Cruising Senator Has Been Tough on Gay Rights

But he doesn't dwell on issue in Liberty University speech

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney didn't get very political in his commencement speech at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University today, but his brief reference to gay marriage earned his loudest ovation, reports the Washington Post . “Culture—what you believe, what you value, how you live—matters,” Romney said. “As fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate from time to time. So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.” More»

Says he's been consistent since his days as governor

(NEWSER) - Voters will have at least one clear distinction between President Obama and Mitt Romney in November: Just after Obama said he backed the idea of gay marriage, Romney reaffirmed that he remains opposed, reports ABC News . “I have the same view on marriage that I had when I was governor and that I have expressed many times: I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman,” he said. More»

He joins Romney in rebuffing pledge backed by Bachmann

(NEWSER) - Tim Pawlenty released a statement today saying he wouldn’t be signing the “Marriage Vow” that got Michele Bachmann in so much trouble , the AP reports. Pawlenty said he supports “the core principles of the Family Leader’s Marriage Vow Pledge,” but that “rather than sign onto the words chosen by others, I prefer to choose my own words, especially seeking to show compassion to those who are in broken families through no fault of their own.” (Time has the statement here .) He joins Mitt Romney in refusing to sign . More»

Oath against gay unions is 'undignified and inappropriate,' says candidate

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney is rejecting an anti-gay-marriage pledge concocted by an Iowa Christian group, becoming only the second GOP candidate—after Gary Johnson—to do so. The controversial 14-point pledge, already signed by Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, calls on candidates to "defend and uphold" marriage as uniting one man and one woman, and to reject pornography, "comingling attracteds" in military accommodations, and Islamic law. More»

Lovechildren, gay affairs, and hookers, oh my!

(NEWSER) - From Eliot Spitzer’s $80,000 worth of prostitute action to Mark Sanford “hiking the Appalachian trail,” this decade has been ripe with political sex scandals. The Frisky picks the juiciest. Some of the slightly-lesser-discussed affairs:

• Mike Duvall: A self-described “family values warrior” in the California State Assembly spilled about his mistress—while miked—meaning that a whole bunch of politicians got to hear about his propensity for “spanking her.”