By Mitt Romney's definition, Ted Kennedy isn't pro-choice either

"I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since the time when my Mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a U.S. Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years that we should sustain and support it, and I sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice."
-Mitt Romney in a 1994 Senatorial debate

"I respect and will fully protect a woman’s right to choose. That choice is a deeply personal one, and the women of our state should make it based on their beliefs, not mine and not the government’s."
-Mitt Romney in a 2002 GOP acceptance speech

"I’ve never called myself pro-choice."
-Mitt Romney in a 2006 Redstate interview

In his latest interview with RedState, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney responds to a question about his abortion position by saying that he’s never adopted the label "pro-choice."

That’s all well and good. Mitt Romney wants to be called pro-life. I’d like to be the King of all Londinium and wear a shiny hat.

But let’s not kid ourselves: there is no substantive difference between the position labeled "pro-choice," declaring your support for "the right to choose." And that is something that Mitt Romney has done repeatedly over the course of his political career. To say otherwise is to tell a lie.

Read on…

Mitt Romney tries to justify his position in the interview by stating that he’s always been personally opposed to abortion, but did not want to impose his personal views on the populace. Even if that’s true, consider this: by Mitt Romney’s definition, Ted Kennedy isn’t pro-choice either.

What is more likely – that Mitt Romney, supporter of Roe v. Wade, longtime believer in a "woman’s right to choose," a man who is described by Massachusetts pro-life activists as having "no relationship" with their community – suddenly realizes that embryonic life matters in a meeting within the past four years, mere months after stating otherwise, and that the position he has held publicly for his entire political career was in error?

Or that, realizing that as a national candidate, his views would place him on the fringes of the Republican base and his natural religious base, he undertakes small steps to assuage concerns in a politically calculated flipflop?

Ho hum, we have heard it all before. Personally opposed yada yada yada. It is only a relief that Romney is Mormon and not Catholic. Mormons have no official stand on abortion or the morning after pill, though they do have one on caffeine. We have seen plenty of Democrats placing distance between their previous pro-life views and now we are seeing the opposite happen within the GOP.