunately, you can't put quotation marks around a word on air.)
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
