Socially liberal, fiscally moderate Mitt Romney refuses to sign a pro-marriage pledge.

Excerpt:

Last week, the Family Leader, a conservative pro-family group in Iowa, asked Republican presidential candidates to sign a pledge endorsing traditional marriage and other social issues. Michele Bachmann was the first to say she would sign it. Mitt Romney has decided not to. Tim Pawlenty hasn’t announced his decision.

That tells you something important about the battle for the Republican presidential nomination and the box in which Pawlenty now finds himself. Two months ago, he believed he was in a strong position to break out and become the principal alternative to front-runner Romney. Today he is trying to figure out how to prevent Bachmann from blocking his path.

[…]The calculus for Romney was the opposite, but not necessarily more difficult. Neither winning Iowa nor becoming the favored candidate of social and religious conservatives is part of his strategy for capturing the nomination or the presidency. He wants support from those values voters, but, as with others who have won the GOP nomination, he is not willing to pay any price to get it.

Here’s the pledge.

Naturally, Michele Bachmann was the first to sign it – because she is actually a social conservative.

Is Mitt Romney a social conservative?

Here’s a video of Mitt Romney expressing his social conservative credentials: (H/T Robb)

Just to refresh you, Mitt Romney also refused to sign the pro-life pledge authored by the Susan B. Anthony List. Michele Bachmann signed it, of course. Because Michele Bachmann is solid on social issues, and is a pro-life and pro-marriage activist. She doesn’t just make speeches – she has acted. It’s in her public record.

And of course Mitt Romney was praised by Al Gore for his global warming views. Seriously.

And Mitt Romney passed the Massachusetts equivalent of Obamacare, which is now way over budget. He’s not even a solid fiscal conservative.