Romney wouldn’t back Blunt birth control measure

[cal04]

Mitt Romney said he would not vote for a Senate amendment to overturn the White House’s controversial contraception mandate, according to the Ohio News Network.

ONN correspondent Jim Heath reported on Twitter that Romney said he wouldn’t vote for the amendment, sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), which is slated to come up for a vote Thursday.

“Romney says ‘the idea of presidential candidates getting into questions about contraception...I'm not going there,’” Heath tweeted.

Blunt has endorsed Romney and is a prominent surrogate for his presidential campaign.

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/abortion/213431-report-romney-wouldnt-back-blunt-amendment-on-birth-control

Romney Camp Denies Candidate Opposed to Blunt Amendment
After conflicting reports over whether Mitt Romney told an Ohio TV reporter he opposed the Blunt amendment, which allows employers to deny health care coverage that conflicts with their conscience, the campaign clarified that Romney supports Sen. Roy Blunt's (R-MO) legislation.

“Regarding the Blunt bill, the way the question was asked was confusing," a spokesman told TPM. "Governor Romney supports the Blunt Bill because he believes in a conscience exemption in health care for religious institutions and people of faith.”
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-supports-blunt-amendment

Mitt Romney comes out against Blunt Amendment to repeal President Obama's birth control mandate
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/29/1069530/-Mitt-Romney-comes-out-against-Blunt-Amendment-to-repeal-President-Obama-s-birth-control-mandate?via=blog_1

[joeybee12]

1. Good...gives me one more reason to loathe Mittens...

Along with the several hundred I already have.

[chelsea0011]

2. My coward former Governor can't comment on a bill that as POTUS

he will either sign into law or veto? He's Candidate Zero.

[handmade34]

3. Blunt Amendment...

http://blunt.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/12ca4c96-d98c-4b37-920a-cdb15edb24d4/S.%201813%20Amendment.pdf

Co-signer John Hoeven (R-ND) just on 'Hardball' defending the Amendment stated that it wasn't about birth control and that employees could just get a rider on their ins. policy... ??? when it boils down, isn't that sort of what President Obama kinda implied... only the insurance company would have to provide it w/o pay by the employee????

[onehandle]

4. Mitt Romney, the backpedal king. Senator Kerry has nothing on this flip-flopping loser. nt

[karynnj]

6. Kerry never was a flip flopper - on every major issue, his positions have been as consistent

as you would want for a 5th term Senator. In his case, it was a Republican smear that has been used against nearly any Senator who ever ran.

What is different is Romney has never been a legislator, who had to vote yes or no - when his position was likely yes, but or no, but. In addition, bills with similar names can have massively different provisions. In some cases, it is true that nearly EVERY Senator can be said to have voted both yes and no on a set of votes.

Romney has changed his basic position. Where Kerry had a 100% record on women's rights, Romney has been against and for almost every aspect. Kerry also has 100% records on civil rights. He had a 96% live time League of Conservation Voters score in 2004 - the highest in the Senate. His foreign policy vision is recognizable in his far less mature view in his speech given as a Yale student in 1966. The fact is the Republicans argued that Kerry was the most liberal Senator - and a flip flopper. In fact, he could not possibly have been both.

[onehandle]

8. Yeah, I know.

But even if it was true, I.O.K.W.A.R.D.I.

[Old and In the Way]

5. He can't comment without further depressing his standing with The Base.

If he were honest, he'd say President Obama was correct in his handling of the issue...but that would be used against him in the primary. If he lies and says POTUS is wrong, he'll have it used against him in the GE. Sucks to be him.

[HopeHoops]

7. Wait until morning when the other Rmoney shows up.

[spanone]

9. +1000...his spokesperson just said he would vote for it...re: rev. al show.

[cal04]

10. Romney Comes Out In Support Of Controversial Birth Control Bill

Updated 6:38pm

One day before a critical Senate vote that could loom large as a 2012 election issue, Mitt Romney came out for a congressional Republican measure designed to roll back the Obama administration’s requirement that employer health plans cover birth control.

“Governor Romney supports the Blunt Bill because he believes in a conscience exemption in health care for religious institutions and people of faith,” Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul told TPM.

The Blunt amendment, which is scheduled for a Senate vote on Thursday, would permit employers to deny coverage of birth control or other services they deem morally objectionable.

Romney’s position had been brought into doubt after tweets from a local TV station reporter suggested the candidate had objected to the proposed bill. The candidate’s campaign released a statement saying, “Regarding the Blunt bill, the way the question was asked was confusing.”

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/romney-comes-out-in-support-of-controversial-birth-control-bill.php?ref=fpa