The movement conservatives that had long-standing problems with John McCain have begrudgingly come to accept him. Now some of them are threatening to leave McCain again… if he chooses Mitt Romney as his VP.
According to a newspaper ad taken out by the Government Is Not God PAC and signed by 26 conservative leaders, Mitt is a deal-breaker because “his recent ‘conversion’ to conservative and pro-life principles is not credible.” Romney’s “well-timed conversions,” says the ad, are “mere political opportunism, and are offensive to those who demand ‘straight talk’ from their leaders.”
The ad carries a threat, as well. After pointing out Romney’s previously moderate positions on abortion and gay marriage, the writers tell McCain a Romney VP choice would “fatally harm your appeal to voters with deep constitutionalist and social conservative commitments.” Decoded, that means “don’t count on us turning our people out if you put Romney on the ticket.”
GING-PAC, which also has a petition Romney-haters can sign, is explicit about this being push back against “Karl Rove, Sean Hannity and others in the economic wing of the Republican Party.”
