Mitt Romney likes to change his mind. A lot. That's why he flip flops so much.
There are several sites collecting Mitt flip flops (see sources, at end), but no one site has them all.... so I decided to compile all the ones I could find. You see.....
Sometimes Mitt faces left:
On abortion
“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 US Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.”
Boston Globe, March 2, 2006
Sometimes Mitt faces right:
"When I am asked if I am pro-choice or pro-life, I say I refuse to accept either label"
Salt Lake City Tribune, Feb 14, 1999
Left
I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose, and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard"
in debate on Oct 29, 2002
Right
'Roe v. Wade has gone too far.'
On stem cells:
Left:
I will work and fight for stem cell research.
Boston Globe June 14, 2002
Right
"He vowed to press for legislation to criminalize the work"
. Boston Globe, Dec. 17 2006
On the minimum wage
Left:
'I think the minimum wage ought to keep pace with inflation.'
Right:
'There's no question raising the minimum wage excessively causes a loss of jobs.'
On Reagan's legacy
Left
'I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.'
in a debate with Ted Kennedy
Right
'Ronald Reagan is one of my heroes.'
Boston Globe, Feb 26, 2005
On immigration:
Left
Romney said illegal immigrants should have a chance to obtain citizenship.
Lowell Sun, March 30, 2006
Right
my positions, I think I’ve just described for you – secure the border, employment verification and no special pathway to citizenship
. CNN, May 22, 2007
On Bush's tax cuts
Left
"Romney refused to take a position on Bush’s massive, 10-year tax cut plan.”
Boston Herald, April 11, 2003
Right
McCain opposed President Bush’s tax cuts, Romney noted. ‘I supported them,’ the former governor said.”
The (South Carolina) State, Feb 4, 2007
On the NRA and gun laws
Left
‘That’s not going to make me the hero of the NRA,’ he said. ‘I don’t line up with a lot of special interest groups.’
Boston Herald, Sept. 23, 1994
Right
‘I’m after the NRA’s endorsement."
Associated Press, April 5, 2007
and
"I have a gun of my own. I go hunting myself."
Glenn and Helen Show, Jan 10, 2007
but
Left:
"Asked by reporters at the gun show Friday whether he personally owned a gun, Romney said he did not"
Boston Globe, Jan 14, 2007 (4 days after the above!)
On global warming
Left
"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 that is currently provided by fossil fuels ..."
Boston Herald, July 24, 2003
Right
I have to tell you with regards to global warming that that’s something, which, you’re right, the scientists haven’t entirely resolved
CNBC, Feb 7, 2007
On Don't Ask Don't Tell
Left
In 1994 “[Romney] called President Bill Clinton’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ military policy ‘the first of a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military."'
Washington Post, Dec 21, 2006
Right
[Romney] defended his policy switch on gays in the military. He said when he first heard the phrase ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ he thought it was ‘kind of a silly phrase that didn’t make a lot of sense.’ But the last 10 years have convinced him that the policy is working and there is no reason to change it, he said.”
Chicago Tribune, April 12, 2007
Regarding a ban on same sex marriage
Left
"Mitt does not support it"
- Eric Fehrnstrom, Boston Globe, 3/22/02
Right
Romney will join petition backers in a State House press event today to urge the Legislature to pass the Protection of Marriage Amendment
Boston Herald, June 28, 2006
On Romney care
Left
"Gov. Mitt Romney (R) signed a bill Wednesday requiring all Massachusetts residents to purchase health insurance"
Washington Post, April 13, 2006
Right
He’s now a critic of his own biggest achievement.”
Investor's Business Daily, March 7, 2007
More on this: Washington Post
On Grover Norquist style pledges:
Left
“Romney’s Gubernatorial Campaign Spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, Dismissed Such Pledges At The Time As ‘Government By Gimmickry.’
Boston Globe, Jan 5, 2007
Right
“Almost five years after he refused to sign a ‘no new taxes’ pledge during his campaign for governor, Mitt Romney announced ... that he had done just that"
Boston Globe, Jan 5, 2007
On No Child Left Behind:
Meanwhile, still more has emerged today on yet another Romneyism. Mitt has been attacking Rick Santorum for claiming he voted for No Child Left Behind in violation of his own principles. Yet as Buzzfeed reports, Romney’s support for No Child Left Behind in 2008 what won him the backing of George W. Bush, who claimed that it showed that the two men “share a philosophy.” That’s not a flip-flop in the narrowest technical sense, but it still amounts to some remarkable dissembling.
(Washington Post source)
On where he lives
On Iraq
Even on relatively minor matters, he flip flops. Like on catfish which he finds delicious but doesn't like.
Of course, sometimes Mitt faces neither right nor left. Sometimes he faces the mirror:
'One of the ways my sons serve America is by helping me get elected.
and
'It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.'
and sometimes he just lies:
'I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.' June 14, 2002
and then tries to correct himself
'I did not see it with my own eyes.'
With Mitt facing in all directions, the only view of him I want to see is from behind, with him leaving the stage after a concession speech to Obama.
Sources:
Mitt Romney flip flops
Business Insider
Washington Post and sources cited below