Romney: We Conservatives Are Proud to 'Cling to Our Constitution'

CPAC: Mitt Romney tells conservatives he's one of them

By Michael A. Memoli, LATimes.com

11:01 AM PST, February 10, 2012

Reporting from Washington
 

Mitt Romney is a conservative. He said so himself, over and over again in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington today.

The Republican presidential hopeful, ahead in the delegate race but smarting from losses on Tuesday in three state contests, described himself as a "severely conservative Republican governor" and a businessman whose principles were rooted in his family and his faith.

The speech to hundreds of CPAC attendees, also streamed online, was seen as a significant opportunity for the former Massachusetts governor to reset his relationship with the party base after a more intense period in the primary campaign in which his GOP rivals have ratcheted up their criticism of his record.

After a warm greeting from the audience packed into a large hotel ballroom, and with flashbulbs popping throughout, Romney said he wanted to "reaffirm what it means to be a conservative and why this must be our greatest hour."

According to an advanced draft of the speech provided by his campaign, he used the word "conservative" or a variation thereof two dozen more times in his 20-minute speech.

Romney balanced his remarks with criticism of the incumbent Democratic president and veiled shots at GOP foes Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

"I know this president will never get it, but we conservatives aren’t just proud to cling to our guns and to our religion. We are also proud to cling to our Constitution," he said.