Romney calls Huckabee 'liberal'
Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 6:52 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
Calling his rising opponent "liberal," Romney went after Huckabee once again Tuesday afternoon.
"I think Gov. Huckabee's rise in the polls justifies him getting a close look by the voters," he said in Columbia, S.C. "I think as they take a close look at his record on immigration, they'll see somebody who was too liberal on immigration. When they look at the 1,033 pardons and commutations he handed out, they'll see someone who is too liberal on crime. When they look also at his record of spending from $6 billion to $16 billion as governor, they'll say that's too liberal of a spending record and too liberal of a tax record."
Telling reporters he is "convinced ... the good conservative Republicans of South Carolina will support a conservative candidate like myself," Romney was also asked about religion. One reporter said Huckabee was politicizing Christmas with his new ad, but Romney declined to agree.
"We unite over our commitment to religious liberty," he said. "I hope Governor Huckabee, like all of us at this time, is sensitive to that diversity of faith and the liberty of people's ability to worship God as they choose and to trust that he and other candidates will do just that."
Romney also admonished the spending bill the House produced today, using it as an excuse to promote the line item veto.
"I think like many Americans I was surprised to see a bill come out of the House with 9000 earmarks," Romney said. "It also has a $20 billion increase year over year. My pledge to the American people is not to allow increases of that scale. I think this is another example of Washington out of control in terms of its spending, and I think that the need for the line item veto could not be more clear."
