Romney's act hits the road

EXIT MITT Romney, stage right.

Will conservatives now forgive him for faking it as a centrist to win election in Massachusetts?

I bet they will. But it will take more than their forgiveness to win the office Romney covets: president of the United States.

Romney's hypocrisy on issues such as abortion and gay rights is blatant and breathtaking. But thanks to Massachusetts legislators, he leaves office with a huge political victory, in an arena that is important to conservative voters -- same-sex marriage.

He's the number one guy in the country right now standing up to activist liberal judges and the gay marriage lobby. It doesn't get much better than that if you are seeking the GOP presidential nomination.

As he leaves office, Romney gets all the credit for forcing Bay State legislators to vote on whether to advance a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

And he did it in a way conservatives must consider delicious: He petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court, the same judicial body which sanctioned same-sex marriage as a civil right, to order the Legislature to vote on a measure than may ultimately strip that right away.

The SJC said it could not order legislators to vote on the amendment, but label ed the Legislature's maneuvers to avoid a vote "indifference to, or defiance of, its constitutional duties." The humiliation worked, up to a point.

Legislators essentially killed a ballot initiative to amend the state Constitution by guaranteeing universal healthcare. But a raucous gathering of lawmakers guffawed their way to action on the marriage amendment, which needed 50 votes to advance. With no debate and little decorum, Senate President Robert E. Travaglini gavel ed legislators into action. In the end, 61 voted in favor of advancing the amendment to ban gay marriage; 132 opposed it. Massachusetts, now the only state where same-sex marriage is legal, took a step closer to banning it.

If the amendment gains a minimum of 50 votes in the 2007- 08 session, it will be placed on the 2008 ballot as a referendum question. Incoming Governor Deval Patrick's last minute efforts to change the outcome were fruitless and made Romney's political victory all the sweeter.

For sure, presidential candidate Romney has a lot of explaining to do, including his journey from pro choice to pro life and the 1994 letter he wrote to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts when he was running for US Senate against Edward M. Kennedy. In it, Romney stated "I am more convinced than ever before that as we seek to establish full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent."

But the new Romney mantra -- "Talk is cheap, but action is not" -- is already in place as a defense of those earlier political stances.

His "talk" to Massachusetts voters was less than cheap -- it was worthless. He said what he believed necessary to win election, then took pleasure in renouncing his earlier positions. However, his ability to coopt Massachusetts voters may boost his standing with conservatives elsewhere.

Romney is running to the right of Senator John McCain of Arizona. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, a favorite of the religious right, is challenging Romney as the true conservative in the GOP contest. But, Romney has the hair, the teeth, the ground troops in Iowa, and the buzz with bloggers and pundits. And with this dramatic strike against same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, he has fresh conservative bona fides.

Still, it's not all clear political sailing for the Bay State's ex-governor, especially after last November's election results. At the time, voters said they were tired of divisive politics, the very kind Romney embraces in his calculated shift to the right.

His biggest challenge is not about political ideology; it's about political soul. Does he have one? Does he believe in anything but his own ambition? Beyond the conservative resume he forged on the back of Massachusetts' gay population, is there a human being with deeply held convictions? Can he get past the crowd that wakes up to fret about same-sex marriage and connect with average voters on issues that define their everyday lives?

Romney's act goes only so far. Stage right is a first step. On its own, it does not lead directly to the Oval Office.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.