Mitt Romney the ever changing Republican candidate for president used to be for gun control, and but now he’s a card carrying member of the NRA. That’s right, Romney is pandering to the NRA. But he didn’t always, reports the Boston Globe:

Mitt Romney, who has touted his support of gun owners since launching his presidential campaign, yesterday acknowledged he did not become a member of the National Rifle Association until last August, campaign officials said.

A former advocate of gun control, Romney during his 1994 run for the US Senate backed measures the gun-rights group opposed, such as a five-day waiting period on gun sales and a ban on certain assault weapons.

The former Massachusetts governor has been criticized for changing his positions to appeal to social conservatives voting in Republican primaries. In a nationally broadcast interview yesterday, he also had to explain his switch to a conservative stance on abortion and why he once voted for Democrats in Massachusetts primaries.

Romney spokesman Kevin Madden claims Romney did not join the NRA to pander to members who are considered to be a force in Republican politics.

Not all gun advocates are convinced of Romney’s commitment to their cause.

“His past votes have been anti-gun and I feel like it may just be a campaign strategy that we’re not going to fall for,” said Gerald Stoudemire, president of Gun Owners of South Carolina, an NRA state association. “I’ve never seen a politician change their way of thinking 180 degrees, except when they were running for office.”

In the interview, Romney also explained why he was a registered independent in the early 1990s and voted for former senator Paul Tsongas in the 1992 Democratic presidential primary. He said it was a tactical maneuver, his effort to get the weakest Democratic nominee.

“In Massachusetts, if you register as an independent, you can vote on either the Republican or Democratic primary,” Romney said. “When there was no real contest in the Republican primary, I’d vote in the Democrat primary, vote for the person who I thought would be the weakest opponent for a Republican.”

But in a 1994 Globe story, Romney said he voted for Tsongas because he was from Massachusetts and “because he favored his ideas over those of Bill Clinton,” according to the story.

It looks like Mitt’s waffle shop is now officially open for business. He’s flipping them faster than the breakfast cooks can sling the hash browns.

Chris Cillizza has more on Romney’s “‘Tsongas’ moments” here.

Filed under: Democrats, Election '08, In The News, Politics, Republicans | Get Permalink or trackback |