Misplaced Pages

This article is part of a series about Mitt Romney
Political positions Electoral history Business career Salt Lake Organizing Committee Public image Governor of Massachusetts Governorship 2002 election Health care reform Presidential campaigns 2008 Primaries Convention 2012 Primaries Convention Debates "Binders full of women" Election Endorsements Planned presidential transition U.S. Senator from Utah 2018 United States Senate election in Utah Turnaround No Apology Anti-Trump speech
v t e

The political positions of Mitt Romney have been recorded from his 1994 U.S. senatorial campaign in Massachusetts, the 2002 gubernatorial election, during his 2003–2007 governorship, during his 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, in his 2010 book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, during his 2012 U.S. presidential campaign, and during his 2018 senatorial campaign in Utah. Some of these political positions have changed, while others have remained unchanged.

In 1994, during his campaign for US Senate in Massachusetts, "Romney has cast himself as a moderate Republican, socially liberal and fiscally conservative" and The New York Times likened his views to those of Governor William F. Weld. During his gubernatorial campaign in 2002, Romney described himself as a centrist saying of himself: "I'm someone who is moderate, and ... my views are progressive." The Boston Globe, reporting on the 2004 Republican National Convention list of speakers, wrote that "Massachusetts Republicans with moderate positions on most social issues, Romney and Healey also fit into the moderate tone that the Bush campaign wants to project for its convention." In 2005, Romney described his views as being "moderate on the national scene." However, in 2007, Romney launched his first presidential campaign and referred to himself as consistently conservative. In 2011, again running a presidential campaign, he described himself as being "'in sync' with the conservative Tea Party." In 2012, speaking at CPAC, a conservative political action committee, Romney described his tenure as a 'severely conservative' Governor of Massachusetts. Since 2019, while serving as a United States Senator from Utah, Romney was considered to be among the Senate's moderate Republicans.

In 2012, Gallup surveyed Americans about their perceptions of presidential candidates and 45% perceived Mitt Romney as conservative, 29% as moderate, and 12% as liberal with 14% having no opinion about his ideology. In 2016, Romney considered endorsing and voting for the Libertarian Party's presidential ticket. Romney announced that he did not plan to make an endorsement for president in 2020. He was one of three Republican Senators, the others being Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who refused to co-sponsor a resolution opposing the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. He was one of two Republicans voting with Democrats to allow witnesses during the impeachment trial, being disinvited from CPAC as a result. In February 2020, he became the sole Republican to vote in favor of convicting President Trump under the first article of impeachment. In the U.S. Senate, as of January 2021, Romney had voted with President Trump on legislative issues about 75% of the time. As of October 2022, he has voted with President Biden's legislative positions about 56.4% of the time.

Economic policy

Agriculture

In his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney called for the "virtual elimination" of the federal Department of Agriculture and for reductions in farm subsidies. In 2007, when questioned about these views, a Romney for President Iowa campaign spokesman responded: "Governor Romney believes that investing in agriculture is key to our economy and families."

During the 2012 presidential election campaign, Romney took positions on agricultural subsidies that some media reports characterized as vague and somewhat contradictory. In May 2011, just days after rival Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty had declared that federal subsidies for the production of ethanol fuel should be phased out, Romney said that he was a supporter of ethanol subsidies. Five months later, while speaking on agricultural subsidies at a roundtable discussion with Iowa farmers and business leaders, Romney said, "I'm not running for office based on making promises of handing out money. ... We're going to have to live within our means." He also said that while he had supported ethanol subsidies in the past in order to help the ethanol fuel industry become established, and that he continued to believe that ethanol should play a role in meeting the nation's energy needs, he agreed with the discontinuation of the tax credit for production of ethanol from corn that was scheduled to occur two months later. On the subject of agricultural subsidies more generally, Romney wrote in response to a 2012 questionnaire from the American Farm Bureau Federation that "other nations subsidize their farmers, so we must be careful not to unilaterally change our policies in a way that would disadvantage agriculture here in our country." He made similar remarks on the campaign trail in August 2012, without explicitly referring to subsidies: "We don't want to find ourselves with regards to our food supply in the same kind of position we are in with our energy supply, so it's important for us to make sure that our farmers are able to stay on the farm and raise the crops that we need to have a secure source of food. So I believe in supports that will allow us to do that."

Romney's position on federal mandates that require gasoline producers to include ethanol in gasoline blends has been less clear. The Romney campaign responded to a survey question asking for Romney's position on ethanol use mandates by saying the ethanol industry "has made important strides in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil" and ethanol "should continue to have prospects for growing its share in transportation fuels." Romney wrote to the American Farm Bureau Federation, "The increased production of biofuels plays an important part in my plan to achieve energy independence. In order to support increased market penetration and competition among energy sources, I am in favor of maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard."

Romney declined to respond to survey questions from the Iowa Corn Growers Association requesting his positions on crop insurance and conservation during the presidential primary campaign. He responded to an American Farm Bureau Federation questionnaire in 2012 by saying, "my immediate priority should be given to enacting disaster relief for those not traditionally covered by crop insurance as this year's drought has worsened."

Automotive industry

During the 2008 presidential primary campaign, Romney had distinguished his prescription for the automotive industry from rival candidate John McCain's by calling for a five-fold increase, to $20 billion per year over five years, in federal funding for research and development in energy, fuel technology, materials science, and automotive technology. In a January 14 speech, he stated, "I'm not willing to sit back and say, ' ... Too bad for the people who've lost their jobs. They're gone forever.'" As the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis arose during the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession, Romney argued against a bailout with direct government loans of the auto industry. He proposed that struggling auto manufacturers should undergo managed bankruptcy, after which they should seek loans from the private-sector credit market with government-backed loan guarantees. Writing in an op-ed article published in The New York Times in November 2008 (his original title had been "The Way Forward for the Auto Industry" but the editors published the article under the title "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"), Romney said, "If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." In referring to his proposal for managed bankruptcy, he said "t would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs." The Obama Administration ultimately implemented managed bankruptcy reorganizations of the General Motors and Chrysler corporations in combination with the direct government financing that Romney had opposed, after which Romney said that he deserved credit for the auto industry's recovery.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney criticized the Obama Administration for holding General Motors stock for longer than he thought prudent. He said that the government should sell its General Motors stock holdings quickly and should seek alternatives to what he called excessive automotive industry regulation. He also said that fuel economy standards should be determined by market forces rather than by government mandates, and he called electric vehicles "a technology that people aren't interested in." GM and Chrysler have denied that their post-bailout returns to the Chinese market are attempts to outsource American jobs, as Romney claimed from a since corrected report by Bloomberg News.

Budget

In March 2012, Romney endorsed the House Budget Committee proposed budget for the fiscal year 2013, a newer version of Paul Ryan's The Path to Prosperity. In 2019, as a US Senator, Romney voted for both Republican and Democratic bills to end a government shutdown. He was one of six Republicans breaking with their party to vote for the Democratic bill. In 2021, Romney joined all Senate and House Republicans in voting against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; however, on September 30, 2021, he was among 15 Republicans in the Senate who joined all Democrats, and both Independents, to pass a temporary spending bill to continue government funding and avoid a government shutdown.

In August 2021, Romney was among the 19 US Republican Senators who voted with the Democratic caucus to pass a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The bill passed the House of Representatives, with 13 Republicans joining the Democrats, in November 2021 after being delayed due to negotiations among political factions of the House. In December 2021, he was one of 14 Republicans in the US Senate to vote with all members of the Democratic caucus in favor of allowing the Democratic leadership to raise the debt ceiling on a party-line vote.

Campaign finance

In his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney advocated spending limits on congressional campaigns and suggested abolishing political action committees. In his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney proposed taxing private political contributions in order to finance publicly funded campaigns. In 2007 Romney began criticizing the McCain-Feingold Law, saying "We step into dangerous territory when politicians start eviscerating our fundamental freedoms in the name of amorphous principles, like campaign finance reform." He wrote in 2007: "The original intent of McCain-Feingold was to reduce the role of money and special interests in our political system. But on this too it has been a failure. Political spending has been driven into secret corners and more power and influence has been handed to hidden special interests. What is really needed is greater transparency, and disclosure, of campaign contributions – not more restrictions on political speech."

In November 2011, Romney said that the Supreme Court had made the right decision in its 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, but that he did not like some of the consequences of it: "I'm not wild about the idea of corporations making political contributions as a concept. I think their decision was a correct decision. I support their decision. I wish we could find a way to get money out of politics. I haven't found a way to do that." In January 2012, in the midst of the Republican Party presidential nomination primaries battle, Romney criticized the existence of Super PACs that were playing a large role in the campaign, saying, "I'll tell you, there have been some—there have been some attacks on me that have just been outrageous and completely inaccurate and have been shown to be inaccurate. That's the nature of the process. I hope it ends. ... We all would like to have super PACs disappear, to tell you the truth ... I think this has to change." A Romney spokesman added at the time that Romney viewed laws limiting regular donations to candidates' campaigns as too restrictive, which resulted in money going to Super PACs instead, and that it would be better if candidates' campaigns could receive those monies directly and take responsibility for ads made with them.

Defense spending levels

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney proposed to increase the size of the military by at least 100,000 troops. He called for spending priorities that include an expanded Naval armada estimated at $40 billion. But he did not specify how he would pay for this spending under the current tight Federal budget. John Lehman, a top adviser, said that the shipbuilding funds would come from cuts in the Pentagon. Romney said he would extend Obama administration's current plans of building two attack submarines a year to three submarines a year, and would split the current co-production of submarines into two independent operations.

Romney singled out the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey as a program that would require "very careful inspection", however he pledged to ramp up production of jet fighters.

According to Suzy Khimm, writing in The Washington Post in mid-2012, the Obama administration's 2013 budget would have had defense spending go from about 4.5% of GDP in 2012 to about 3% of GDP in 2013. Romney, by contrast, called for setting a defense spending floor at 4% of GDP. In September 2012, Romney said that he would like to maintain the current level of defense spending relative to GDP.

Deficit

Romney (like several other Republican candidates) signed the "cut, cap and balance" pledge, under which an increase in the federal debt ceiling would be contingent on major cuts in spending, caps on spending, and a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

Romney opposed the Budget Control Act of 2011 that was passed to resolve the United States debt-ceiling crisis as part of a deal struck between President Obama and congressional leaders, including his future running mate, Paul Ryan. Romney later criticized Obama for failing to specify the true impact of the resulting sequestration, as required by law.

Energy and the environment

During Massachusetts governorship

Romney's positions on energy policy and environmental protection regulations shifted from his time as governor of Massachusetts to his campaign for the presidency in the 2012 election.

As a candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, and later as governor, Romney prioritized policies that would promote energy conservation and reduce environmental pollution. He said that he was "absolutely committed" to renewable energy and that "I think the global warming debate is now pretty much over and people recognize the need associated with providing sources which do not generate the heat currently provided by fossil fuels."

Campaigning for the governorship, he argued in support of measures such as imposing higher taxes on SUVs to help reduce auto emissions and conserve energy; revitalizing urban neighborhoods using fees charged to developers for cutting down trees in suburban areas; and doubling the rate of cleanup of brownfield lands.

In his first 100 days in office as governor, he proposed expansion of the beverage container deposit law (bottle bill), a switch by state government agencies to the use of environmentally friendly cleansers, and clean up of the state's "Filthy Five" power plants. He appointed a prominent environmentalist, Douglas Foy, to oversee energy development, transportation, housing, and environmental affairs. Foy helped develop an energy and environment plan that included 72 public and private initiatives, with a goal of deriving 15 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and nonpolluting fuel cells by 2020, and of reducing greenhouse gas emissions of state agencies by 25 percent. The plan also proposed to impose strict emissions standards on older power plants and sought to substantially reduce soot emissions from diesel buses, trucks, and heavy construction equipment.

Arguing for environmental protection regulations in 2003, Romney said that "if the choice is between dirty power plants or protecting the health of the people of Massachusetts, I will always come down on the side of public health." He insisted that a coal power plant not delay in meeting tough emissions standards even at the cost of losing jobs: "I will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people. ... And that plant, that plant kills people."

As governor, he also argued for limits on oil and gas drilling in order to protect the environment. In his state of the Commonwealth address in January 2005, Romney said, "I'm concerned about the preservation of our natural resources. I will file legislation to protect our oceans from off shore drilling and commercial development. The oceans should not be up for grabs like some Wild West land rush." He signed into law a bill to protect against oil spills and to increase penalties for polluters.

He pursued policies to make greater use of carpooling and public transit, and sought tax credits to stimulate purchases of hybrid and other more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Romney argued that tax policy should be used to promote energy conservation. When his lieutenant governor supported a temporary suspension of the state gasoline tax to provide consumers some relief during a period of especially high gasoline prices in 2006, Romney rejected the proposal, arguing that maintaining the tax would help encourage energy conservation: "I don't think that now is the time, and I'm not sure there will be the right time, for us to encourage the use of more gasoline. ... I am very much in favor of people recognizing that these high gasoline prices are probably here to stay and that the appropriate action for us to take is to find ways to find fuel conservation."

He highlighted support for government investment in developing sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, early in his administration, although he opposed a proposal that would have sited a wind farm in Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod, where he said the visual impact would be detrimental to the state's tourist economy.

Romney initially supported a regional greenhouse gas cap-and-trade initiative for New England and eastern Canada, but he ultimately withdrew his support when he was unable to ensure establishment of certain limits on the penalty fees businesses would be charged for exceeding emissions allowances. A week later, his administration issued a rule allowing companies to pay a fine instead of having to clean up emissions of toxins like mercury. Both decisions were made as Romney announced he would not run for a second term as governor and began to focus on entering the 2008 presidential campaign. Some former Romney policy advisors later told The New York Times that his political team had been afraid that, with industry being opposed to the cap-and-trade proposal, Romney's having included Massachusetts in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would have made Romney's chance of winning a presidential campaign very unlikely.

During 2012 presidential campaign

Early in the 2012 presidential campaign, in June 2011, Romney said, "I don't speak for the scientific community, of course, but I believe the world's getting warmer. I can't prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that. I don't know how much our contribution is to that, because I know that there have been periods of greater heat and warmth in the past but I believe we contribute to that. And so I think it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you're seeing." Four months later, in October 2011, he said, "My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us." He expressed his opposition to cap and trade plans and to regulation of carbon emissions. In June 2012, Romney's domestic policy advisor Oren Cass told the Los Angeles Times, "He's a supporter of renewable energy, as long as it's anything that would be economically competitive. He doesn't know the extent to which climate change is occurring or that human activity is causing it. ... What you won't see are mandates or taxes or regulations that interfere with economic activity."

In August 2012, during a week of heavy fundraising from oil company executives, Romney put forward what he called a comprehensive energy plan that he said would allow North America to become independent of foreign oil imports within a decade.

Romney's energy proposal called for aggressively expanding drilling for fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, by easing federal regulations. The plan would seek to increase offshore drilling along the coasts of states like Virginia and the Carolinas, as well as in previously restricted areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and would give states more control over energy development on federal lands within their borders (Romney noted that oil companies currently wait an average 307 days for drilling permits from the federal government, while the state of North Dakota takes only 10 days to issue permits to drill on state-owned land). Additionally, the plan called for expansion of coal mining and nuclear energy production.

Romney reiterated in the proposal that as president he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline, to carry oil sands crude from western Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast for refining. (During the campaign, Romney had promised that he would approve the pipeline project by executive order on his first day in office as president.)

Romney's written energy policy proposal made no mention of climate change, and made little mention of plans to improve energy conservation. During the campaign Romney opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) requirement that the average fuel efficiency of cars be doubled by 2025. "Governor Romney opposes the extreme standards that President Obama has imposed, which will limit the choices available to American families," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

Romney had previously expressed opposition to federal aid for renewable energy development, and his August 2012 energy policy plan proposed eliminating government support in the form of loan guarantees and subsidies for development of renewable types of energy, sources of energy that Romney had said the Obama administration has been over-reliant on.

Romney's energy plan that was unveiled in August 2012 would maintain subsidies for oil companies, which Romney's rival for the presidency, Obama, would eliminate. During the 2008 presidential campaign, in November 2007 when all of the Democratic presidential candidates were calling for eliminating billions of dollars of tax breaks for oil companies, Romney told The New York Times, "Now is not the right time to raise taxes on our oil companies." Throughout most of the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney himself made almost no public statements directly commenting on tax breaks for oil and gas companies; and the Romney campaign declined to respond to repeated requests from the Tampa Bay Times' Politifact and The Washington Post's Fact Checker to clarify his position. However, he did tell a town hall gathering in April 2012 that, in contrast to Obama, he did not want to raise taxes on oil companies. Romney's chief energy advisor also testified before Congress twice during the campaign on behalf of the oil and gas industry that Congress should maintain tax benefits for oil and gas producers. During the first presidential debate between Romney and Obama, in October 2012, Romney hinted for the first time that as president he might consider eliminating $2.8 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas producers if Congress would agree to cut the tax rate for all corporations by 30%.

Disaster relief

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney requested federal disaster assistance to help with cleaning up after storms.

During the 2012 presidential primary campaign, when asked what the federal government's role should be in responding to natural disasters, Romney suggested that responsibility for handling disasters should be taken from FEMA, the federal agency dedicated to disaster relief, and given to the states, or outsourced to the private sector: "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that's even better. Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut -- we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we're doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we're doing that we don't have to do? And those things we've got to stop doing, because we're borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we're taking in." Asked whether by that he specifically meant disaster relief, he replied, "we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we'll all be dead and gone before it's paid off. It makes no sense at all."

The Romney campaign told reporters in October 2012, as the nation's East coast braced for Hurricane Sandy, that "Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions. ... As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA." The Romney campaign released a statement following the storm stating, "I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters."

Finance

Romney says a major contributor to America's faltering economy has been what he views as excessive regulation. He has promised to repeal the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Act implemented Wall Street reform with goals that included "improving accountability and transparency in the financial system" and protecting consumers. Romney criticized the Act as being "overwhelming" in length, but he said that one provision, distinguishing between home mortgages and high-risk securities in terms of the capital requirements, "does make sense", and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was enacted to prevent accounting scandals such had occurred with the Enron corporation, with plans to eventually replace them with more streamlined regulations. He also proposes instituting measures that would make it more difficult for federal agencies to impose new regulations.

Regarding the Occupy Wall Street protests, Romney has stated he favors growing the middle class but said blaming Wall Street bankers is the wrong way to go.

Healthcare

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

During his 1994 run for the United States Senate, Romney indicated he would support a bill that included a federal health insurance mandate, saying that he was "willing to vote for things that not wild with".

As governor of Massachusetts in 2006, Romney proposed and signed into law a private, market-based reform that ensures every Massachusetts citizen will have health insurance, without a government takeover and without raising taxes. The law secured near-universal health care coverage. The legislation requires health insurance for all state residents, provided a plan is available to the individual that deemed affordable according to state standards. Employers with eleven or more employees are mandated to offer approved insurance plans for employees. Romney vetoed eight sections of the legislation, including a $295 per person fee on businesses with eleven employees or more that do not provide health insurance. Romney also vetoed provisions providing dental and eyeglass benefits to low income residents on the Medicaid program, and providing health coverage to senior and disabled legal immigrants not eligible for federal Medicaid. State legislature overrode all of the vetoes.

In August 2007, at the Florida Medical Association, Romney unveiled his proposed national health care plan, which departed significantly from the universal health care measure that he helped forge as governor of Massachusetts. It differed from the Massachusetts plan in that it involved no individual mandate on a national basis but instead offered tax deductions for those buying insurance on their own, and allowing the states to choose their own health care plans.

During 2009, as Congress debated proposals for health insurance reform, Romney said that he was in favor of increased health insurance portability, coverage of pre-existing medical conditions, a cap on malpractice lawsuits, the implementation of a streamlined electronic medical records system, an emphasis on preventive care, loosening restrictions on importation of prescription drugs, and tax benefits aimed at making health insurance more affordable for the uninsured and targeted to promote universal access. He said he opposed efforts to provide non-emergency health coverage to undocumented immigrants and he supported the Hyde Amendment prohibiting government funding for elective abortion. Romney opposed a federal single-payer system, but supported state efforts to reduce the uninsured population. The Massachusetts health care law was used as an early model for Democratic health insurance reforms in 2009.

Romney opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare) that was ultimately passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in 2010. Immediately following its passage, Romney attacked the landmark legislation as "an unconscionable abuse of power". He said, "The act should be repealed. That campaign begins today." Romney acknowledged that his own plan for near-universal healthcare access in Massachusetts was not perfect and was still a work in progress, but he did not dissociate himself from the Massachusetts plan. Instead, he focused on its having successfully passed the state legislature with bipartisan support while the Obama plan had received no Republican support at all in Congress. He also complained that President Obama had not sought out his expertise in crafting the national plan that became the Affordable Care Act.

In June 2012, Romney pledged to enact a system to replace the Affordable Care Act, but did not release details of how it would be paid for. Romney's plan includes expanding health savings accounts to pay for premiums, increased competition and consumer choice, and lawsuit reform. Romney has also praised the cost controls of the mandated universal health care coverage of Israel.

In August 2012, Romney indicated that he might retain parts of Obamacare such as coverage for pre-existing conditions, but this was quickly clarified as only ensuring insurance coverage for people who already had insurance coverage. In September 2012, Romney highlighted his success in providing government subsidizes to ensure medical coverage for all the children of Massachusetts. And in October the Romney campaign questioned the assumptions behind a Commonwealth Fund report that Romney's policies would provide health care insurance for 45 million fewer Americans than Obama's policies.

In his 2018 Senate campaign in Utah, Romney stood by his position that the healthcare law he signed in Massachusetts was right at the time. Kennedy had criticized the Massachusetts law, which some conservatives have compared to 'universal healthcare,' but Romney defended it arguing that he believes in state-based plans.

Medicare

While campaigning for the governorship of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney argued that the federal government should pay for medicines for seniors: "It is outrageous that some senior citizens are forced to choose between paying for their prescription drugs and their groceries. The federal government needs to step in with a plan for our senior citizens, and I will lobby officials on the federal level to provide a Medicare drug benefit." (The U.S. Congress would pass legislation providing for Medicare prescription drug coverage - Medicare Part D - the following year.)

In February 2012, in an address to the Detroit Economic Club during which he discussed his recently unveiled economic plan and federal budget proposal, Romney said that to help control government healthcare expenditures, as president he would seek to gradually raise the minimum age for Medicare eligibility. The change in eligibility would affect future Medicare beneficiaries who at the time of enactment of the rule change would be 54 years of age or younger; the eligibility age would be raised by one month per year, then eventually tied to life-expectancy.

Romney named Representative Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate in August 2012. A year earlier, in June 2011, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives had passed a Republican alternative budget proposed by Ryan, with no Democrats voting for it. One controversial aspect of the proposal concerned Medicare; for those under age 55 as of its enactment, it would replace the existing Medicare system in which the government pays doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers fees for services rendered with a system in which the government would instead pay vouchers (also referred to as premium-support subsidies) to Medicare beneficiaries, who could then use their vouchers to either buy private medical insurance or to obtain coverage in a plan similar to traditional Medicare. Romney said that as president he would sign such a plan if it reached his desk, but he added that he would be putting forward his own plan before debating Obama.

During an interview in August 2012, several days after choosing Ryan as his running mate, Romney said, "Paul Ryan and my plan for Medicare, I think, is the same, if not identical -- it's probably close to identical."

A 2012 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation said, in October 2012, that a hypothetical Medicare plan along the lines of Romney would raise premiums for nearly 6 out of 10 seniors. The Romney campaign noted that the study did not specifically model any proposal from either campaign.

Chronic Lyme disease

In September 2012, a mailer from the Romney and Ryan campaign indicated they favored a law regarding "chronic Lyme disease", a controversial and unrecognized diagnosis, that will provide "physicians with protection from lawsuits to ensure they can treat the disease with the aggressive antibiotics that are required."

Housing

Asked "How will you help with the housing and foreclosure problems in the U.S.?", Romney responded that it would be best not to try and stop the foreclosure process, to let it run its course and hit the bottom, and that he might be open to some government action to encourage refinancing. He also referred to the Obama administration as having "slow walked the foreclosure processes that have long existed, and as a result we still have a foreclosure overhang", and that the credit that was given to first-time home buyers was inadequate to turn around the housing market. He nevertheless is open to some government intervention but demands that it make sense from a business standpoint. Should the foreclosure process run its course, Romney sees recovery for the market as investors are allowed to salvage property values and move people back into their homes as renters, with the possibility to buy when they are fiscally prepared.

Jobs

Romney argued during the 2012 presidential election campaign that his proposals to reduce government regulation of business activity and to revise the federal tax code and federal trade and energy policies would foster an environment that would lead businesses to create 12 million jobs within his first four years in office.

Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post fact-checked the claim and identified numerous problems with it, citing Moody's Analytics and the sources provided by Romney's own campaign staffers.

Labor unions

Romney has been critical of former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union. During a campaign speech in Michigan on June 9, 2011, he was quoted as saying "They're out there working very hard for their friend, Barack Obama," he added. "I think the union folks basically bought and paid for his last campaign, so he's taking care of them and they're taking care of him."

Romney opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would add penalties for labor violations and would allow union recognition based on signed requests from a majority of the workers. He has called for "cutting off funding" for the National Labor Relations Board.

Minimum wage

As governor of Massachusetts and as a candidate for president, Romney has called for tying raises in the national minimum wage to indicators of growth in the economy, such as increases in the inflation rate. He has said that increases in the minimum wage should be moderate and predictable. Commenting in March 2012 on a proposal put forward by some Democratic legislators to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10 per hour, Romney said that an increase in the minimum wage was probably not necessary at that time.

However, Romney has recently criticized his party's stance on minimum wage, stating in 2016 that he now believes it is time to increase the federal minimum wage.

Space exploration

The U.S. Space Shuttle program was officially retired shortly before the 2012 presidential primary campaign began in earnest. During the primary campaign, rival Republican candidate Newt Gingrich promised that if elected he would work to reinvigorate the nation's space program with a goal of establishing a permanent colony on the moon within a decade and seeking to have humans travel to Mars in the near future. Commenting on Gingrich's proposals, Romney said that before committing to any particular space program, he would take advice from experts in the field. He expressed doubt that a moonbase would be a practical goal if the costs were on the order of $550 billion.

Stimulus

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney favored the use of economic stimulus measures, using both federal funding and state funding to help lift the state's sluggish economy. Just months into his tenure as governor, in April 2003, while he shied away from any public endorsement of the tax cuts proposed by the Bush Administration, he argued for federal funds to stimulate the local economy: "I very much support an economic stimulus. ... An economic stimulus is a good thing for Massachusetts." That same year, he proposed his own economic stimulus package of tax credits and grants to promote the state's high technology industry, ultimately totaling $100 million when agreed to by the legislature. Two years later, in February 2005, he proposed a much larger stimulus package, totaling $600 million, that he said would create 20,000 jobs over 5 years. The most controversial provision would have devoted $37 million to stimulate job creation by paying businesses $30,000 for each new employee hired.

In early January 2009, Romney supported the $750 billion federal economic stimulus package proposed by the incoming president, Barack Obama, who had not yet taken office. Romney said at the time:

I frankly wish that the last Congress would have dealt with the stimulus issue and that the president could assign that before leaving office. I think there is need for economic stimulus. Americans have lost about $11 trillion in net worth. That translates into about $400 billion a year less spending that they'll be doing, and that's net of additional government programs like Medicaid and unemployment insurance. And government can help make that up in a very difficult time. ... I'd move quickly. These are unusual times. But it has to be something which relieves pressure on middle-income families. I think a tax cut is necessary for them as well as for businesses that are growing. We'll be investing in infrastructure and in energy technologies.

However, as a candidate for president in May 2012, Romney said that the economic stimulus package that had been enacted in February 2009 (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) had been a waste of money that did little to jump-start the economy, and that the federal government had inflated the numbers of jobs that had been created or preserved by the various projects funded through the stimulus program.

Soon after the Republican victory in the 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election, Romney criticized Obama's stimulus policy, saying that Obama "wants another stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more fireman, more policeman, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It's time for us to cut back on government and help the American people."

Taxation

As the new Governor of Massachusetts in 2003, Romney declined to publicly support the federal tax cuts proposed by the Bush Administration. (Romney reportedly told members of the state's congressional delegation that he would not "be a cheerleader" for proposals he did not agree with but that he felt he needed to "keep a solid relationship with the White House.") Romney also said he was open to increases in the federal gasoline tax, to support transportation construction projects. In 2006, Romney was given a 50% rating by the CATO Institute which favors lower taxes. In 2007, after leaving the governor's office and deciding to seek the party' presidential nomination, Romney said that he had supported the Bush tax cuts overall. In that same year, Romney signed the anti-tax pledge put forth by Americans for Tax Reform, pledging no new taxes or increases of existing taxes.

Romney opposed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, the compromise tax package between President Obama and the Republicans Congressional leadership that centered around a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts. He said, "because the extension is only temporary, a large portion of the investment and job growth that characteristically accompanies low taxes will be lost. It will also add to the deficit."

During his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney said he would seek income tax law reforms that he said would help lower federal deficits and would stimulate economic growth. Among the series of tax changes he proposed were: reducing individual income tax rates across the board by 20 percent, maintaining the Bush administration-era tax rate of 15 percent on investment income from dividends and capital gains (and eliminating this tax entirely for those with annual incomes less than $200,000), cutting the top tax rate on corporations from 35 percent to 25 percent, and eliminating the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax. He promised that the loss of government revenue from these tax cuts would be offset by closing loopholes and reining in tax deductions and credits available to taxpayers with the highest incomes, so that his tax plan would not raise federal deficits. Non-partisan analyses of Romney's tax plan estimated that it could have added more than $3 trillion to the federal deficit, and would have favored the highest-earning Americans, possibly raising annual taxes on middle-class earners by as much as $2,000. Romney and supporters of his tax plan said that such analyses were unreliable because they were based on assumptions about specific measures that were not detailed in the plan and because they had not adequately accounted for the positive effects on economic growth that Romney said his plan would generate. And that lower tax rates would lower rates of Tax evasion.

Also in 2012, Romney supported the extension of the Bush tax cuts. Romney said that the tax deductions his plan might limit could include charitable contributions, home mortgage interest payments, or health-care expenses. And that he might limit all deductions to $17,000 per taxpayer.

Technology

Romney has said the government should invest more in technologies that will help the United States, such as power generation, fuel cells, nanotechnology, and materials science. During his 2012 presidential campaign, his website included a statement he had made while commenting on the importance of investing in technology research and development during a 2006 interview:

In technology, we as a country already invest an enormous amount--for instance, in defense technology, space technology, health--but we also need to invest in some of the emerging technologies that are important at a basic science level such as fuel cell technology, power generation, materials science, automotive technology. We have to recognize that where we invest as a nation, both from a government standpoint but also from a private standpoint, those are the areas we've been most successful.

In his 2010 book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, Romney wrote that one of government's useful roles is in fostering innovation.

Trade

Romney supports free trade, including agreements such as NAFTA (North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) and CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement), and has said that his business experience has given him an edge on trade policy. He also has said that nations adopting protectionist tariffs and policies eventually crumble. During the 2012 presidential campaign, he said that, if elected, he would seek "fast track" Trade Promotion Authority to more rapidly negotiate trade agreements, finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and work to create a "Reagan Economic Zone" that would codify the principles of free trade at the international level and provide a way to punish countries that violate free trade policies.

Romney has favored getting tougher with China on trade issues and has pushed to renegotiate trade deals with China to help eliminate the Trade Deficit. He opposes currency manipulation and intellectual property theft by China and has said that he would be willing to impose tariffs when necessary. Romney opposed what he viewed as protectionist sanctions on Chinese tires.

Unemployment insurance

In 2010, Romney said that

A decent and humane society must have a strong safety net for the unemployed. I served for 15 years as a lay pastor in my church and saw the heartbreak of joblessness up close; a shattering loss of faith in oneself is but only one of many forms the suffering can take. Nonetheless, the vital necessity of providing for those without work should not be used as an excuse to ignore the very real problems of our unemployment system. In this, as in so many other arenas of government policy, unemployment insurance has many unintended effects.

The indisputable fact is that unemployment benefits, despite a web of regulations, actually serve to discourage some individuals from taking jobs, especially when the benefits extend across years.

The system is also not designed for a flexible economy like ours in which some employees move from job to job for short periods, and are therefore ineligible for unemployment compensation when they are faced with a protracted spell without work."

Romney instead offered two possible replacement systems, one involving individual unemployment savings accounts that employees would withdraw from when they lose their jobs, the other keyed on instituting financial incentives for businesses and other employers to hire and train those who had been unemployed for a long time.

Foreign policy

China

Romney has accused China of "cheating" and "stealing American jobs". He warned China that if he is elected to the White House, there will be consequences for unfair trade, saying: "Unless China changes its ways, on day one of my presidency I will designate it a currency manipulator and take appropriate counteraction." and "A trade war with China is the last thing I want, but I cannot tolerate our current trade surrender."

At the press conference, Romney was asked whether the China's abuses of human rights troubled him. "I am not an expert on the practices of other countries, and don't consider myself sufficiently qualified to characterize the practices of any one country," Romney said. In July 2012, Romney said, "We face another challenge in a rising China. China is attentive to the interests of its government, but it too often disregards the rights of its people. It's selective in the freedoms it allows."

Cuba

Romney favors keeping the United States embargo against Cuba in place. He said: "The Cuban people still live in constant fear of a brutal totalitarian regime that has demonstrated time and again its utter disregard for basic human dignity."

Romney accused President Obama of a policy of "appeasement" toward Cuba. "This president has decided to give a gift, to Castro, to allow remittances to come from the United States to go into Cuba and help the economy of Cuba. He's allowed more traveling into Cuba", Romney said.

European allies

In 2012, Romney's presidential campaign told The Daily Telegraph that Romney supported the "Anglo-Saxon heritage" and the "shared history" between the people of the United States and the United Kingdom prior to his visit to the country that year. These remarks were considered a racist attack on Obama; Romney's press secretary, Andrea Saul, later denied they represented his views.

In his speech, Romney said of Poland, "On behalf of our countrymen, I express deep appreciation for your willingness to fight with us, to stand with us, and to be our friends in times of crisis and military conflict." He added: "In a turbulent world, Poland stands as an example and defender of freedom."

Romney accused President Obama of abandoning Poland and the Czech Republic.

European debt crisis

In November 2011, when Italy was at the forefront of the European debt crisis, Romney said that Congress and the Federal Reserve should not consider plans to bail out Italy in the event its debt crisis deteriorate.

In December 2011, Romney stated: "I kind of like America. I'm not looking for it to be fundamentally transformed into something else. I don't want it to become like Europe." In January 2012, Romney said: "We want to ensure that we remain a free and prosperous land of opportunity. This president takes his inspiration from the capitals of Europe; we look to the cities and small towns of America." Romney accused President Obama of wanting to "turn America into a European-style entitlement society."

France

An internal Romney campaign document released in 2007 by the media suggested that Romney criticize France and attempt to convey the message "Hillary=France." Governor Romney has said he "loves" France, where he served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years. When a New Hampshire voter asked Romney why he kept "bashing" France on the campaign trail, Romney announced, "My kids are on vacation there right now. I love France. I speak French, lived in France. I have nothing but respect for the French people." Romney has said that the next president must re-engage France, and called French president Nicolas Sarkozy a potential "blood brother."

In his February 7, 2008 appearance at the Conservative Political Action Committee, during which he withdrew from the Presidential race, Romney mentioned France in less flattering terms. "nless America changes course," he said, "we will become the France of the 21st century—still a great nation, but no longer the leader of the world, no longer the superpower."

Iran

In a June 2007 Republican debate, Romney was asked about "the use of tactical nuclear weapons" to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb and responded that "You don't take options off the table, but what you do is stand back and say, 'What's going on here?' You see what's happening in Sudan and Afghanistan, in Iraq and Iran." In 2007 he also stated he would use "blockade, bombardment and surgical military strikes" against Iran if necessary. In September of that year he protested Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, stating that the invitation should be revoked and he should instead be greeted with an indictment under the Genocide Convention for threats against Israel. He stated that failure to act should lead the United States to reconsider its level of support and funding for the United Nations.

In 2011, Romney advocated both overt and covert means to get Iran to stop its nuclear weapons development program. He said that "Ultimately, regime change is what's going to be necessary." In 2012 he called on President Obama "to impose crippling economic sanctions on the Iranian regime, support the Iranian dissidents, and convey through actions – not just words – that the military option is very real and very credible."

In June 2012, Romney said "I can assure you, if I'm President, the Iranians will have no question but that I would be willing to take military action if necessary to prevent them from becoming a nuclear threat to the world." In his July 2012 trip to Israel he said that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear "capability" should be America's "highest national security priority." Romney has said of using military force against Iran, "I don't believe at this stage, therefore, if I'm President, that we need to have war powers approval or a special authorization for military force." He has refused to state if he would be open to using direct diplomacy to settle the issue with the Iranians.

Iraq

Romney supported the invasion of Iraq and the "troop surge". He criticized mismanagement of Iraq post-invasion, stating that both diplomatic and military efforts should be used to achieve success in the region.

In his 2007 speech announcing that he would run for president in 2008, Romney said, "so long as there is a reasonable prospect of success, our wisest course is to seek stability in Iraq, with additional troops endeavoring to secure the civilian population." He stated that instability in Iraq could lead to civil war and that "Iraq's Sunni region could become a base for al-Qaeda; that its Shia region could be seized by Iran; that Kurd tension could destabilize Turkey" and that the broader Middle East and the United States could be drawn into conflict.

In a 2007 Republican presidential debate, Romney mistakenly said that the Iraq war could have been avoided if Saddam Hussein had allowed IAEA inspectors into the country. CNN contributor Paul Begala criticized this remark and called it " huge mistake, a gaffe that -- that's, if this were a general election debate, would be a disqualifier," pointing out that inspectors had been allowed into Iraq.

In October 2011, Romney criticized the Obama administration's announcement that all American combat troops had been withdrawn from Iraq calling the withdrawal either "naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude."

Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict

In October 2011, during his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney said, "I believe our relationship with Israel, a nation which shares our values and is our best friend in the Middle East, should be of support and confidence rather than criticism and blame." In December 2011, he said, "I will travel to Israel on my first foreign trip . I will reaffirm as a vital national interest Israel's existence as a Jewish state. I want the world to know that the bonds between Israel and the United States are unshakable."

On the question of whether the U.S. Embassy in Israel in Tel Aviv should be moved to Jerusalem, Romney said in October 2011, "The actions that I will take will be actions recommended and supported by Israeli leaders. I don't seek to take actions independent of what our allies think is best, and if Israel's leaders thought that a move of that nature would be helpful to their efforts, then that's something I'll be inclined to do. ... I don't think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process, instead we should stand by our ally." During a trip to Israel in July 2012, he reiterated that if elected president he would seek to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he called the capital of Israel (and which he has said the U.S. should formally recognize as the capital of Israel, although Palestinians and other Arabs also claim Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state), if the government of Israel desired such a move.

Regarding the Arab–Israeli conflict, in a January 2012 Republican debate, Romney said, "Well, the reason that there's not peace between the Palestinians and Israel is because there is — in the leadership of the Palestinian people are Hamas and others who think like Hamas, who have as their intent the elimination of Israel. And whether it's in school books that teach how to kill Jews, or whether it's in the political discourse that is spoken either from Fatah or from Hamas, there is a belief that the Jewish people do not have a right to have a Jewish state." Romney added, "There are some people who say should we have a two state solution, and the Israelis would be happy to have a two state solution. It's the Palestinians who don't want a two state solution, they want to eliminate the state of Israel. And I believe America must say the best way to have peace in the Middle East is not for us to vacillate and appease, but it is to say we stand with our friend Israel. We are committed to a Jewish state in Israel. We will not have an inch of difference between ourselves and our ally Israel." Despite his pessimism about a two-state solution being achieved in the short term, Romney has defended the two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict as an ideal that ought to be included in the Republican Party platform.

In candid remarks to high-value donors at a secretly recorded May 2012 private fundraiser, Romney said of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, 'There's just no way.' And so what you do is you say, 'You move things along the best way you can.' You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem. We live with that in China and Taiwan. All right, we have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it." He also noted that he had recently received a call from a former U.S. Secretary of State who had suggested that there might be a prospect for accord after the Palestinian elections. Romney made clear in his remarks at the fundraiser that he was opposed to the U.S. exerting any pressure on Israel to help reach a compromise: "The idea of pushing on the Israelis to give something up to get the Palestinians to act is the worst idea in the world."

In response to President Obama's pledge to maintain Israel's "Qualitative Military Edge" over the other countries in the region, Romney has said he would do "the opposite from Obama".

Romney supported an international campaign to hold one minute of silence at the 2012 London Olympics to remember the Israeli athletes killed in the 1972 Munich Massacre at the Olympics by the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September.

Libya

Concerning the involvement of the American military in the 2011 Libyan civil war, Romney initially said in March that Obama had waited too long before becoming involved, and he also criticized Obama for ruling out the use of United States ground forces. The next month, he said that he supported the "specific, limited mission" of enforcing a no-fly zone, but that Obama's support for the ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi constituted "mission creep and mission muddle." In October, after Gaddafi's death, Romney said, "I think people across the world recognize that the world is a better place without Muammar Gaddafi."

Pakistan

On July 7, 2007, Romney said, "In places like Pakistan, America needs to work not just on a military front." He said he would send in his proposed "Special Partnership Force", a team of Central Intelligence Agency agents and Army special forces that would work with the local population to aid in military support, gun supplies, and "to help make sure that they have the rule of law, water projects, bridges built."

In 2007, Romney criticized then-candidate Barack Obama for stating that, as president, he would launch military strikes against "high-value terrorist targets" in Pakistan, even without the Pakistani government's approval. In 2011, after such a strike resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, Romney said that, if he had been president, he would have done "exactly the same thing."

Russia

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney said that Russia is "without question, our number one geopolitical foe. They - they fight every cause for the world's worst actors." He called President Vladimir Putin "a real threat to the stability and peace of the world."

Romney has opposed ratification of New START, a bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation, in part because he wishes to deploy defensive missiles on submarines. He has written that the idea of the abolition of nuclear weapons put forward by Ronald Reagan may not be realistic.

In 2019, as a US Senator, Romney argued that Russia attempted to influence US elections but that Ukraine did not, and he disagreed with the Trump administration's claim that Ukraine attempted to interfere in the US elections.

In May 2022, Romney suggested that the West confront China and other Russia-friendly countries with an ultimatum: "You are either with us, or you are with Russia — you cannot be with both."

Syria

Romney released the following statement concerning Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, in August 2011:

It has taken President Obama far too long to speak out forcefully against Assad and his vicious crackdown in Syria. In the early stages of this crisis, the Obama Administration referred to Assad as a "reformer," which had the effect of emboldening Assad and discouraging the dissidents. America must show leadership on the world stage and work to move these developing nations toward modernity. This means using the bullhorn of the presidency and not remaining silent for too long while voices of freedom and dissent are under attack.

Romney would overturn the existing policy against sending arms to moderate elements of the Syrian opposition, rejecting the idea that they would pass the weapons on to Al-Qaeda.

U.S. place in the world

Romney's 2010 book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, expresses Romney's belief in American exceptionalism. Romney doesn't want the United States to "become like Europe."

On the other hand, The Economist found that, aside from rhetoric, Romney's stated foreign policy positions offer in many instances broad continuity with those of the Obama administration, and that Obama's policies have closely followed the path set by the Bush administration.

Romney believes China should provide direct humanitarian aid instead of indirect aid through the United States via loans.

Romney criticized at the time Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama for saying that in his first year as president, he would meet with the leaders of several nations hostile to the government of the United States, including Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Iran. Stating an opposing viewpoint Romney said, "Having the president meet with the authoritarian tyrants of the world is remarkably poor judgment." Romney has recently charged that President Obama "went around the Middle East and apologized for America."

Venezuela

Romney has said that President Obama is "simply naive" to dismiss the threat Venezuela poses to the United States. As governor of Massachusetts, however, he praised a fuel pact with Venezuela that brought reduced-price oil to his state.

War in Afghanistan

Romney supported the War in Afghanistan. In 2011 he stated regarding Afghanistan:

I want those troops to come home based upon not politics, not based upon economics, but instead based upon the conditions on the ground determined by the generals ... But I also think we have learned that our troops should not go off and try to fight a war of independence for another nation. Only the Afghanis can win Afghanistan's independence from the Taliban.

In 2012, when Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta outlined a plan to withdraw U.S. combat troops by 2013 if possible, Romney criticized the announcement, saying, "Why in the world do you go to the people that you're fighting with and tell them the date you're pulling out your troops?" Romney's 2012 presidential election campaign website similarly criticized the Obama Administration for announcing a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and reiterated his position that in a Romney presidency, decisions about when to withdraw troops would be made based on the advice of commanders in the field, not electoral politics.

In July 2012, Romney said that he would maintain troop numbers through 2013, then would withdraw them in 2014, as currently scheduled, with the possibility of maintaining troop levels for a longer period if needed.

In 2021, Romney opposed Joe Biden's plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, saying that "withdrawal of U.S. troops is an error that will have serious consequences for our national security interests."

War on Terror

Guantanamo Bay

During the debate in South Carolina held May 15, 2007 Romney stated that in his view "We ought to double" the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He then went on to say, in reference to combatants captured in Iraq, "I want them in 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."

In Romney's speech at the 2007 Iowa Republican Straw Poll, he praised the U.S. military for not allowing prisoners to have judicial review of their cases.

Interrogation techniques

Romney claims to oppose the use of torture; and supports the limited use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" to stop an imminent wide-scale terrorist attack. During the second Presidential debate, Romney supported the use of enhanced interrogation techniques in handling suspects at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, saying, "enhanced interrogation techniques have to be used—not torture but enhanced interrogation techniques, yes." When asked directly whether waterboarding was torture, Romney stated, "s a presidential candidate, I don't think it's wise for us to describe specifically which measures we would and would not use. ... And I get that advice from Cofer Black, who is a person who was responsible for counterterrorism in the CIA for some 35 years. I get that advice by talking to former generals in our military." According to Blackwater expert Jeremy Scahill, Romney advisor Cofer Black has been, "a key figure in the extraordinary rendition program, the government-sanctioned kidnap-and-torture program, where prisoners like Maher Arar are sent to third-country hellholes to be tortured."

War Powers

In the 2008 presidential debates, Romney left open whether it was always necessary for the U.S. Congress to issue a declaration of war before engaging in military actions. Romney stated that if he were president he would consult with his lawyers before he came to a conclusive interpretation of the War Powers Clause in the US Constitution. In June 2012 during a Face the Nation interview Romney stated regarding military action against Iran: "I don't believe at this stage, therefore, if I'm president that we need to have a war powers approval or special authorization for military force."

Role of culture in producing prosperity

In Romney's 2010 book No Apology, Romney concludes that culture and values play an important role in determining the prosperity and success of countries. He made similar statements during a visit to Israel in 2012, in which he compared the higher Israeli GDP to the Palestinian GDP, as well as Chile's GDP to Ecuador's GDP and Mexico's GDP to America's GDP, raising the ire of the Palestinian Authority who accused Romney of racism and of being out of touch, but he denied that he was criticizing Palestinian culture and instead was merely pointing out that "choices a society makes have a profound impact on the economy and the vitality of a society." Romney also mentioned in his speech a book written by former Harvard professor David Landes named The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, in which Landes concludes, "If you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it's this: culture makes all the difference."

Social policy

Abortion and related issues

Abortion

In a 1994 debate with Senator Ted Kennedy, Romney said: "One of the great things about our nation ... is that we're each entitled to have strong personal beliefs, and we encourage other people to do the same. But as a nation, we recognize the right of all people to believe as they want and not to impose our beliefs on other people. I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since the time that my mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a U.S. Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it, and I sustain and support that law, and the right of a woman to make that choice, and my personal beliefs, like the personal beliefs of other people, should not be brought into a political campaign." Romney had endorsed the Freedom of Choice Act which would define legal access to abortion as a federal law even if Roe is overturned.

During the 2002 governor's race, Romney's platform stated, "As Governor, Mitt Romney would protect the current pro-choice status quo in Massachusetts. No law would change." He also endorsed the legalization of RU-486 or the "morning after pill." The executive director of Massachusetts NARAL at the time, Melissa Kogut, stated that in her organization's endorsement interview with Romney, he was "emphatic that the Republican Party was not doing themselves a service by being so vehemently anti-choice." He responded to a Planned Parenthood questionnaire saying that he supported public funds for low-income women seeking an abortion. He asked for the endorsement from Republican Majority for Choice. On May 27, 2005, Romney said "he is committed to maintaining the 'status quo' in Massachusetts on abortion rights." This pro-choice stance as Governor of Massachusetts earned him criticism from conservatives and the conservative magazine, Human Events, labeled him as one of the top ten RINOs.

The Boston Globe on July 26, 2005, quoted Romney saying, "I am pro-life. 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." At the May 2007 Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, Romney stated that "Roe v. Wade has gone to such an extent that we've cheapened the value of human life." He followed by saying "the people should make decision, not the court." Romney's spokesperson has indicated that had Romney been the governor of South Dakota, he would have signed into law the controversial law banning abortion, but he would include exceptions for cases of incest or rape, which the South Dakota law excludes.

In statements after leaving the governorship, Romney expressed opposition to "partial birth" abortion.

Campaigning in the presidential primaries in 2011, Romney declined to sign a pro-life pledge sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony List to support legislation ending all taxpayer funding of abortion, sign a law to "protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion," and nominate judges and appoint executive branch officials who are pro-life. Romney's spokeswoman said he could not sign the pledge because it could have unforeseen deleterious consequences. Romney himself wrote that, "It is one thing to end federal funding for an organization like Planned Parenthood; it is entirely another to end all federal funding for thousands of hospitals across America. ... That is precisely what the pledge would demand and require of a president who signed it." He promised that nonetheless he would support pro-life legislation should it come before him as president, such as a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The Susan B. Anthony List gave Romney a score of 60% in 2012 while the ACLU gave him a 0% pro-choice rating.

During the general election campaign in October 2012, he said that as president, "There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda." This was interpreted by many outlets, including USA Today and The Telegraph, to mean that he would not support "laws to limit abortion." The following day, his campaign spokeswoman said that "Gov. Romney would of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life."

While Romney would prefer to see passage of federal legislation or of a constitutional amendment that would outlaw abortion, he does not believe the public would support such measures; as an alternative, he has promised to nominate Supreme Court justices who would help overturn Roe v. Wade, allowing the states to individually decide on the legality of abortion.

Throughout the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney vowed that he would eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood if elected. After his campaign, however, Romney has endorsed or considered pro-choice candidates. He endorsed pro-choice Republican, Scott Brown, during his 2014 US Senate primary campaign in New Hampshire. He similarly endorsed Rhode Island's pro-choice Republican gubernatorial candidate, Allan Fung. Oregon's 2014 Republican Senate candidate Monica Wehby, who is pro-choice, and West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito, who self-identifies as 'pro-choice,' also received Mitt Romney's endorsement. In 2016, he said he would vote for Bill Weld, if he was a party nominee, and that he was considering Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee, both of whom are pro-choice. In 2019, Romney fundraised for and supported Susan Collins, a pro-choice Republican from Maine.

In May 2019, as a US Senator, Romney announced that he was opposed to a law passed in Alabama banning abortions including in cases of rape or incest. Senator Romney said that he supports exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. He opposed the Missouri abortion ban, a law which bans abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy. He also said that he opposed the extreme laws being proposed by "both sides," such as the pro-abortion rights bills in New York and Virginia as well as the anti-abortion bill in Missouri, and that he wants "something much more towards the center" regarding abortion. In 2020, Mitt Romney signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Personhood legislation

Romney has expressed support for constitutional amendments at both the state and federal level guaranteeing constitutional protections to the unborn from the moment of fertilization. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Romney said that if elected president, he would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would legally define personhood as beginning at conception. In the 2012 presidential campaign, he said that, had he as governor been presented with a state constitutional amendment to define life as beginning at conception, he would have supported it.

In a campaign interview on October 9, 2012, Romney stated, "There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda." Democrats charged that Romney was trying to appeal to moderate voters by hiding his true position on reproductive rights. A Romney campaign spokesperson told the conservative National Review Online that Romney "would, of course, support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life."

Embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning

When he ran for governor in 2002, Romney strongly advocated stem-cell research, and he promised to lobby then-President George W. Bush to embrace it. In 2007, Romney supported the use of stem cells obtained from "surplus embryos" for research, but opposed "the creation of new lines of human stem cells for research and vetoed a stem cell research bill as governor." During Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, he renounced his prior position and said that he agreed with Bush's decision to ban federal funding for research on excess embryos. He said that his views had been drastically altered in 2004 after discussing stem cell research with Douglas Melton, a stem cell researcher at Harvard University. The Harvard Stem Cell Institute was planning research that would have involved therapeutic cloning. According to Romney, Melton declared that the research "is not a moral issue because we kill the embryos at 14 days." "I looked over at Beth Myers, my chief of staff, and we both had exactly the same reaction, which is it just hit us hard," recalled Romney. "And as they walked out, I said, 'Beth, we have cheapened the sanctity of life by virtue of the Roe v. Wade mentality.'"

During his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney opposed research using cloned embryos created by implanting human DNA into donated eggs.

Contraception

During the 2012 presidential primary campaign, when asked by a debate moderator whether he believed states have the authority to ban contraception, Romney replied, "I would totally and completely oppose any effort to ban contraception."

Romney opposes a rule issued by the Obama Administration's Department of Health and Human Services, in its implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which requires that nearly all health insurance plans offer free contraceptive services as part of preventive care for women. Health plans sponsored by religious employers (such as churches) that are non-profit organizations primarily employing and serving members of their own faith are exempt; but the rule does apply to institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals and schools that do not primarily employ and serve members of the faith. Romney supported a legislative measure (the Blunt amendment) that would have allowed employers and health insurance companies to deny coverage for contraceptives and other services that they object to on religious or moral grounds; the amendment failed passage in the Senate. Romney subsequently said that if elected president, he would rescind the contraception coverage requirement.

During the second presidential campaign debate with President Barack Obama in October 2012, Obama said that "Gov. Romney feels comfortable having politicians in Washington decide the health care choices that women are making. ... suggested that in fact employers should be able to make the decision as to whether or not a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage." Romney responded, "I'd just note that I don't believe that bureaucrats in Washington should tell someone whether they can use contraceptives or not. And I don't believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care or not. Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives. And the president's statement of my policy is completely and totally wrong."

Civil liberties

Equality of opportunity (race and gender) & civil rights

Romney cites both Martin Luther King Jr. and his father George W. Romney as role models. In 2007, he stated he had seen the two men march together, but later recanted under pressure, stating he had 'seen' them march together only figuratively.

Romney has expressed support for decreasing barriers to entry into the workforce for women and minorities.

He has called for equality for Muslims; but asked to follow hate-preachers into mosques. Speaking before The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank he consulted on policy issues, as governor of Massachusetts in 2005 Romney suggested that mosques should be wiretapped and foreign students should be placed under surveillance to improve domestic intelligence gathering in the fight against terrorism. He refused to apologize or retract the remarks despite expressions of outrage by Muslims and civil libertarians.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney eliminated the state's Office of Affirmative Action.

Romney has not put forward a clear statement as to whether he supports and would have signed, or would have opposed, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that employers prove that differences in pay are based on qualifications, not gender, and extends the statute of limitations for filing claims of wage discrimination. The legislation was opposed by all but two Republicans in the House of Representatives and five in the Senate; and it was the first piece of legislation signed into law by President Obama. Asked in an April 2012 interview if he would have signed the bill had it come before him as president, Romney said, "It's certainly a piece of legislation I have no intention of changing. I wasn't there three years ago. ... I'm not going to go back and look at all the prior laws and say had I been there which ones would I have supported and signed, but I certainly support equal pay for women and — and have no intention of changing that law, don't think there's a reason to." After the topic of equal pay for women was touched on during the second presidential campaign debate between Romney and Obama in October 2012, a top Romney campaign advisor told reporters that Romney was opposed to the passage of the bill at the time but had no plan to repeal it. The following day, the campaign adviser retracted his statement, saying that he was wrong when he said that Romney had been opposed to the act.

LGBT rights

Romney has a mixed, moderate record when it comes to LGBT rights. In 2012 he expressed support for domestic partnership benefits for gay couples and laws (at the state level) that protect the LGBT community from discrimination. He also accepted the endorsement of Log Cabin Republicans, a Republican group supportive of same-sex marriage and other gay rights, during his 2012 presidential campaign. Prior to Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, he had a varied history regarding LGBT rights in the United States. During his 1994 senate campaign and 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign, Romney said he would have a better policy providing for domestic partnerships than his Democratic opponents. In 1994, Romney sent a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans saying that he would be a stronger advocate for gay rights in the Senate than his opponent at the time, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. His letter included the phrase "We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern." In 2002, Romney spoke regarding domestic partnership benefits, saying, "All citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of their sexual orientation." Romney said that domestic partnership status should be recognized in a way that includes the potential for health benefits and rights of survivorship.

In 1994, Romney said he supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a federal legislative proposal to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the workforce, but by 2006 he had changed his mind and opposed it, saying that it would "unfairly penalize employers at the hands of activist judges. Nevertheless, he does support laws at the state level, including hate crime laws at the state level, that protect LGBT people from discrimination.

As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney was mixed on gay rights. He signed a proclamation declaring May 15 to be "Gay/Straight Youth Pride Day." He signed an official proclamation to support gay pride marches connected to his gay and lesbian youth commission in 2003 and 2004. He appointed two gay-rights activists as judges. He also "provided legal protection to same-sex couples in Massachusetts." MassEquality reported however that he rescinded an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the state workforce and abolished a commission on GLBT Youth Ultimately, Romney decided to keep the GLBT commission but limit its authority and actions. In 2018, Romney was criticized by some conservatives during his campaign for Utah Senate because of his decision to support a pride day for gay and straight youth.

Romney has changed positions on the "Don't ask, don't tell" military policy. In 1994 he said he looked forward to the day gays and lesbians can serve "openly and honestly" in the military but in 2007 he reversed, saying in a GOP Primary debate that he supported the policy and it was "not the time" for gay and lesbian service-members to serve openly. He repeatedly refused to answer whether he still "looked forward" to such a time. Speaking in 2007 to NBC's Meet the Press, Romney said "I don't believe in discriminating against someone based upon their sexual orientation ... And so I would be effective in trying to bring greater recognition of the, of the rights of people not, not to be discriminated against". He said this should be done at the state level.

In December 2011, Romney told the Des Moines Register that now that the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy has been repealed, "I'm not planning on reversing that at this stage. I was not comfortable making the change during a period of conflict, due to the complicating features of a new program in the middle of two wars going on, but those wars are winding down, and moving in that direction at this stage no longer presents that problem." In 2012, while running for president as the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney supported the inclusion of gay youth in the Boy Scouts of America.

His 2012 campaign initially hired an openly gay spokesperson, Richard Grenell, the first openly gay spokesperson for a Republican presidential campaign. However, Grenell left the campaign after less than two weeks, after heavy criticism from prominent social and cultural conservatives. The quick departure was viewed as a win for anti-gay advocates and Politico later reported that according to their sources, the campaign had chosen to not publicly defend Grenell from the homophobic criticism because of concern about losing religious support. In 2021, Romney voted to confirm Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay cabinet level official to be confirmed by the Senate, as Secretary of Transportation.

In 2014, Romney opposed an Arizona bill, SB 1062, which would have allowed businesses to refuse service to LGBT customers based on religious objections. "The 2012 Republican presidential candidate urged Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer via Twitter to veto Senate Bill 1062, which would allow businesses with strongly held religious beliefs to deny service to gays and lesbians." Romney joined both Arizona Senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, in calling on then-Governor Jan Brewer to veto the bill.

In 2019, as a US Senator from Utah, Mitt Romney said that he appreciates the effort to propose The Fairness for All Act which would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people and which includes exemptions for religious groups and small businesses with religious foundations. In 2021, he opposed the Biden administration's rule to allow trans girls to participate in girls' sports and for trans boys to participate in boys' sports programs in public school. In 2021, Romney signaled that he would not support the Equality Act, citing concern over insufficient protections for people of faith.

Gay marriage and civil unions

Romney has stated his support for straight marriage and opposition to both same-sex marriage and civil unions, though he supports some domestic partnership benefits and (at the state level) supports anti-discrimination laws to protect gays and lesbians in the workplace. In 1994, running for Senate, Romney said that same-sex marriage was a "state issue" and opposed a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in 2002. Romney told his 2002 campaign's deputy political director, Jonathan Spampinato, that there was no significant difference between his plan for domestic partnership rights and his opponent's plan for civil unions, and he reportedly told Log Cabin Republicans that he would not fight for or against same-sex marriage as governor.

As a candidate for governor in 2002, Romney said: "Call me old fashioned, but I don't support gay marriage nor do I support civil union." During that 2002 campaign, he also supported hate crimes legislation and opposed other discrimination against gays, while supporting some partner benefits for gays.

Also in 2002, Romney opposed a Massachusetts constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships because the amendment, which was supported by the Democratic leader Tom Finneran, would have prohibited domestic partnership benefits for gays and lesbians.

Romney said,

Basically I see the provision of basic civil rights and domestic partnership benefits a campaign against Tom Finneran. I see Tom Finneran and the Democratic leadership as having opposed the application of domestic partnership benefits to gay and lesbian couples and I will support and endorse efforts to provide those domestic partnership benefits to gay and lesbian couples.

In November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the Massachusetts State Constitution requires that same-sex marriage be permitted under law; in response this time, Governor Romney supported a state constitutional amendment to forbid such marriages but which also would have legalized civil unions. Opponents of same-sex marriage "argued that the court's ruling was not binding and urged Romney to ignore it," but "Romney did not want to trigger a constitutional crisis" and followed the court's ruling while seeking to pass a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. He moved to limit the scope of the ruling, utilizing an obscure 1913 law that technically barred marriages in Massachusetts for out-of-state residents if the marriage “would be void” in their own home state. He stated that clerks who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses would face punishment, while allowing clerks the ability to determine what would count as proof of residency in the state. Later, Romney supported other bans on same-sex marriage that did not include a provision for civil unions.

In 2006, Romney announced his support of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have federally defined marriage in the U.S. Constitution as the union of one man and one woman.

Romney said during his 2008 presidential campaign,

y view on marriage has been entirely consistent over my political career. And that is that I oppose same-sex marriage. I also oppose civil unions ... ever since became a prominent in my state, with the decision of the Supreme Judicial Court, I have taken every action that I could conceive of within the bounds of the law to defend traditional marriage and to stop same-sex marriage ... I've been to Washington to testify in favor of traditional marriage. I've written a letter to every U.S. senator on the topic ... I believe that traditional marriage is right for the nurturing and development of children, but that I do not want to discriminate against gay people in employment or housing or other parts of their life.

In July 2011, Romney refused to sign a pledge opposing gay marriage, a pledge that was being circulated by "The Family Leader", a conservative Christian group in Iowa. On August 4, 2011, a month later, Romney signed the 2012 Presidential Pledge sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage. He has expressed support for gay adoption. While interviewing with Piers Morgan in 2011, Romney had the following to say about same-sex marriage and gay rights,

The story on same-sex marriage is that I have the same position on that I had when I ran from the very beginning,' Romney said in an interview last month with the Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire. I'm in favor of traditional marriage. I oppose same-sex marriage. At the same time, I don't believe in discriminating in employment or opportunity for gay individuals. So I favor gay rights; I do not favor same-sex marriage. That has been my position all along.

In 2012, Romney reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage and civil unions, but also said that " view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate but that the others are not." Also in 2012, in an interview with a reporter from Colorado, Romney stated that he believes that marriage is a "state issue" and that he is not running on that issue. During the campaign, Romney received a 100% from the National Organization for Marriage but only received an 11% from Save California which both oppose same-sex marriage.

In 2022, Romney voted, as one of 12 Republicans, to advance the Respect for Marriage Act, which protects existing same-sex and interracial marriages outside of any Supreme Court precedents such as Obergefell v. Hodges or Loving v. Virginia. Speaking on the bill, Romney stated that while still opposing same-sex marriage personally, he believed it would be unfair to already-married same-sex couples to put their existing marriage licenses in jeopardy.

Internet surveillance & protection of intellectual property rights

Romney denounced the SOPA bill, agreeing to some extent with Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, who oppose it also. Romney described the bill as "intrusive" and "too expensive".

Broadcast media

Romney was against reviving the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Romney said, "I'd veto it if it ever got to my desk. And I would fight against it vehemently. The effort to try to impose the Fairness Doctrine on radio stations is, if you will, censorship Democrat style. It basically says we're not going to let you keep talking about the things you want to talk about and the market wants to hear."

Pornography

Romney has denounced what he calls the "cesspool of obscenity known as pornography". At a commencement address before Regent University, the Evangelical Christian school founded by Pat Robertson, Romney said, "Pornography and violence poison our music and movies and TV and video games. ... The Virginia Tech shooter, like the Columbine shooters before him, had drunk from this cesspool." In remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2008 Romney said that "tolerance for pornography, even celebration of it, and sexual promiscuity, combined with the twisted incentives of government welfare, have led to today's grim realities: 68 percent of African-American kids born out of wedlock, 45 percent of Hispanic kids, 25 percent of white kids."

During his campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, Romney promised that if elected president he would work to have a pornography filter installed in every new computer sold in the U.S. so that parents could ensure their children would not be exposed to internet pornography. He also said, "I am not pursuing an effort to try and stop adults from being able to acquire or see things that I find objectionable—that's their right—but I do vehemently oppose practices or business procedures that will allow kids to be exposed to obscenity." Speaking at the 2007 Iowa Republican Straw Poll convention, Romney said:

"... I want to clean up the dirty water in which a lot of our kids are swimming, and by that I'm not just talking about pollution, I'm talking about moral pollution. I'm talking about what they see on TV and on the Internet. I'm concerned about the drug culture, I'm concerned about the pornography, the violence, the sex, the perversions that they see day in and day out. I want to make sure that every computer that goes into a home in the future, has a button there, or a place for the citizen, the parent, to be able to block all of that pornography from their kids' Internet screen.

Earlier in the campaign, conservatives such as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, the president of the American Family Foundation, and Daniel Weiss, media analyst for James Dobson's Focus on the Family had criticized Romney for not having done enough, in their view, to stop Marriott Hotels from selling access to hardcore pornography in their hotel rooms in the decade from 1992 to 2001 that Romney had served on the hotel chain's board. Romney told the Associated Press that he did not recall pornography having come up for discussion while he had served on the board; and he said that he was unaware of how much revenue the hotels may have generated from pornography.

In the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney vowed to demand vigorous enforcement of anti-pornography laws if elected president.

Crime and punishment

Romney supports sentencing under the three strikes law. Romney supports mandatory increases in sentencing for repeat drunk drivers and has supported a federal effort to curtail the drug trade in Colombia.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney sought to reinstate the state's death penalty, which had been ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Judicial Court in 1982. The legislation Romney proposed would have called for the death penalty in cases that included terrorism, the assassination of law enforcement officials, murders involving prolonged torture, or multiple killings. Under the proposed legislation, for a death sentence to be rendered there would have had to be scientific evidence of the defendant's guilt, such as evidence based on DNA analysis; and the tougher standard of "no doubt" of guilt (as opposed to the standard of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" that is traditionally employed in criminal cases) would also have had to be met. The legislation called for a pool of certified capital case lawyers to ensure proper representation for the accused, and would have allowed citizens who do not personally support the death penalty to still serve as jurors in the pre-sentencing phase of trials, during which decisions are made on the defendants' guilt. The bill was defeated in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by a vote of 100–53.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Romney supports offering school choice options such as charter schools, school-voucher programs for public and private schools, and home-schooling as an alternative to mandating that students continue to attend underperforming schools in the traditional public school system. He has called for performance-based pay for public-school teachers, along with bonuses for the best teachers, as an incentive to help improve the quality of education.

Romney has frequently blamed the influence of teachers unions for the failings of the public education system. He supports legislation championed by Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Governor John Kasich of Ohio stripping collective-bargaining rights from teachers and other public employees. He has stated that superintendents and principals should be able to fire teachers without regard for seniority. During a presidential primary debate in 2011, he said that efforts to reduce classroom size were a ploy by teachers unions to promote the hiring of more teachers; and he vowed, "as president, I will stand up to the National Teachers Unions."

Romney has acknowledged that he has held different views over time on the federal government's role in education. During a debate in the 2008 presidential campaign, he said:

once upon a time, I said I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education. That was my position when I ran for Senate in 1994. That's very popular with the base. As I've been a governor and seen the impact that the federal government can have holding down the interest of the teachers' unions and instead putting the interests of the kids and the parents and the teachers first, I see that the Department of Education can actually make a difference. So I supported No Child Left Behind. I still do. I know there are a lot in my party that don't like it, but I like testing in our schools. I think it allows us to get better schools, better teachers; allows us to let our kids have the kind of hope that they ought to have.

However, during a presidential primary debate in 2011 he said, "education has to be held at the local and state level, not at the federal level. We need to get the federal government out of education."

During his Senate campaign in Massachusetts in 1994, Romney said that he would support federal funding to schools to teach the importance of family values, ethics, and personal economics, but that he was opposed to public schools' endorsing any specific religious beliefs or teaching prayer. More recently, during his presidential campaigns in 2007 and 2012, he said that while he was not seeking for teachers to lead their classes in prayer in public schools every day, he did believe it to be appropriate for there to be public recognition of the Creator in public schools at graduation ceremonies, football games, and other school events, and he also said that he supported the display of religious symbols such as Nativity scenes in the public square during holidays.

As governor of Massachusetts in the mid-2000s, Romney opposed the teaching of creationism in public school science classes. He noted during an interview in 2007 that "If we're going to talk about more philosophical matters, like why it was created, and was there an intelligent designer behind it, that's for the religion class or philosophy class or social studies class."

Romney has supported abstinence-only sex education in public schools. In his run for the Senate in 1994, he said one of the programs that should be taught in schools was "the importance of getting married before having children." In the May 2007 South Carolina debate, Romney said he has always "fought for abstinence education."

College and other post-secondary education

Romney generally opposes federal financial aid for college and other post-secondary education. While campaigning for the presidency in 2012, he argued that students should not expect government handouts to fund their education. In response to a high school senior who had asked what kind of college tuition assistance Romney would seek to provide as president, Romney replied, "I know that it would be popular for me to stand up and say I'm going to give you government money to make sure you pay for your college. But I'm not going to promise that. What I'm going to tell you is shop around, get a good price. ... Don't take on too much debt, and don't expect the government to forgive the debt that you take on. Recognize that you're going to have to pay it back." He similarly told a law student who had asked what kind of federal assistance might be available in a Romney presidency for graduate students struggling to repay education loans: "I wish I could tell you that there's a place to find really cheap money or free money and we could pay for everyone's education. That's just not going to happen." He encouraged young people to be entrepreneurially-minded and to take risks, even to consider borrowing money from their parents if necessary to further their careers.

Romney laid out some of his proposals for higher education reforms in May 2012. His platform called for simplification of the federal financial aid system, which he described as "needlessly complex." He further proposed abolishing the current federal student lending system that was put in place by the Obama administration, under which the Department of Education makes loans directly to students; Romney proposed returning to the previous arrangement in which private banks and other third-party financial institutions would make the loans and be paid federal subsidies for the service.

He also proposed plans to "refocus Pell Grant dollars on the students that need them most." While he did not provide details explaining how he would reform the Pell grant program, some commentators noted that Romney had been generally supportive of federal budget proposals offered by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives that would be likely to reduce the total number of students eligible to receive the grants.

Evolution

As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney supported the teaching of evolution, and opposed the teaching of intelligent design, in public school science classes, stating so in December 2005 during his term, and then in May 2007 – shortly after his term concluded – saying, "In my opinion, the science class is where to teach evolution, or if there are other scientific thoughts that need to be discussed. If we're going to talk about more philosophical matters, like why it was created, and was there an intelligent designer behind it, that's for the religion class or philosophy class or social studies class." Romney expressed his own views in May 2007 by saying, "I believe that God designed the universe and created the universe. And I believe evolution is most likely the process he used to create the human body. ... I'm not exactly sure what is meant by intelligent design. But I believe God is intelligent and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body." He said that when faculty members interviewing him for an honors designation asked for his beliefs on the subject before his 1971 graduation from Brigham Young University, he told them that there was " between true science and true religion". At a May 2007 Republican Party presidential debate, Romney was not one of several candidates that raised their hands to indicate they did not accept evolution. In 2012, as a candidate for president, the Secular Coalition for America gave Romney a 100% on accepting evolution.

Family

Romney has said that strong families are one of his three pillars, along with military and economy, for a strong America.

Gambling

As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney proposed that the state seek $75 million in "blocking payments" from casinos in Connecticut, and that, if the payments were not made, Massachusetts legalize casinos within its own borders.

In October 2011, Romney told the Las Vegas Sun that he had not yet taken a serious look at the issue of legalizing online poker, but that he would do so and state a position "efore the caucuses come along". Just before the Republican caucuses in Nevada, Romney announced his opposition to online gambling, citing the "social costs and people's addictive gambling habits."

Guns

While campaigning to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate in 1994, Romney supported the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on gun sales, and a ban on particular semi-automatic rifles. He said at the time, "That's not going to make me the hero of the NRA. I don't line up with the NRA." In 2002, during his campaign for the governorship, Romney said: "We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them. I won't chip away at them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety."

As governor of Massachusetts, in 2004 Romney signed a measure permanently extending a statewide ban on military-style assault weapons, such as AK-47's and Uzi's. At the bill-signing ceremony Romney said, "Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts. ... These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people." Proponents of the state semi-automatic assault weapons ban had argued that its passage was necessary because a similar ban at the federal level was also expiring.

The bill also included several compromise measures sought by gun enthusiasts to lessen restrictions on lawful gun ownership, including an extension of the term of firearms licenses from 4 to 6 years, reinstatement of a 90-day grace period for citizens renewing expired firearms licenses, and establishment of a firearms license review board empowered to consider reinstating ownership status to those who had lost their licenses after having committed certain non-violent misdemeanors more than 5 years in the past.

In 2005, Governor Romney declared May 7 to be "Right to Bear Arms Day" in Massachusetts, that date having been chosen to coincide with the annual banquet of the Gun Owners' Action League (a Massachusetts gun rights advocacy organization affiliated with the National Rifle Association). Romney's top aides then began meeting almost monthly with members of the Gun Owners' Action League.

In August 2006, just before declaring his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, Romney joined the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a lifetime member. Seeking the endorsement of the NRA, Romney made several statements during the campaign regarding his proficiency with and support for firearms:

I purchased a gun when I was a young man. I've been a hunter pretty much all my life.

Shooting rabbits single shot 22 is pretty hard.

I have a gun of my own. I go hunting myself. I'm a member of the NRA and believe firmly in the right to bear arms. In our state ... there are a series of laws restricting gun ownership in various ways. Over the past four years, I've worked very closely with the Gun Owners' Action League here, which is an affiliate of the NRA, and we've made some changes which I think they feel have been positive steps.

So I'm a hunter and believe in Second Amendment rights, but I also believe that assault weapons are not needed in the public population.

The Associated Press reported in early 2007 that Romney's "hunting experience is limited to two trips at the bookends of his 60 years: as a 15-year-old, when he hunted rabbits with his cousins on a ranch in Idaho, and last year, when he shot quail on a fenced game preserve in Georgia," and that Romney had never sought a hunting license in any of the four states where he had resided. Romney replied by saying that he mainly hunted small game in Utah, where a license was not required. He also clarified that he did not 'own' a gun and said that one of his sons keeps two guns at the family vacation home in Utah.

In December 2007, still campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, Romney summed up his general position on gun control at that time as: "we should check on the backgrounds of people who are trying to purchase guns. We also should keep weapons of unusual lethality from being on the street. And finally, we should go after people who use guns in the commission of crimes or illegally, but we should not interfere with the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns either for their own personal protection or hunting or any other lawful purpose." He also said that, had it come before him as president, he would have signed a renewal of the federal assault weapons ban that had expired. The following month, during a presidential primary debate, he noted that the federal assault weapons ban that he would have signed as president had failed in Congress, and he insisted that he would not support any new gun control legislation: "I do not believe we need new legislation. I do not support any new legislation of an assault weapon ban nature, including that against semiautomatic weapons. I instead believe that we have laws in place that if they're implemented and enforced, will provide the protection and the safety of the American people."

Romney continued to argue against any new gun control legislation during the 2012 presidential campaign, telling the NRA's national convention that if elected president, he would "enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners." Gun Owners of America, which supports gun owners' rights, gave Romney a score of 20% during the 2012 presidential campaign.

In the wake of a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado in July 2012, Romney maintained in a series of interviews that he opposed any new gun control measures. Referring to the alleged perpetrator of the Aurora massacre, Romney said, "This person shouldn't have had any kind of weapons and bombs and other devices, and it was illegal for him to have many of those things already. ... But he had them. And so we can sometimes hope that just changing the law will make all bad things go away. It won't."

During his Utah Senate campaign in 2018, Romney said that he is open to enhancing background checks on gun purchases and voting for limitations on gun purchases based on age or psychological evaluations. Debating his primary opponent, Mike Kennedy, in Utah, Romney said that he supports a ban on bump stocks which assists a user in bump firing a semi-automatic firearm.

In 2022, Romney later became one of ten Republican Senators to support a bipartisan agreement on gun control, which involved a red flag provision, a support for state crisis intervention orders, funding for school safety resources, stronger background checks for buyers under the age of 21, and penalties for straw purchases.

Immigration

Romney favors increased legal immigration to the United States and opposes illegal immigration, but he would respect the work permits to younger illegal immigrants that President Obama had granted. In 2006, Romney said he would like to see undocumented immigrants register with the government, pay taxes, and apply for citizenship, but that they should not be given any priority or special treatment over immigrants who have applied for citizenship legally. During the 2008 presidential primary campaign, he embraced the support of Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for his very tough stance on immigration. Arpaio served as honorary chair of Romney's Arizona campaign organization and as a campaign surrogate for Romney on immigration.

During the 2012 presidential election primary campaign, Romney called Arizona's approach to illegal immigration "a model for the nation." He vowed that on his first day in office as president, he would bring an end to the lawsuits the Obama Administration's Justice Department had brought challenging Arizona's immigration policy. He also praised the anti-illegal immigration efforts of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a law professor who had drafted much of Arizona's SB 1070 immigration enforcement law and similar measures around the country. Campaigning with Kobach in January 2012, Romney said, "We need more conservative leaders like Kris willing to stand up for the rule of law. With Kris on the team, I look forward to working with him to take forceful steps to curtail illegal immigration and to support states like South Carolina and Arizona that are stepping forward to address this problem." When the Supreme Court struck down parts of Arizona's SB 1070 in June 2012, a Romney campaign spokesman said that Romney supports the rights of states to make their own immigration laws when the federal government has failed to address illegal immigration.

To help combat illegal immigration across the border with Mexico, Romney has said that the U.S. must erect a fence along the entire 2,600 mile border, equipped with technology to detect attempts to breach the barrier, and outfitted with adequate numbers of border patrol agents. Romney's positions were given mixed reactions and ratings by anti-immigration groups. Numbers USA gave him a D grade for his positions in 2011 and a 64% score in his 2012 campaign. ProEnglish, which seeks to make English the official language of the United States, gave Romney an overall 73% grade.

Romney also said during the primary campaign that he would seek to make the U.S. a much less hospitable place for undocumented immigrants by eliminating what he called the magnets that attract them. An example of a magnet, he said, would be offering to undocumented immigrants the same tuition discounts that are offered to legal residents who attend public colleges in their states, a benefit that rival candidate Governor Rick Perry supported for Texas students who had been brought as children to the U.S. by their undocumented immigrant parents. Romney similarly said that he opposed all forms of amnesty because he regards amnesty as another magnet for illegal immigration. He vowed that as president he would veto the DREAM Act (legislation which would allow individuals who had been brought to the U.S. as children when their families immigrated illegally an opportunity to qualify for permanent residency if they met certain qualifications), because he considered it yet another magnet for illegal immigration.

Romney has argued that a key step to reducing illegal immigration would be to reduce the job opportunities available for undocumented immigrants. He has said that requiring employers to confirm each worker's immigration status using an E-Verify-type database, such as in Arizona, and punishing employers who hire workers lacking proper documentation, would lead employers to stop hiring undocumented immigrants, with the result that fewer immigrants would choose to come to the U.S. illegally, and many of those who are already in the U.S. would "self-deport."

In June 2012, President Obama issued an executive order instructing officers of the federal government to defer deporting young undocumented immigrants who had been brought to the U.S. as children and who met certain requirements, such as serving in the military or being successful students. The executive order was intended to temporarily implement parts of the DREAM Act until a permanent fix could being agreed upon by Congress and the White House. When Romney was asked his opinion of the president's executive order, he responded by saying that he would reveal his own long-term policy on the subject at a later date. Romney later said that he would respect the work permits that Obama had granted.

In terms of promoting more legal immigration, Romney has proposed loosening immigration rules to increase the entry of highly skilled immigrants into the U.S., allowing more high-skill visas to be granted and raising the quotas of high-skilled immigrants allowed from certain countries. Romney has noted that high-skilled immigrants are more likely to start companies and create jobs than other immigrants. He has said the U.S. should grant permanent residency to "every foreign student who obtains an advanced degree in math, science, or engineering at a U.S. university." He has also proposed streamlining the temporary worker visa issuance system so that temporary agricultural and tourism workers could be processed more efficiently. He would seek to speed the processing of immigration applications for close family members of legal residents so that families do not have to wait years to be reunited.

During his Utah Senate campaign, Romney said that he believes in welcoming immigrants and rebuked Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Romney's support for immigration in his ad "reflects the moderate position of many Utah Republicans on immigration, which is shaped by the progressive stance of the Mormon Church here as well as the individual experiences of many Mormons during their two-year missions abroad." Just prior to launching his first ad, Romney had also criticized Trump for his remark that some immigrants are from "shithole countries;" "The poverty of an aspiring immigrant's nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race. The sentiment attributed to POTUS is inconsistent w/ America's history and antithetical to American values."

In March 2018, running for Senate in Utah, Romney said "My view was these DACA kids shouldn't all be allowed to stay in the country legally." However, shortly after those comments, also in March 2018, Romney's campaign clarified that "Since circumstances have changed. President Obama enacted DACA and Gov. Romney believes the commitment made by President Obama should be honored." The Romney campaign also stated that he supports a legal status for DACA recipients, but that he does not support a pathway to citizenship. When he won the Republican nomination for Senate, Romney said American values include "welcoming immigrants and refugees who come here legally." In 2019, he was among a dozen Republicans who broke with their party, joining all Democrats, to reject Trump's emergency declaration on the southern border. In May 2019, Romney was one of eight Republicans voting against a disaster aid bill because it did not include funding for border security. On September 25, 2019, Senator Romney was one of 11 Republicans who voted a second time to overturn Trump's emergency declaration on the southern border.

Medical marijuana

Romney formerly opposed legalization of marijuana for medicinal use at both the state and federal level. He told attendees at a town hall forum in 2007, "I have the same position this week as I had last week: If you elect me President, I'm not going to allow legalization of marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail." In 2018, Romney said during a debate that he supported the legalization of medical marijuana if it is strictly regulated.

Social welfare

In 2005 Romney had joined a group of other governors in asking for additional flexibility in the way states could manage Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program funds and in January 2012 Romney called for increased state funding for child care so that the mothers of two-year-old children can "have the dignity of work". However, in August 2012, he stated his opposition to Obama's plan to offer more flexibility to those states that move more people from welfare to work.

Judiciary

As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney had nominated both Democrats and Republicans for judicial appointments, but he had also said he wanted the courts to move in a more conservative direction. Running for president, Mitt Romney said that he would not apply a litmus test when nominating justices for the Supreme Court. "We don't have a litmus test for appointing judges, asking them if they're pro-life or not pro-life." During the campaign, he also stated that he would nominate judges who were similar to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, former Justice Antonin Scalia, and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. In 2018, running for the US Senate, Romney said that he would have voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In May 2019, Senator Romney broke with his party and was the only Republican to vote against President Trump's district court judicial nominee, Michael Truncale, because of remarks that Truncale made against former President Obama. In October 2020, he voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. In April 2022, Romney announced his support to confirm Biden's nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and he was one of three Republicans (joined by Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski) to vote with all Democrats in a 53-47 procedural Senate vote to advance Jackson's nomination. On April 7, 2022, he voted to confirm Jackson to the Supreme Court.

See also

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012
• Political positions of Barack Obama

References

1. and, Sara Rimer (25 October 1994). "THE 1994 CAMPAIGN: MASSACHUSETTS; 'Perfect Anti-Kennedy' Opposes the Senator". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
2. "Romney in 2002 called his views "progressive"". Retrieved 2018-08-06.
3. Phillips, Frank (2005-12-22). "Romney says media distort his views". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
4. "Romney says media distort his views". 2013-05-26. Archived from the original on 2013-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
5. "Romney: I'm The Consistent Conservative". Retrieved 2018-08-06.
6. "Romney says he is "in sync" with Tea Party". Reuters. 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
7. Ball, Molly (2012-02-10). "A 'Severely Conservative' Romney Tries to Woo CPAC". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
8. Reklaitis, Victor. "What the Republican senators considered the most moderate are saying about calling witnesses at Trump's impeachment trial". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
9. Kumar, Anita. "Pro-Trump groups have a new impeachment enemy: Republicans". Politico. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
10. Peery, Lexi. "Mitt Romney's ever-shifting role in the Senate impeachment trial". The Spectrum & Daily News. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
11. Jordan, Chuck (2020-01-18). "The TRUST Act is a plot to gut Social Security behind closed doors". The Hill. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
12. "Americans See Views of GOP Candidates Closer to Their Own". Gallup. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
13. Woolf, Nicky (2016-06-11). "Mitt Romney may vote Libertarian, as GOP criticism of Trump deepens". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
14. Schleifer, Theodore (July 28, 2016). "Libertarian candidates say Mitt Romney is considering endorsing them". CNN.
15. "Republican Senator Mitt Romney won't endorse President Trump for re-election". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
16. "Mitt Romney says he is 'not planning' to endorse Trump for 2020 elections". Washington Examiner. 2019-09-13. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
17. "Only 3 Senate Republicans aren't defending Trump from the impeachment inquiry. Here's why". NBC News. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
18. "Analysis: Only 3 Senate Republicans aren't defending Trump from the impeachment inquiry. Here's why". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
19. Carney, Jordain (2019-10-28). "Murkowski, Collins say they won't co-sponsor Graham's impeachment resolution". The Hill. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
20. Choi, Matthew. "Romney not welcome at CPAC after impeachment witness vote". Politico. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
21. Santucci, Jeanine. "Mitt Romney won't be invited to CPAC after impeachment trial vote for witnesses". USA Today. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
22. Leibovich, Mark (2020-02-05). "Romney, Breaking With Republicans, Will Vote to Convict Trump of Abuse of Power". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
23. "Mitt Romney to break with GOP and vote to remove Trump from office". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
24. Bycoffe, Aaron (2017-01-30). "Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
25. Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (2021-04-22). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
26. Burns, Douglas (June 26, 2007). "Romney Once Called For Cutting Farm Subsidies, 'Virtual' Elimination Of USDA". The Iowa Independent. American Independent News Network. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
27. "Romney's positions in 1994". The Boston Globe. March 19, 2002. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
28. Burns, Douglas (June 27, 2007). "Romney Responds to Iowa Independent Story On Farm Subsidy Comments". The Iowa Independent. American Independent News Network. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
29. ^ Bernfeld, Jeremy (December 15, 2011). "Republicans on the farm". Harvest Public Media. Archived from the original on 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
30. Weyl, Ben (December 1, 2011). "Energy and Iowa: the declining power of ethanol". Roll Call.
31. ^ Hicks, Lynn (December 18, 2011). "Farmers' agenda: keep goodtimes rolling". Des Moines Register.
32. Jonathan Weisman. "Romney Hearts Ethanol Subsidies", Washington Wire (blog), The Wall Street Journal (May 27, 2011).
33. ^ Leys, Tony (October 20, 2011). "Romney declines to commit to specific farm supports". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
34. ^ "Decision 2012: American Farm Bureau Federation Questionnaire for Presidential Candidates". American Farm Bureau Federation. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
35. Wyant, Sara (August 24, 2012). "Obama's farm bill proposals compared to Romney's approach". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
36. ^ David A. Graham. "A Short History of Mitt Romney's Views on the Detroit Bailout", The Atlantic (April 30, 2012).
37. Luo, Michael (January 14, 2008). "Romney battles McCain for Michigan lead". The New York Times.
38. Ashley Parker.“Having Opposed Auto Bailout, Romney Now Takes Credit for Rebound”, Politics and Government Blog, The New York Times (March 8, 2012): "In fact, that headline was written by the paper, not Mr. Romney, who originally submitted the piece as, 'The Way Forward for the Auto Industry.'"
39. Sam Gustin. "Does Mitt Romney Deserve Credit for Saving Detroit? Not Quite", Time Magazine (May 9, 2012): "It's worth noting that Romney did not write the Times headline, which gives the impression that Romney thought the companies should be allowed to fail completely. He didn't think that."
40. Mitt Romney (November 18, 2008). "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
41. David A. Graham. "Mitt Romney Didn't Flip-Flop on the Auto Bailout (This Time)", The Atlantic (June 5, 2012).
42. Cornish, Audie (May 11, 2011). "Romney shifts gears on auto industry bailout". NPR.
43. ^ Kreindler, Derek (June 6, 2012).Romney Would Sell GM Stock, Lo o k F or CAFE Alternatives. The Truth About Cars.
44. Romney: I would sell GM stock Archived 2013-02-05 at archive.today. June 6, 2012, CNN, WCBV.com
45. "GM and Chrysler rebut Romney auto bailout claims."
46. Fiat Says Jeep Output May Return to China as Demand Rises.Bloomberg, October 22, 2012.
47. Lori Montgomery; Rosalind S. Helderman (March 20, 2012). "Ryan introduces GOP budget plan, slashing social programs and tax rates". Washington Post. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
48. Jake Sherman (March 22, 2012). "How Paul Ryan sold his budget plan". Politico. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
49. Eli Watkins (24 January 2019). "These senators crossed the aisle to vote for plans to reopen government". CNN. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
50. "Sen. Mitt Romney voted for the GOP and Dem bills to end the shutdown. Mike Lee opposed both. Utah's senators explain why". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
51. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
52. Cochrane, Emily (2021-09-30). "Biden signs a short-term spending bill swiftly passed by Congress, averting a government shutdown". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
53. Ali Zaslav, Clare Foran, Morgan Rimmer and Kristin Wilson. "Here are the 19 Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill". CNN. Retrieved 2021-11-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
54. Annie Grayer, Manu Raju and Clare Foran. "Congress passes $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, delivering major win for Biden". CNN. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
55. Ali Zaslav and Lauren Fox. "14 GOP senators broke a filibuster to advance debt limit fast-track process". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
56. Cochrane, Emily (2021-12-09). "Senate Clears Last Major Hurdle to Raising Debt Ceiling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
57. Vlamis, Kelsey. "Here are the 14 Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell, who defied Trump and voted with Democrats in debt-ceiling deal". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
58. ^ Bolton, Alexander (2007-02-08). "Romney's about face on campaign funding". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2007-11-18. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
59. Romney, Mitt. "The Fundamental Flaws in the McCain-Feingold Law." Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine Mitt Romney, 25 April 2007.
60. Rivoli, Dan (November 4, 2011). "Romney Backs Citizens United, But 'Not Wild' About Corporate Campaign Spending". International Business Times.
61. ^ Stone, Daniel (January 17, 2012). "Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich Lament Super PACs but Backed Ruling That Made Them". The Daily Beast.
62. "Free and Strong America PAC". Mitt Romney. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
63. Ackerman, Spencer (17 October 2011). "Wallets Aweigh: Romney's Navy Surge Could Cost $40 Billion". Wired.
64. Bennett, John T. "Mitt Romney's 15-Warship Plan Faces Political Torpedoes." U.S. News & World Report, February 3, 2012.
65. Talbot, George. "Top adviser says Mitt Romney will continue production of Littoral Combat Ship." Alabama Live, 8 October 2012.
66. Shapiro, Michael Welles. "Romney wants to ramp up Virginia-class sub production." Daily Press Media Group, 10 October 2012.
67. Capaccio, Tony. "V-22 Osprey Aircraft’s Reliability Improves in Pentagon Testing." Bloomberg News, 13 January 2012.
68. "Romney Sees Incremental Weapons Development, Frozen Requirements." Archived 2013-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Aviation Week, 11 October 2012.
69. "Romney Campaign Seeks to Clarify Position on F-22 Production, Defense Spending." CQ, 15 October 2012.
70. Khimm, Suzy. "How to cut defense without resorting to the sequester." Washington Post, 30 May 2012.
71. Kogan, Richard; Van de Water, Paul N. "Romney budget proposals would require massive cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs" CBPP, 22 May 2012
72. Gregory, David. "Meet the Press transcript September 9: Mitt Romney." NBC, 9 September 2012.
73. Sonmez, Felicia (June 29, 2011), "Romney supports 'cut, cap, balance' pledge", The Washington Post, retrieved 2011-07-03
74. "Mitt Romney Issues Statement on Debt Ceiling Deal". Mitt Romney For President. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
75. "Ryan: Why I voted for sequestration." CBS News, 9 September 2012.
76. Wasson, Erik. "Romney: GOP leaders made ‘big mistake’ agreeing to sequester." The Hill, 8 September 2012.
77. Keith, Tamara (April 2, 2012). "On energy policy, Romney's emphasis has shifted". NPR.
78. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (September 29, 2012). "Romney shifted right on energy as presidential politics beckoned". The New York Times.
79. Pexton, Patrick B. (June 22, 2012). "Mitt Romney's energy evolution: Did The Post mislead readers?". The Washington Post.
80. ^ Kucinich, Jackie (September 8, 2011). "Romney's record differs from record as governor". USA Today.
81. ^ Monahan, John J. (October 29, 2002). "Candidates frustrate environmentalists". Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
82. ^ Monahan, John J. (May 7, 2004). "Romney unveils plan to cut air pollution - Environment, energy costs are targeted". Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
83. ^ Coleman, Jack (March 14, 2003). "Wind power gets boost, but Cape plan shunned". Cape Cod Times.
84. ^ Nissman, Cara (April 20, 2003). "Not easy being green: As Earth Day nears, groups hope to rejuvenate environmental agenda". The Boston Herald.
85. Valtin, Tom (March 2003). "Bush Chips Away at Clean Air Act". Planet Newsletter. Sierra Club. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
86. Kibbe, David (January 14, 2005). "School reform plan offered". Cape Cod Times.
87. "Oil tankers face stricter standards". The Boston Globe. August 5, 2004. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
88. Alec MacGillis: When Romney Liked High Gas Prices | The New Republic
89. http://www.massclimateaction.org/pdf/MAClimateProtPlan0504.pdfM
90. LeBlanc, Steve (May 3, 2006). "Healey, Romney at odds on gas tax rollback". The Boston Globe.
91. Coleman, Jack (March 17, 2003). "Governor's energy figures don't add up". Cape Cod Times.
92. Helman, Scott (November 8, 2005). "Romney favors pact by states on emissions". The Boston Globe.
93. Daley, Beth (December 15, 2005). "Mass. Pulls Out of Agreement to Cut Power Plant Emissions". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015.(subscription required)
94. ^ Banerkee, Neela (June 13, 2012). "Mitt Romney worked to combat climate change as governor". Los Angeles Times.
95. Kevin Liptak (October 28, 2011). "On climate change, Dems and Perry find Romney shifting". CNN. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
96. Rucker, Philip; Wallsten, Peter (June 8, 2011). "Romney draws early fire from conservatives over views on climate change". The Washington Post.
97. Coral Davenport (October 28, 2011). "Mitt Romney's shifting views on climate change". CBS News.
98. Connelly, Joel (July 19, 2011). "Romney: Carbon is not a harmful pollutant". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
99. ^ Holland, Steve (August 21, 2012). "Romney says to lay out comprehensive energy plan". Reuters.
100. ^ Holley, Joe (August 22, 2012). "Romney leaves Houston lunch with $6 million". The Houston Chronicle.
101. ^ Rucker, Philip (August 23, 2012). "Mitt Romney says plan will achieve North American energy independence by 2020". The Washington Post.
102. ^ Krauss, Clifford; Parker, Ashley (August 23, 2012). "Romney energy plan would expand oil drilling on U.S. and offshore". The New York Times.
103. ^ Schneyer, Joshua; Gardner, Timothy (August 24, 2012). "In Romney plan, oil drilling unfettered by politics". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015.
104. Goodman, Lee-Anne (May 18, 2012). "Romney vows immediate Keystone approval on first day in White House". The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
105. ^ Harris, Richard (August 23, 2012). "Romney's energy plan doubles down on fossil fuels". NPR.
106. Eilperin, Juliet (August 28, 2012). "EPA issues new fuel-efficiency standard; autos must average 54.5 mpg by 2025". The Washington Post.
107. "Obama raising fuel standard to average 54.5 mpg by 2025". NBC News. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
108. Murray, James (August 2, 2012). "Mitt Romney confirms he would end US wind power subsidies". The Guardian. London.
109. Mufson, Steven; Eilperin, Juliet (June 8, 2012). "Romney energy plan shows candidate's changing views, draws questions on job claims". The Washington Post.
110. Huisenga, Sarah (August 23, 2012). "Romney outlines his drilling-centric energy plan". CBS News.
111. "Romney backs fossil fuels and nuclear, drops renewables". WOAI News 4 (San Antonio, Texas). August 25, 2012.
112. Gjelten, Tom (October 5, 2012). "Candidates tout different routes to energy security". NPR.
113. Andrews, Edmund L. (November 27, 2007). "In '08 race, U.S. party lines sharply drawn on energy". The New York Times.
114. Sherman, Amy (March 30, 2012). "Mitt Romney pledged to protect oil companies' tax breaks, ad says". Politifact.com (Tampa Bay Times).
115. Hicks, Josh (April 4, 2012). "Oil war, Part 4: Obama campaign takes a turn attacking Romney and 'Big Oil'". The Washington Post.
116. "Mitt Romney town hall event at Wilmington, Delaware April 10, 2012". C-SPAN. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
117. Rampton, Roberta (June 12, 2012). "U.S. oil renaissance needs tax breaks: Romney adviser". Reuters.
118. Krehbiel, Randy (September 13, 2012). "Oklahoma oil man, Romney adviser, pushes continued tax incentives, more drilling". Tulsa World.
119. Gardner, Timothy (October 4, 2012). "Romney: cuts in tax breaks for oil, gas 'on the table'". Reuters.
120. "Transcript and audio: First Obama-Romney debate". NPR. October 3, 2012.
121. ^ O'Keefe, Ed (October 29, 2012). "Hurricane Sandy highlights how Obama and Romney respond to disasters". The Washington Post.
122. Pace, Julie; Peoples, Steve (October 29, 2012). "Storm in spotlight in campaign's final full week". Philadelphia Inquirer.
123. ^ "CNN Presidential primary debate Manchester, New Hampshire (transcript)". CNN. June 13, 2011.
124. Taylor, Andrew (November 1, 2012). "Romney faces scrutiny on aid in storm's wake". Houston Chronicle. Associated Press.
125. ^ "Regulation: Cutting the red tape". MittRomney.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-25. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
126. Somanader, Tanya (August 25, 2011). "Romney: I'd Like To Repeal Wall Street Reform". ThinkProgress. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
127. Riley, Charles (May 12, 2012). "JPMorgan and the politics of financial reform". CNN Money.
128. Lerer, Lisa (May 17, 2012). "Romney calls for caution on regulations after JPMorgan loss". Bloomberg.
129. Murray, Sara (March 3, 2012). "Romney, toughening stance, would repeal Sarbanes-Oxley". The Wall Street Journal.
130. Hirsh, Michael (June 14, 2012). "Is 'smart regulation' not?". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
131. Bingham, Amy (October 10, 2011). "Romney Says Occupy Wall Street Protests Are the 'Wrong Way to Go'". ABC News. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
132. Johnson, Glen (12 May 2011). "Romney support for individual mandate complicates health care politics". The Boston Globe.
133. Crook, Clive (2006-06-27). "The Massachusetts Experiment". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
134. An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Acts of 2006 (Session Laws), Chapter 58. Retrieved January 2, 2007.
135. Dembner, Alice (January 19, 2007). "Outline for new insurance plan proposed". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
136. Jim Acosta; Ed Hornick. "'Romney care' touted as a model for national health care reform". CNN. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
137. Greenberger, Scott S. (November 4, 2005). "House approves healthcare overhaul". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
138. "(Broken link)". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2006-06-25. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
139. "(Broken link)". The North Adams Transcript. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
140. Powell, Jennifer Heldt (April 13, 2006). "Mitt's vetoes on health care make pols sick". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on April 17, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
141. LeBlanc, Steve (April 25, 2006). "House overrides Romney's health care vetoes". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
142. Luo, Michael (August 24, 2007). "Romney to Pitch a State-by-State Health Insurance Plan". The New York Times.
143. ^ "Mitt Romney on the Issues". Ontheissues.org. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
144. "Governor Bobby Jindal Discusses Health Care Reform He Wants to See - Neil Cavuto". FOXNews.com. 2009-09-29. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
145. Jim Acosta; Ed Hornick. "'Romney care' touted as a model for national health care reform". CNN. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
146. ^ "Romney on health vote: Obama 'betrayed his oath to the nation'". CNN. March 22, 2010. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
147. ^ Johnson, Glen (March 26, 2010). "Romneycare may come back to haunt Mitt on health issue". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Associated Press.
148. Lerer, Lisa. "Romney Outlines Health-Care Plan as Supreme Court Weighs Law." Bloomberg News, 12 June 2012.
149. Mitt Romney - Health care Archived 2012-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
150. Kliff, Sarah. "Romney praises health care in Israel, where research says ‘strong government influence’ has driven down costs." Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post, 30 July 2012.
151. Trinko, Katrina. "Re: Romney and Obamacare" National Review Magazine, September 9, 2012.
152. "Mitt Romney, struggling, makes a new effort to connect." Los Angeles Times, 29 September 2012.
153. Pittman, David. "Foundation Slams Romney Health Proposals." MedPage Today, 2 October 2012.
154. Bob Bernick. "Romney and Kennedy battle mostly to a draw in televised debate". utahpolicy.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
155. "Mitt Romney faces down 2012-era attacks during 2018 Utah Senate debate". Washington Examiner. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
156. "Governor hopefuls debate". Sunday Republican. Springfield, Massachusetts. October 27, 2002.
157. Hunt, Kasie (February 24, 2012). "Romney would raise Medicare eligibility age". The Guardian. London. AP foreign.
158. Jennings, Natalie (February 24, 2012). "Mitt Romney speaks to Detroit economic club (transcript, video)". The Washington Post.
159. ^ Jacobson, Louis (August 16, 2012). "Do Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to turn Medicare into a voucher program?". Politifact.com (Tampa Bay Times).
160. Friedman, Emily (June 2, 2011). "Romney Talks to ABC News About Health Care, Jobs, Ties and Red Sox". ABC News. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
161. October 16, 2012
162. Rick Ungar (2012-04-18). "It's Official: Non-Partisan Kaiser Foundation Says 60% Of Seniors Would Pay More For Medicare Under Romney-Ryan Voucher Plan". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
163. McCormack, John (September 28, 2012). "Campaign Mailer: Romney Vows to Fight the 'Epidemic' of Lyme Disease in Virginia". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
164. Helmuth, Laura (September 29, 2012). "Why Is Romney Campaigning on Medical Quackery?: He's going after the ultimate niche voter: Virginia's Lyme disease conspiracy theorists". Slate. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
165. An ad claims Mitt Romney's housing policy is to let foreclosures "hit the bottom."
166. Rucker, Philip; Tumulty, Karen (September 6, 2011). "Romney unveils sweeping plan for jobs, economy". The Washington Post.
167. "Romney promises 12 million jobs in first term - Yahoo! Finance". Archived from the original on 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
168. Mitt Romney’s ‘new math’ for jobs plan doesn’t add up, Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, October 16, 2012
169. O'Brien, Michael. "During Detroit visit, Romney lashes out at powerful autoworkers' union". The Hill. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
170. Condon, Stephanie. "Romney Calls Union-Backed Bill "Catastrophic"". CBSnews. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
171. "Front Runner Gov. Mitt Romney from the Campaign Trail". WRKO. January 6, 2012. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
172. Yadron, Danny (February 1, 2012). "Romney: Adjust minimum wage for inflation". The Wall Street Journal. Associated Press.
173. Glover, Mike (July 26, 2007). "Romney weighing speech on religion". USA Today. Associated Press.
174. Lillis, Mike (June 8, 2012). "Left pushes for $10 minimum wage increase, but House Democratic leadership balks". The Hill.
175. "Mitt Romney says GOP is 'nuts' on one specific issue". MSNBC. 14 January 2016.
176. Wall, Mike (January 25, 2012). "Gingrich space plan promises the Moon, literally: lunar base by 2020". SPACE.com.
177. Mark Whittington (January 28, 2012). "Lunar Base Foe Romney Endorsement by Lunar Base Supporters a Contradiction". Yahoo news.
178. "GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR NEWT: NEVADA NEEDS JOBS, NOT MOON COLONY". Mitt Romney Press. February 2, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012.
179. ^ Washington, Wayne; Johnson, Glen (April 11, 2003). "Romney weighs in - carefully - on Bush tax-cut plan: Governor won't give his endorsement". The Boston Globe.
180. ^ Mason, Edward (February 27, 2012). "The stimulus plan that Romney forgot". Salon.com.
181. "Cnn late edition with wolf blitzer". CNN. January 4, 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
182. Reston, Maeve (May 18, 2012). "Mitt Romney chides stimulus spending at N.H. 'bridge to nowhere'". Los Angeles Times.
183. Shepherd, Shawna (June 8, 2012). "Romney on Obama: 'Is he really that out of touch?'". CNN. Archived from the original on 2012-06-21. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
184. ^ "Mitt Romney's Ratings and Endorsements". votesmart.org.
185. Lee Bandy, "Romney Targeting McCain," The State, 2/4/07
186. Helman, Scott (2007-01-05). "Romney finds 'no new taxes' promise suits him after all". The Boston Globe.
187. ^ Romney, Mitt (December 14, 2010). "Tax deal, bad deal". USA Today.
188. Romney, Mitt (February 24, 2012). "Mitt Romney delivers remarks in Detroit, Michigan". MittRomney.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
189. ^ Riley, Charles (February 22, 2012). "Mitt Romney's plan to cut your taxes". CNN Money.
190. Montopoli, Brian (August 1, 2012). "Study: Romney tax plan helps rich, hurts poor". CBS News.
191. Jaffe, Alexandra (June 3, 2012). "Romney economic adviser says reforms must target the wealthy". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
192. Becker, Bernie (February 29, 2012). "Romney's new tax proposal add $3.4 trillion to national debt". The Hill. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
193. ^ Kiely, Eugene (August 3, 2012). "Romney's impossible tax cuts". FactCheck.org.
194. "Mitt Romney would cut millionaires' taxes, Barack Obama says". Politifact.com. August 3, 2012.
195. Easley, Jonathan (March 7, 2012). "Romney says his tax plan 'can't be scored' because it lacks details". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012.
196. Marron, Donald (August 8, 2012). "The problem with analyzing Romney's tax plan: it's more of an outline than a plan". Forbes.
197. "Could Romney's tax plan cut revenue by $5 trillion?"
198. Kaplan, Rebecca. "Romney: Extend Bush Tax Cuts". National Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
199. Scherer, Ron. "On eve of first debate, Romney floats tax proposal that hits the rich." CS Monitor, 2 October 2012.
200. "Missing from Romney's tax plan: Reality". Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
201. "Technology". www.mittromney.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
202. Issenberg, Sasha (2010-03-02). "Mitt Romney's 'No Apology' is not light reading". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
203. ^ "Mitt Romney on Trade Policy". The Political Guide. July 13, 2012. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
204. Koff, Stephen. "Obama campaign accuses Mitt Romney of flipping on trade to win Ohio votes." The Plain Dealer. March 1, 2012.
205. Romney, Mitt. No Apologies. p. 119.
206. "Obama vows new ideas to bring jobs home from abroad." Reuters. January 11, 2012.
207. "Mitt Romney: Chinese have 'walked all over' Obama" Los Angeles Times, February 29, 2012
208. "China Calls Romney Opinion Piece Irresponsible, Groundless" Bloomberg, February 27, 2012
209. "Romney’s tone on China hardened over a decade" The Boston Globe. July 25, 2012.
210. "Romney for strong ties with India to tackle Chinese challenge". Business Standard. July 25, 2012.
211. "Ron Paul calls for diplomatic relations with Cuba". Los Angeles Times. January 26, 2012.
212. "Mitt Romney on Cuban Independence Day: The fight for a free Cuba has taken far too long". Investors.com. May 20, 2012.
213. "Romney Vows Not to Engage in ‘Appeasement’ with Cuba, Looks Forward to Castro’s Death". ABC News. January 25, 2012.
214. Swaine, Jon (24 July 2012). "Mitt Romney would restore 'Anglo-Saxon' relations between Britain and America". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
215. Gabbatt, Adam (25 July 2012). "Mitt Romney campaign rolls back 'Anglo-Saxon' comments ahead of UK visit". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
216. "Romney praises Poland as model of economic liberty". Fox News. July 31, 2012.
217. "Romney visit: Poles disappointed with Obama foreign policy". The Christian Science Monitor. July 30, 2012.
218. "Mitt Romney: U.S. should not bailout Italy over debt crisis". The State Column. November 10, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
219. ^ "Republicans Bash Europe in Search of Votes". Der Spiegel. January 9, 2012.
220. "Mitt Romney attacks Obama as too cozy with Europe". Yahoo! News. January 11, 2012.
221. "Is Mitt Romney's Europe-bashing well placed?". The Christian Science Monitor. January 11, 2012.
222. Helman, Scott (2007-02-27). "Document shows Romney's strategies". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
223. Wangsness, Lisa (2007-07-26). "Romney to France: Je t'aime!". The Boston Globe. Political Intelligence. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
224. "Romney Jabs Bush Over Hurting U.S. Image With Iraq War". Fox News. Associated Press. 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
225. Transcript of Romney's Speech Withdrawing From the Race Archived 2009-10-05 at the Portuguese Web Archive Time, Feb. 7, 2008
226. ^ "Transcript of New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate". CNN. 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
227. ^ Scott Baldauf, Bomb Iran? Where Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum stand, Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2012.
228. "Governor Romney Urges United Nations To Revoke Any Invitation To President Ahmadinejad" (Press release). September 17, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
229. ^ Rebecca Anna Stoil, "Republicans talk tough on Iran, vie for Jewish vote", The Jerusalem Post, December 7, 2011.
230. "Romney won't commit to repeal of Obama's immigration order Archived 2012-07-08 at the Wayback Machine". ABC News. June 17, 2012.
231. Joshua Mitnik, Romney's Israel speech: Iran will be 'highest national security priority', Christian Science Monitor, July 29, 2012.
232. Jody Rudoren, Ashley Parker, Romney Backs Israeli Position On Facing Iran, The New York Times, July 30, 2012.
233. "Face the Nation" transcripts, June 17, 2012: Gov. Romney." CBS News, 17 June 2012.
234. Hunt, Kassie. "Romney won't say if he's open to 1-on-1 Iran talks." Archived 2012-10-24 at Wikiwix AP, 21 October 2012.
235. Lorentzen, Amy (July 27, 2007). "Romney:U.S. is angry about Iraq". Chron.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
236. "Press release from official Mitt Romney website". Mittromney.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
237. "Governor Mitt Romney's Presidential Announcement". February 13, 2007. Archived from the original on February 16, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
238. Anderson Cooper 360, CNN: Transcript from June 5, 2007.
239. ^ Landler, Mark; Cooper, Helene (February 3, 2012), "Romney Criticizes Afghan Pullout Plan, but Obama Is Eager for the Debate", The New York Times, pp. A16, retrieved 2012-02-03
240. ^ Boaz Bismuth, "Romney: Obama threw Israel under the bus", Israel HaYom, October 28, 2011.
241. Spetalnick, Matt (July 27, 2012). "Obama signs Israel security bill ahead of Romney visit". Reuters.
242. Mitnick, Joshua (July 29, 2012). "Romney's Israel speech: Iran will be 'highest national security priority'". The Christian Science Monitor.
243. Kessler, Glen (July 31, 2012). "Romney's pledge to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
244. Liptak, Kevin (July 29, 2012). "Romney says Jerusalem is Israel's capital, vows to move embassy". CNN. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
245. Lazaroff, Tovah & Keinon, Herb (July 29, 2012). "Romney: Deeply moving to be in Jerusalem, Israel's capital". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
246. Gavriel Queenann, "GOP Front Runners Unite Behind Israel", Arutz Sheva, January 27, 2012. Also CNN Florida Republican Presidential Debate, January 26, 2012.
247. "Romney: Israeli-Palestinian conflict ‘unsolvable’ ." Jewish Journal. 18 September 2012. 18 September 2012.
248. Corn, David (September 18, 2012). "Secret video: On Israel, Romney trashes two-state solution". Mother Jones.
249. "Israel: Second F-35 deal is in the cards." UPI, 8 June 2012.
250. Mozgovaya, Natasha. "On Israel, Romney promises to do 'the opposite from Obama'." Haaretz Newspaper, 16 June 2012.
251. ^ Tapper, Jake (October 20, 2011). "Where Is Mitt Romney on Libya?". ABC News. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
252. Spencer-Wendel, Susan. "Romney says working with moderate Muslim states will help in Mideast". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
253. Holland, Steve (August 4, 2007). "Romney attacks Obama over Pakistan warning". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
254. Christopher, Tommy (December 21, 2011). "Mitt Romney bin Busted: 'Candidate Like Myself' Would Have Done Bin Laden Raid (Except 2007 Mitt)". Mediaite. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
255. "Mitt Romney: 'Russia is our number one geopolitical foe'" English pravda.ru, March 27, 2012
256. "Mitt Romney Says Russia Is No. 1 Geopolitical Foe" ABC News, March 26, 2012
257. "Mitt Romney: Vladimir Putin 'a threat to global peace'". The Daily Telegraph. December 23, 2011.
258. Romney, Mitt (July 6, 2010). "Obama's worst foreign-policy mistake". The Washington Post.
259. Talent, Jim (2010-07-08), "At Last, the Debate has STARTed", National Review, archived from the original on 2010-07-10, retrieved 2010-07-11
260. Romney, Mitt (July 26, 2010). "Eight problems with the new START: The Senate should not ratify the treaty until they are resolved". National Review.
261. "New START and Missile Defense". Fas.org. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
262. Joyner, James (8 October 2011). "Romney's Realist Foreign Policy Is a Lot Like Obama's". The Atlantic.
263. "Romney breaks with Trump claim that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election". fox13now.com. 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
264. "Sen. Mitt Romney suggests 'NATO could engage' in Ukraine, 'potentially obliterating Russia's struggling military' if Putin used nuclear weapons". Business Insider. 22 May 2022.
265. Mitt Romney Issues Statement on President Obama's Handling of Syria Archived 2012-07-13 at archive.today
266. "Romney campaign: Arm Syrian rebels". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
267. Altman, Alex (2010-03-03). "The Skimmer: Mitt Romney's "No Apology"". Time. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
268. "Mitt Romney produces an unimaginative blueprint for America's foreign policy." The Economist, 15 October 2011.
269. "Surge superintendent to spearhead spooks." The Economist, 29 April 2011.
270. Page, Clarence (23 October 2011). "GOP campaign vs. the world". Chicago Tribune.
271. Lillis, Mike (June 7, 2012). "Left pushes for $10 minimum wage, but House Democratic leadership balks". DC. The Hill. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
272. Robinson, Eugene (28 May 2012). "Romney's pants on fire". Washington Post.
273. Pace, Julie (July 11, 2012). "Romney slams Obama for Chavez comments". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 23 July 2012. Romney's comments follow Obama's interview this week with a Miami TV station in which he was asked to assess the relationship between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iran. "We're always concerned about Iran engaging in destabilizing activity around the globe," Obama told the station, WJAN America TeVe Miami. "But overall my sense is that what Mr. Chavez has done over the past several years has not had a serious national security impact on us."
274. Mishra, Raja (August 28, 2012). "Fuel Pact Defended at Local Signing". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
275. Tom Curry, Romney's rivals hold their fire on front-runner, NBC News, June 16, 2011.
276. Friedman, Emily (February 1, 2012). "Mitt Romney Calls Leon Panetta's Afghanistan Withdrawal Announcement 'Misguided'". ABC News. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
277. Rogin, Josh. "Top senators can't explain Romney's Afghanistan policy." Foreign Policy, 16 July 2012.
278. Peoples, Steve. "Mitt Romney Afghanistan Policy Details Emerge." Archived 2012-07-30 at the Wayback Machine HuffPost, 29 July 2012.
279. "Utah Sen. Mitt Romney opposes Biden plan to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan". Deseret News. April 21, 2021.
280. "Romney, Giuliani terrorism comments draw criticism". Reuters. 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
281. "Mitt Romney Iowa Straw Poll Speech". C-SPAN. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
282. ^ "Mitt Romney Iowa Straw Poll Speech". C-SPAN. 2007-11-08.
283. Governor Romney: Protecting America on YouTube
284. ^ "Republican Presidential Debate in South Carolina". The New York Times. May 15, 2007.
285. "Part II: CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate transcript". CNN. November 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
286. "Cofer Black".
287. "Fireworks over taxes, war powers punctuate GOP debate". CNN. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
288. Conor Friedersdorf, Mitt Romney Says He Could Wage War on Iran Without Congress' Approval, The Atlantic, June 18, 2012. U.S. Senator Rand Paul, who was mentioned in The Atlantic article, also opined on Romney's statement: Senator Rand Paul, Opposing Unconstitutional Wars, National Review, June 19, 2012.
289. Sargent, Greg, "In 2010 book, Romney ascribed Israeli-Palestinian economic disparities to culture", Washington Post, 31 July 2012.
290. "Mitt Romney Palestinian comments 'racist and out of touch'". The Daily Telegraph. London. July 30, 2012.
291. Camia, Catalina. "Romney says he wasn't jabbing Palestinian culture." USA TODAY, 31 July 2012.
292. "Text of Romney's Remarks About Culture and Israel". ABC News. Associated Press. August 1, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
293. The Real Romney? on YouTube
294. "Mitt Romney on Abortion". Ontheissues.org. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
295. Ebbert, Stephanie (July 3, 2005). "Clarity sought on Romney's abortion stance". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
296. Coates, Ta-Nehisi (2012-02-22). "Recalling a Pro-Choice Mitt Romney". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
297. Romney, Mitt (2002). "Mitt Romney on the issues". Romney for Governor Committee. Archived from the original on December 18, 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2006.
298. ^ "Romney's Changing Views: Candid or Convenient?". ABC News. 2007-02-23. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
299. Wallsten, Peter; Eilperin, Juliet (November 2, 2011). "As governor, Romney worked to reassure liberals". Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
300. Stolberg, Cheryl Gay (February 11, 2012). "Romney's Path to 'Pro-Life' Position on Abortion". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
301. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (11 February 2012). "Romney's Path to 'Pro-Life' Position on Abortion". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
302. Saletan, William (2012-08-23). "The Conversion". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
303. Kessler, Glenn (September 21, 2007). "Romney and Abortion". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
304. "Top 10 RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) | Human Events". Human Events. Archived from the original on 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
305. Romney, Mitt (2005-07-25). "Why I vetoed contraception bill". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
306. "A Challenge to 'Roe'?". The Washington Post. 2006-03-03. p. A16. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
307. Governor Romney's Remarks At The Massachusetts Citizens For Life Mother's Day Pioneer Valley Dinner Archived 2007-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, MittRomney.com (2007-05-10). Retrieved 2008-01-08.
308. Affirming America's Culture and Values Archived 2008-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, MittRomney.com. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
309. Marr, Kendra. "Romney won't sign abortion pledge". Politico. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
310. ^ Mehta, Seema; Barabak, Mark Z. (October 10, 2012). "Romney's abortion remarks bring issue back into focus". Los Angeles Times.
311. Romney, Mitt (June 18, 2011). "My pro-life pledge". National Review Online.
312. Bingham, Amy (October 11, 2012). "Mitt Romney the GOP candidate vs. Romney the nominee". ABC News.
313. "Romney: No plans for laws to limit abortion". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
314. Swaine, Jon (2012-10-10). "US election 2012: Mitt Romney's stance on abortion changes - then changes again". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
315. Rowland, Darrel (October 11, 2012). "Romney wants states to repeal abortion". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013.
316. Farley, Robert (July 9, 2012). "Twisting Romney's abortion stance". FactCheck.org.
317. Parker, Ashley (October 8, 2011). "Romney tries to reassure socially conservative audience". The New York Times.
318. Haberman, Maggie (October 10, 2012). "Romney reiterates defunding Planned Parenthood". Politico.
319. "Mitt Romney formally endorses Scott Brown in New Hampshire". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
320. Woodruff, Betsy (2014-10-31). "The Next Mitt Romney". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
321. "Mitt Romney endorses Monica Wehby in GOP primary". Statesman Journal. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
322. Herald-Dispatch, The (16 August 2014). "Capito, Jenkins and Mooney endorsed by Gov. Mitt Romney". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
323. Jacobs, Ben (2016-06-11). "Libertarian Gary Johnson: Jeb Bush and anti-Trump Republicans will vote for me". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
324. Pierce, Charles P. (2019-10-11). "There's One Thing Mitt Romney Could Do for the Good of the Country. 'Help Susan Collins' Is Not It". Esquire. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
325. Isenstadt, Alex. "Romney steps up as Trump tries to trample him". Politico. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
326. Peterson, Kristina (21 March 2019). "House Republicans Now Unanimous in Opposing Abortion Rights". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
327. Beavers, David. "Romney says he doesn't support Alabama abortion law". Politico. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
328. Frazin, Rachel (2019-05-19). "Romney expresses opposition to Alabama abortion ban". The Hill. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
329. Beavers, David. "Romney says he doesn't support Alabama abortion law". Politico. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
330. Eli Watkins (19 May 2019). "Romney: 'I don't support the Alabama law' effectively banning abortion". CNN. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
331. Geisel, Hunter (2019-05-19). "Sen. Romney: 'I don't support the Alabama law' that effectively bans abortion". KUTV. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
332. Ariane de Vogue; Caroline Kelly. "Members of Congress ask Supreme Court to 'reconsider' Roe v. Wade". CNN. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
333. Re, Gregg (2020-01-02). "Could Roe v. Wade be overturned? Hundreds of members of Congress sign amicus brief ahead of key SCOTUS case". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
334. Perano, Ursula. "39 Republican senators sign brief asking Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade". Axios. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
335. Davis, Teddy (August 8, 2007). "Romney shifts on abortion again". ABC News.
336. Parker, Ashley (November 3, 2011). "Democrats target Romney on reproductive rights". The New York Times.
337. ^ Jacobs, Jennifer (October 9, 2012), "Romney says abortion legislation isn't part of his agenda", Des Moines Register, archived from the original on 2013-01-21, retrieved 2012-10-11
338. ^ McVeigh, Karen (October 10, 2012), "Romney's abortion comments leave campaign scrambling to unify ticket", The Guardian, London, retrieved 2012-10-11
339. ^ Helman, Scott (2007-02-11). "Romney's stem cell view may upset the right". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
340. Claiborne, Ron (August 15, 2007). "Romney in Stem Cell Biz, Despite Political Opposition". ABC News. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
341. Antle, W. James III (2005-02-23). "Mitt Romney's Choice". The American Spectator. Archived from the original on 2005-02-23. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
342. ^ Karen Tumulty, "What Romney believes" Time. May 10, 2007.
343. Sonmez, Felicia (January 7, 2012). "2012 ABC/Yahoo!/WMUR New Hampshire GOP primary debate (Transcript)". The Washington Post.
344. Foster, Peter (March 1, 2012). "Romney changes view on contraception coverage within an hour". The Telegraph. London.
345. ^ Pear, Robert (March 12, 2012). "Senate rejects step targeting coverage of contraception". The New York Times.
346. Health Resources and Services Administration. "Women's preventive services: required health plan coverage guidelines: Affordable Care Act expands prevention coverage for women's health and well-being". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
347. Greenberg, Jon; Moorhead, Molly (October 19, 2012). "Politifact's guide to Mitt Romney and abortion". Politifact.com (Tampa Bay Times).
348. Bowers, Becky; Greenberg, Jon (October 17, 2012). "Obama says Romney suggested employers should be able to decide if insurance covers contraceptives". Politifact.com (Tampa Bay Times).
349. "Mitt Romney Civics - About Me". Facebook. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
350. Reston, Maeve (July 9, 2012). "Mitt Romney's father pushed an aggressive civil rights agenda". Wire Lifestyle. Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
351. Bernstein, David S. (December 21, 2007), "Was it all a dream?", The Boston Phoenix, retrieved 2012-01-31
352. Marched but not Together
353. Romeny Never Saw Father March with MLK
354. "Mitt Romney on the Issues | Campaign 2008". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-22.
355. Helman, Scott (September 15, 2005). "Wiretap mosques, Romney suggests". The Boston Globe.
356. "Romney not sorry about monitoring remarks". Fox News. Associated Press. September 16, 2005.
357. "Romney Says He Offers Better Chance for Blacks". The New York Times. July 11, 2012.
358. Sanders, Katie (October 16, 2012). "Obama: Mitt Romney refused to say whether he supports the Lilly Ledbetter Act". Politifact.com (Tampa Bay Times).
359. "Romney primary message shifts as election nears". NPR. Associated Press. October 17, 2012.
360. Dwyer, Devin (October 17, 2012). "Romney campaign wavers on Lilly Ledbetter Act". ABC News.
361. ^ Madison, Lucy (October 18, 2012). "From Romney camp, conflicting remarks on Fair Pay Act". CBS News.
362. Shapiro, Lila (2012-10-23). "Log Cabin Republicans Endorse Mitt Romney". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
363. John Heilemann (February 11, 2007). "The Right Man". New York. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
364. Nagourney, Adam; Kirkpatrick, David D. (2006-12-09). "Romney's Gay Rights Stance Draws Ire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
365. McElhenny, John (October 16, 2002). "Shannon O'Brien supports gay marriage". Daily Collegian. Archived from the original on May 11, 2006. Retrieved December 10, 2006.
366. "Mitt Romney on the Issues" Romney for Governor 2002. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
367. "How Romney's problem-solving background could make him a winner in November". Fox News. 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
368. Reinhard, Beth (2012-05-14). "Romney's Record of Fading Support for Anti-Gay Bullying Laws". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
369. "Join the Club | National Review". National Review. 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
370. "These two anti-LGBT Republicans may run for Senate in 2018". Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights. 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
371. "Romney to limit gay panel activities". archive.boston.com. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
372. "Nielsen: Mitt Romney does not reflect Utah values". The Spectrum & Daily News. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
373. Mitt Gets Worse (18 July 2012), Mitt Romney on Don't Ask Don't Tell (2007), archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2019-01-06
374. Michael Luo (2007-09-08). "Romney's Tone on Gay Rights Is Seen as Shift". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
375. John Solomon (2007-02-19). "Romney Supports 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
376. "report-on-discrimination-against-women-in-singapore-based-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity". doi:10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-9815-0072. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
377. "Mitt Romney now supports gays in military?". Advocate.com. 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
378. Schulzke, Eric (2012-08-09). "Mitt Romney, President Obama affirm support for gay Boy Scout leaders". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
379. Ball, Molly (2012-04-24). "Mitt Romney's Gay Spokesman: A Milestone in Republican Politics". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
380. "Romney's Appointment of Gay Aide Signals New Attitude". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
381. Haberman, Maggie; Burns, Alexander (2012-02-05). "Richard Grenell quits Team Romney". Politico.
382. Clemons, Steve (2012-02-05). "Anti-Gay Advocates Win: Grenell Resigns From Romney Campaign". The Atlantic.
383. Henderson, Nia-Malika; Weiner, Rachel (2012-02-05). "Gay Romney aide steps down, citing backlash over sexuality". Bangor Daily News.
384. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
385. Shepardson, David (2021-02-02). "Pete Buttigieg becomes first openly gay cabinet secretary confirmed by U.S. Senate". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
386. "Mitt Romney Wants Gov. Jan Brewer To Veto Controversial Arizona Senate Bill 1062". 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
387. "Mitt Romney calls on Arizona governor to veto anti-gay law". USA Today. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
388. "Mitt Romney Calls On Arizona Governor To Veto Anti-Gay Bill". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
389. Brown, Matthew (2019-12-06). "Why Utah Rep. Chris Stewart and a coalition of LGBTQ and religious groups support 'Fairness for all' (and why others don't)". Deseret News. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
390. "Moderate Mitt Romney and far-right Rand Paul join to oppose allowing transgender youth in girls' sports". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
391. "Romney speaks against allowing transgender youth in girls' sports". KSTU. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
392. "Equality Act introduced in House to expand LGBTQ protections". The Washington Post. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
393. Gallagher, Maggie (June 25, 2004). "In Defense of the Family". National Review. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
394. "Mitt Romney on the Issues" Romney for Governor 2002. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
395. "Romney's nuances on gay issues". PolitiFact. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
396. Luo, Michael (2007-09-08). "Romney's Tone on Gay Rights Is Seen as Shift". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
397. Phillips, Frank (2005-02-23). "Romney's stance on civil unions draws fire". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
398. ^ "Don't dismiss Romney, gay Republicans say" Bay Windows Laura Kiritsy, October 24, 2002
399. Gold, Matea; Mason, Melanie (2012-04-29). "As governor, Romney faced challenge on gay marriage". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
400. Gold, Matea; Mason, Melanie (29 April 2012). "As governor, Romney faced challenge on gay marriage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
401. Denniston, Lyle (2020-05-06). "Appeal unlikely on gay marriage ruling". SCOTUSBlog.
402. Belluck, Pam (2004-04-25). "Romney Won't Let Gay Outsiders Wed In Massachusetts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
403. Nagourney, Adam; Kirkpatrick, David D. (2006-12-09). "Romney's Mixed Views on Gay Rights and Marriage Rile Conservatives". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
404. Romney, Mitt (June 2, 2006). "Letter to the US Senate" (PDF). mass.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 7, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
405. "Testimony of Honorable Mitt Romney, Governor, Massachusetts". US Senate Committee on the Judiciary. June 22, 2004. Archived from the original on 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
406. "Q&A: Mitt Romney Discusses Iraq War, Reagan's Influence and Gay Marriage". Human Events. 2006-12-28. Archived from the original on 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
407. Beaumont, Thomas (July 12, 2011). "APNewsBreak: Romney rejects gay marriage pledge". Deseret News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
408. Brian Montopoli (2011-08-04). "Mitt Romney pledges opposition to gay marriage". CBS News. Archived from the original on 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
409. Romney Supports Gay Adoption, Says He Doesn’t Recall High School Bullying Incident retrieved 20 May 2012
410. "Romney Stance On Gay Rights? It's Complicated". NPR. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
411. "Romney stays firm on opposition to gay marriage". Christian Science Monitor. 2012-05-09. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
412. Haberman, Maggie. "Romney calls gay marriage a 'state issue'". Politico. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
413. "Romney Loses Cool When Questioned About Marijuana, Gay Marriage". 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
414. "Mitt Romney joins bipartisan Senate majority to advance same-sex marriage bill with religious exception amendment". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
415. "My statement on the Respect for Marriage Act".
416. White, Charlie (2012-01-19). "Mitt Romney: SOPA is a Threat to Freedom of Speech - Yahoo! News". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
417. Governor Mitt Romney Welcomes The Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling Archived 2007-07-04 at the Wayback Machine MittRomney.com, June 25, 2007
418. ^ Johnson, Glenn (July 5, 2007). "Romney Criticized for Hotel Pornography". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
419. "Former Gov. Mitt Romney delivers remarks at CPAC". The New York Times. February 7, 2008.
420. Weyl, Ben (July 15, 2007). "Romney's ties to Marriott's porn and Mormonism could pose problem for Iowa social conservatives". The Iowa Independent. Archived from the original on 2012-08-20. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
421. "Three top GOP 2012 candidates commit to enforce nation's pornography laws". Christian Newswire. January 9, 2012.
422. Lewis, Raphael (April 29, 2005). "Romney files death penalty bill". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
423. Sacchetti, Maria (February 1, 2005). "Romney plan would greatly boost charter schools". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
424. "Mitt Romney on crime". OnTheIssues. 1994. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
425. ^ Lewis, Raphael (April 29, 2005). "Romney files death penalty bill, Measure sets out tight restriction". The Boston Globe.
426. Quinn, Garrett (February 11, 2014). "The complicated history of the death penalty in Massachusetts, from the Salem witch trials to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev". The Republican.
427. Death penalty bill fails in house Boston.com, Nov. 16, 2005
428. ^ Adcox, Seanna (November 7, 2007). "Romney wants tax help for home schooling". The Washington Post.
429. Sacchetti, Maria (February 1, 2005). "Romney plan would greatly boost charter schools". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
430. Boston Globe review of 1994 campaign issues. March 21, 2002.
431. Timmins, Annmarie (2007-04-04). "Romney Tells Voters: Ask Away". Concord Monitor.
432. Hunt, Kasie (February 24, 2011). "Romney antes up for Wis. GOP". Politico.
433. Geiger, Kim (October 26, 2011). "Mitt Romney is '110% behind' Ohio law limiting union power". Los Angeles Times.
434. "Reforming education". The Washington Times. 2006-04-06.
435. ^ "Fox News-Google GOP debate". Fox News. September 22, 2011. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
436. "Republican presidential debate in South Carolina". The New York Times. May 15, 2007.
437. Bettenfeld, Joe (August 1, 1994). "Herald panel grills Romney on crime". The Boston Herald.
438. McPike, Erin (December 14, 2007). "Romney: prayer in schools is A-OK, sometimes". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
439. Streitfeld, Rachel (December 16, 2011). "Romney: more prayer in schools". CNN. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
440. Luo, Michael (May 11, 2007). "Romney elaborates on evolution". The New York Times.
441. Joe Battenfield, Boston Herald, August 1, 1994
442. Edwards, David (March 5, 2012). "Romney on student debt: joint the military". The Raw Story. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
443. Bolton, Alexander (May 3, 2012). "With GOP nomination assured, Mitt Romney shifts to the center". The Hill.
444. Burns, Alexander (April 24, 2012). "Romney's shift on student loans". Politico.
445. "Romney urges young people to take economic risks". Fox News. Associated Press. April 28, 2012.
446. ^ Nelson, Libby A. (May 24, 2012). "Romney's higher ed platform". Inside Higher Education.
447. Trinko, Katrina (April 25, 2012). "The truth about Pell grants". National Review Online.
448. "Mr. Ryan's cramped vision". The New York Times. August 11, 2012.
449. Nelson, Libby A. (October 10, 2011). "Suddenly ineligible". Inside Higher Education.
450. Phillips, Frank (December 22, 2005). "Romney says media distort his views". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013.(subscription required)
451. ^ Luo, Michael (May 11, 2007). "Romney Elaborates on Evolution". The New York Times.
452. "The Republicans' First Presidential Candidates Debate". The New York Times. May 3, 2007.
453. "Mitt Romney Iowa Straw Poll Speech". C-SPAN. 2007-11-08. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
454. McLaughlin, Abraham (April 22, 2003), "Despite gambling's riches, states play cautiously", The Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 2012-02-04
455. Demirjian, Karoun (November 24, 2011), "Romney faces tough decision with stance on online gaming", Las Vegas Sun, retrieved 2011-12-01
456. Collson, Brett (February 3, 2012). "The Nightly Turbo: Romney Opposes Online Gaming, Florida Denied Casino Bill, and more". PokerNews. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
457. ^ Scott Helman (January 14, 2007). "Romney, appealing to core GOP voters, toughens pro-gun rhetoric". The Boston Globe.
458. ^ Scot Lehigh (January 19, 2007). "Romney vs. Romney". The Boston Globe.
459. ^ Mehta, Seema (July 22, 2012). "Colorado shooting renews focus on Romney's gun-control stance". Los Angeles Times.
460. ^ Greenberger, Scott S. (June 24, 2004). "State moves on assault weapons ban". The Boston Globe.
461. Miner, Bradford L. (June 25, 2004). "More lenient gun bill goes to Romney". Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
462. Guerriero Iguerriero, Lisa (July 6, 2004). "New law eases restrictions on gun owners". Sentinel & Enterprise. Fitchburg, MA.
463. ^ Weisman, Jonathan (November 11, 2011). "For Romney, 2005 was key year of policy shifts". The Wall Street Journal.
464. "The Romney record: a GOAL special report (February 2007)". Gun Owners' Action League. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
465. ^ Johnson, Glen (April 5, 2007). "Romney's hunting experience limited to two trips". The Houston Chronicle.
466. ^ Steve LeBlanc (January 14, 2007). "Romney retreats on gun control: Ex-governor woos Republican votes". The Boston Globe. Associated Press.
467. NH Voter on Mitt Romney, Varmint Hunter on YouTube
468. Mitt Romney: The Complete Interview ABC News. Retrieved June 21, 2007
469. Johnson, Glen (April 8, 2007). "Four States Report Romney Never Got Hunting Licenses". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
470. ^ "Mitt Romney interview by Tim Russert on Meet The Press". NBC News. December 17, 2007.
471. "2008 Republican Presidential Primary Debate, Boca Raton, Florida (transcript)". NBC News. January 24, 2008.
472. Gabriel, Trip (April 13, 2012). "Mitt Romney assures N.R.A. of support for gun rights". The New York Times.
473. ^ "Mitt Romney's Ratings and Endorsements". votesmart.org.
474. Borchers, Callum (July 26, 2012). "Romney says gun laws are adequate". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
475. Navarro, Bruno J. (July 23, 2012). "Mitt Romney: New gun laws aren't the answer". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012.
476. "Mitt Romney interviewed by Piers Morgan (transcript)". CNN Piers Morgan Tonight. July 26, 2012.
477. Babington, Charles; Pace, Julie (2012-07-25). "Obama, Romney differ over guns after Colorado attack". The Denver Post.
478. Reston, Maeve. "Romney open to new gun measures". CNN. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
479. "The Latest: Romney debates opponent Mike Kennedy for Senate". Associated Press. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
480. Bash, Dana; Raju, Manu; Judd, Donald (June 12, 2022). "Bipartisan group of senators announces agreement on gun control". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
481. Vickers, Marcia (June 27, 2007). "The Republicans' Mr. Fix-it". Fortune. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
482. ^ Grant, David. "Critics pounce after Mitt Romney says he'd honor Obama approvals for illegals." CSM, 2 October 2012.
483. Miga, Andrew (March 29, 2006). "Romney declines to take stand on Senate immigration bill". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
484. Bonisteel, Sara (February 28, 2007). "Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio tells FOX News why Mitt Romney Picked him for presidential campaign". Fox News.
485. Kaczynski, Andrew (March 1, 2012). "Joe Arpaio was Romney Arizona campaign chair in 2008". BuzzFeed. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
486. ^ Memoli, Michael A. (February 22, 2012). "Romney calls Arizona immigration law a model for the nation". Los Angeles Times.
487. Fabian, Jordan (January 16, 2012). "Romney's endorsers cut both ways on immigration". Univision Noticias. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012.
488. Burns, Alexander (June 25, 2012). "The Romney camp's line on Arizona". Politico.
489. ^ "The Republican Debate at the Reagan Library (Simi Valley, CA)". The New York Times. September 7, 2011.
490. ^ "Fox News-Google GOP debate". Fox News. September 22, 2011. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013.
491. "CNN National security presidential primary debate (Washington, DC)". CNN. November 22, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
492. "Mitt Romney Vows to Veto Dream Act if President". ABC News. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
493. Weisman, Jonathan (April 19, 2012). "Rubio, in appeal to G.O.P.'s conscience, urges compromise on Dream act". The New York Times.
494. "Romney says he favors 'self-deportation'". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
495. "Romney's "self deportation" plan draws laughs". CBS News. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
496. Preston, Julia (January 24, 2012). "Romney's Plan for 'Self-Deportation' Has Conservative Support". NY Times. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
497. Cohen, Tom (June 16, 2012). "Obama administration to stop deporting some young illegal immigrants". CNN.
498. Downes, Lawrence (September 20, 2012). "Mitt Romney's secret plan". The New York Times (editorial page blog).
499. Avlon, John. "Policy Black Hole: Mitt Romney Keeps His Ideas To Himself." The Daily Beast, 22 June 2012.
500. Klein, Ezra (June 22, 2012). "Mitt Romney's immigration plan: The full text". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
501. ^ Reston, Maeve. "Why Romney called out Trump on immigration". CNN. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
502. Klein, Betsy. "Romney: Trump's comments 'antithetical to American values'". CNN. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
503. "Mitt Romney: I'm more conservative than President Trump on fate of DACA recipients". USA Today. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
504. Romboy, Dennis (2018-03-27). "Mitt Romney clarifying stance on DACA after speech to Utah County GOP women's group". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
505. Shaw, Adam (2018-03-27). "Mitt Romney says he is more conservative on immigration than Trump". Fox News. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
506. Roche, Lisa Riley (2018-06-26). "Mitt Romney claims victory over Mike Kennedy in Utah Senate primary". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
507. Cochrane, Emily; Thrush, Glenn (2019-03-14). "Senate Rejects Trump's Border Emergency Declaration, Setting Up First Veto". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
508. Levine, Marianne; Everett, Burgess; Bresnahan, John. "Senate passes massive disaster aid package". Politico. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
509. Balluck, Kyle (2019-09-25). "Senate again votes to end Trump emergency declaration on border wall". The Hill. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
510. "Romney loses cool when questioned about marijuana, gay marriage". CBS4 (Denver). May 10, 2012.
511. ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth (November 18, 2007). "Mitt Romney's smoothness - and hair - pose threat to Rudy Giuliani". New York Daily News.
512. "Republicans Kennedy, Romney square off in Senate primary debate - The Daily Universe". The Daily Universe. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
513. "Romney's past views on working women, stay-at-home moms unearthed." Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine Los Angeles Times. April 15, 2012.
514. Lerer, Lisa. "Romney Woos Working Families Attacking Obama." Bloomberg News, August 07, 2012.
515. "Jeb Bush, Romney wanted more welfare flexibility in 2005." Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine Tampa Bay Times, 7 August 2012.
516. "Analysis: A Romney pick for top U.S. court? Frontrunners emerge". Reuters. 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
517. "Mitt Romney on Abortion". www.ontheissues.org. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
518. Saletan, William (2012-08-23). "The Conversion". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
519. "Who would Romney appoint to Supreme Court?". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
520. "Mitt Romney says he would have voted to confirm Kavanaugh". AP NEWS. 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
521. "Sen. Mitt Romney votes against Trump judicial pick over comments he made about Obama". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
522. Axelrod, Tal (2019-05-14). "Romney votes against Trump pick over comments attacking Obama". The Hill. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
523. Everett, Burgess. "Romney rejects Trump judicial pick who smeared Obama". Politico. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
524. Phillips, Morgan (2020-10-15). "Romney says he will vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
525. Bolton, Alexander (April 4, 2022). "Romney to support Ketanji Brown Jackson, praises her as 'person of honor'". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
526. Carney, Jordain (April 4, 2022). "Collins, Murkowski, Romney help break deadlock on Jackson's nomination". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
527. McDaniel, Eric (2022-04-07). "The Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court". NPR. Retrieved 2022-04-07.

External links

• Issues at MittRomney.com (official campaign site)
• Research Collection at WhyRomney.com
• Issues at MittRomneyCentral.com
• Issues at On the Issues
• Issues Archived 2011-02-08 at the Wayback Machine at PoliticalJab.com
• Mitt Romney - campaign contributions
• Mitt Romney, Rising to a New Generation of Global Challenges, Foreign Affairs, July 1, 2007
• Mitt Romney's foreign policy issues Archived 2007-11-15 at the Wayback Machine at the Council on Foreign Relations
• Romney & environmental issues at the League of Conservation Voters, 2008

v t e Mitt Romney
U.S. Senator from Utah (2019–present) 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003–2007)
Politics	1994 senatorial election 2002 gubernatorial election Governor of Massachusetts health care reform 2008 presidential campaign 2012 presidential campaign vice presidential candidate selection 2012 Republican National Convention 2012 U.S. presidential election "Binders full of women" "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney" Mitt 2016 anti-Trump speech 2018 senatorial election Political positions Electoral history Public image
Business	Bain & Company Bain Capital
Olympics	Salt Lake Organizing Committee
Bibliography	Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games No Apology: The Case for American Greatness
Family	Ann Romney (spouse) Tagg Romney (eldest son) George W. Romney (father) Lenore Romney (mother) Gaskell Romney (grandfather) Harold A. Lafount (grandfather) Miles Park Romney (great-grandfather) Milton Romney (cousin) Ronna Romney McDaniel (niece)
Category Conservatism portal

• Mitt Romney
• Political positions of state governors of the United States
• Political positions of the 2008 United States presidential candidates
• Political positions of the 2012 United States presidential candidates