Romney's Go-To Guy for Conservatives (is Catholic)

From The Boston Globe:

On Nov. 30, as Mitt Romney pitched his conservative message to a major Republican gathering in Miami, the nitty-gritty politicking of his presidential campaign was going on privately, 1,250 miles north.

The setting was a dinner at Princeton University for leading conservative intellectuals and opinion-makers. At a corner table, a small group challenged Romney surrogate Peter G. Flaherty on his boss's evolution from moderate to conservative. Why, they pressed, should conservatives believe it's genuine?

"They just launched right into him," said Princeton professor Robert P. George, who was there.

But Flaherty, a devout Roman Catholic with deeply held socially conservative views, gave a deeply personal response, according to those at the table. His response, according to George, was this: "Obviously I've got to believe he's for real, or I wouldn't be wasting my time."

With Romney on the defensive about his previous positions, Flaherty, as Romney's point man for conservative outreach, is working hard to contain the damage during small but important moments like that one. Trading on his sincerity and reputation as a man of family and faith, the soft-spoken former prosecutor has emerged as one of Romney's most instrumental operatives.

Flaherty, 41, isn't just defusing concerns about Romney's past support for abortion rights and gay rights. He's also busy building relationships with prominent religious leaders, and helping Romney understand hot-button issues such as stem-cell research.

[More]

My Comments:
Sorry. I've been burned before. I'm still not buying this recent pro-life conversion by Romney.

As Sen. Brownback's campaign manager Rob Wasinger says in the article: "Peter is a strong and principled conservative, for whom I have enormous respect. However, I certainly do not envy his current job of trying to convince social conservatives that Mitt Romney hasn't flip-flopped on virtually every major issue of concern to them."


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Sam Brownback Says Mitt Romney Needs to Address Abortion Change

Massachusetts Conservatives Back Brownback Over Romney