Romney tells conservatives he's one of them

Republican Mitt Romney urged conservatives on Friday to overcome their doubts about him and help him win the party's presidential nomination, then defeat Democratic President Barack Obama in November.   

Romney, a wounded front-runner in the nomination race after losses this week to Rick Santorum in Missouri, Michigan and Colorado, has struggled to attract conservative Republicans wary of his record as the governor of Massachusetts.   

On Friday he unleashed what amounted to an aggressive sales pitch, using a flurry of conservative buzzwords during his speech before a conference of the party's right wing. He called for lower taxes and limited government, and voiced opposition to gay marriage and abortion.   

Romney mentioned some version of the word "conservative" two dozen times, and at one point rather awkwardly called himself a "severely conservative" governor of Massachusetts.   

He added that after a Massachusetts court found a legal right to same-sex marriage in the state, he "prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage."   

"I understand the battles that we, as conservatives, must fight because I have been on the front lines," Romney said during his speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). "I'm here to ask you to stand with me shoulder-to-shoulder as we fight for America."   

Two of Romney's rivals, Santorum and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, tried to sow doubts about Romney's electability.   

Santorum, for example, criticized the view held by many Republicans that while Romney may not be the most conservative hopeful, he would be a strong candidate in the Nov. 6 election against Obama because he would have more appeal to independent voters than any other Republican.   

"Why would an undecided voter vote for a candidate that the party's not excited about?" Santorum asked.   

Romney's losses to Santorum this week halted the momentum he had enjoyed after victories in Florida and Nevada in the state-by-state nominating process. The defeats put pressure on him to convince conservatives to support him as the best candidate with a chance to beat Obama.   

During his speech, Romney mentioned his rivals only indirectly. He said his opponents -- Santorum, Gingrich and Texas Congressman Ron Paul -- are "creatures of Washington" and that he is the only candidate left in the race who has never worked a day in the U.S. capital.    

Romney got a strong reception, several standing ovations and heavy applause -- a better response than Santorum received earlier in the day. He also was praised by several speakers at the conference.   

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter called him "the most conservative" remaining candidate, and Al Cardenas, president of the American Conservative Union, said Romney meets the conservative test.   

Not everyone was buying it.   

Tony DeBenedittis, a 75-year-old art teacher, said that "Mitt Romney can call himself a conservative, but I'm not convinced."  

Reuters