In a private meeting with Mitt Romney, a pro-life leader urged the Republican presidential candidate to select a vice-presidential running mate who shares his views against abortion.
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins spent time with Romney yesterday in Louisiana, where Romney himself spent time with potential running mate and pro-lie Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. There, Perkins urged Romney to select a pro-life running mate to help him take on the pro-abortion ticket of President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden.
“I gained some insights from a private meeting yesterday with Gov. Mitt Romney,” Perkins says. “The Governor made a stop in my home town of Baton Rouge yesterday for a fundraising event with Gov. Bobby Jindal (R). I happened to be in town and responded to an invitation to meet one-on-one with Gov. Romney after the lunch for about 20 minutes. We discussed a wide range of issues which are of concern to social conservatives.”
“We did discuss the importance of his running mate choice,” Perkins continued. “The campaign has been clear that his VP pick would be a pro-life conservative. My only encouragement was to consider someone who not only says they are pro-life, but someone who has advanced the cause of life. I offered a few names, like Gov. Jindal, Allen West, Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Marco Rubio, and a few others.”
Perking called the meeting “very productive” and said “it is clear that the Romney campaign is beginning the process of building relationships with social conservatives based on a shared concern for the future of the family and the future of the nation.”
“And while there is no question we have some differences, I do believe we share a set of values with Gov. Romney that will be critical in getting America back on the right track,” Perkins concluded.
Romney has pledged to select a pro-life running mate on multiple occasions. During a 2011 presidential candidate forum in South Carolina, Romney made a pledge to only select a running mate who hared his pro-life views on abortion.
Moderator: Governor Romney, will the person you chose as your vice presidential running mate be someone who shares your pro-life and pro-marriage convictions?
Romney: I certainly imagine so, I haven’t made and selections in that regard…[as I look around at the people I would consider] I would expect that they would all be pro-life and pro-traditional marriage…but this is an important enough issue that the person that I would select in that position would share my views on those important issues.
Host: So more than just expectation – would share those views?
Romney: Yes.. that person would share my views, yeah.
Moreover, Romney talked with Weekly Standard reporter John McCormack about a vice-presidential selection in March and renewed his commitment to a pro-life running mate.
Romney: “I don’t have a list at this stage. I haven’t put together a list. I haven’t done any thinking about a VP contender at this point. I would anticipate that whoever our nominee is would start with a very long list because frankly we have quite a group of people who have the skill and the credibility to be viable members of a national ticket. So he asked me about a couple of names but there are – I don’t have to tell you this – there’s a long list of very capable folks, including people who’ve run this cycle.”
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TWS: “Would anyone on that list be pro-choice?”
Romney: “No.”
