Romney Rejects Iowa Marriage Vow

Mitt Romney has refused to sign the virulently anti-gay pledge that the hate group Iowa Leader is demanding of all GOP presidential candidates.

Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Romney, told The Associated Press in a written statement Tuesday that Romney "strongly supports traditional marriage," but that the oath "contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign." Bachmann and Santorum have been campaigning hard to court the influential social conservatives in Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses. Romney's rejection of the pledge reflects his diminished focus on winning Iowa, where he spent $10 million during his 2008 presidential campaign only to finish second. None of the other GOP presidential hopefuls, including former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have said whether they will sign the pledge.

The View On Michelle Bachmann's Vow To Ban Gay Marriage And Porn

Quote Of The Day - Gary Johnson

“This ‘pledge’ is nothing short of a promise to discriminate against everyone who makes a personal choice that doesn’t fit into a particular definition of ‘virtue’. While the Family Leader pledge covers just about every other so-called virtue they can think of, the one that is conspicuously missing is tolerance. In one concise document, they manage to condemn gays, single parents, single individuals, divorcees, Muslims, gays in the military, unmarried couples, women who choose to have abortions, and everyone else who doesn’t fit in a Norman Rockwell painting." - Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the first 2012 GOP candidate to officially denounce the "offensive" moral pledge already signed by Crazy Eyes and Frothy Mix.

MSNBC: Crazy Eyes & Frothy Mix Sign Iowa Hate Group's Anti-Gay Marriage Vow

Crazy Eyes Signs Anti-Gay Iowa Pledge: I Believe Homosexuality Is A Choice

Iowa's anti-gay hate group, Family Leader, has convinced Rep. Michele Bachmann to sign their lengthy "contract" with political candidates who must vow, among other things, that they believe that homosexuality is a choice. More on the pledge:

Presidential candidates who sign the pledge must agree to personal fidelity to his or her spouse, the appointment of “faithful constitutionalists” as judges, opposition to any redefinition of marriage, and prompt reform of uneconomic and anti-marriage aspects of welfare policy, tax policy and divorce law. The Marriage Vow also outlines support for the legal advocacy for the federal Defense of Marriage Act, humane efforts to protect women and children, rejection of Sharia Islam, safeguards for all married and unmarried U.S. military service members, and commitment to downsizing government and the burden upon American families.

Bachmann agrees: "No peer-reviewed empirical science or rational demonstration has ever definitively proven, nor even has shown an overwhelming probability, that homosexual preference or behavior is irresistible as a function of genetic determinism or other forms of fatalism." Box Turtle Bulletin notes that a footnote to the pledge also declares that LGBT people have a life expectancy of 40 years.

Iowa Voter to Newt Gingrich: ‘Why Don’t You Get Out Before You Make A Bigger Fool Of Yourself’

By Judd Legum 

Yesterday, Newt Gingrich made his first trip to Iowa. From the looks of it, he did not receive a warm reception. Shortly after his arrival he was confronted by a Republican voter who was quite upset that Gingrich described the GOP budget plan as “right-wing social engineering” and “radical.”

Voter: Speaker Gingrich, what you just did to Paul Ryan is unforgivable.

Gingrich: I didn’t do anything to Paul Ryan!

Voter: Yes, you did. You undercut him and his allies in the house.

Gingrich: No, I –

Voter: You’re an embarrassment to our party.

Gingrich: I’m sorry you feel that way.

Voter: Why don’t you get out before you make a bigger fool of yourself.

Remarkably, the entire confrontation occurred while Gingrich and the voter were shaking hands. Watch it:

The incident was at Gingrich’s first stop on a scheduled 17-city tour of Iowa.