Republican presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney went into damage control mode Wednesday in Fairfax County, offering a resounding endorsement of an Ohio anti-union law a day after balking at the chance to back the Republican measure. The former Massachusetts governor told a crowd of Northern Virginia Republicans that he is “110 percent behind” Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s initiative to significantly curb the collective bargaining rights of local and state government employee unions. During a stop in Ohio Tuesday, Romney appeared to hedge his support for Kasich and the anti-union measure when he said it was “up to the people of Ohio” to decide whether the law should be repealed in a ballot referendum in November.
“I’m sorry if I created any confusion in that regard.” Romney said. “I support question 2 and Gov. Kasich’s effort to restrict collective bargaining in Ohio in the ways he’s described.”
Issue 2, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot in Ohio, asks voters to ratify Kasich’s bill to strip public unions of their negotiating powers. Recent polls suggest voters could overturn Kaisich’s initiative.
Romney expressed support for Issue 2 this summer, and when he appeared to hedge that support on Tuesday his opponents for the Republican presidential nomination seized on it as another example of Romney flip-flopping on issues important to conservatives.
Romney was making his first stop in Virginia as a presidential contender. He met with Gov. Bob McDonnell, who stopped short of offering an endorsement though he gave Romney a flattering introduction and complimented his “great record of achievement in Massachusetts.”
Romney also met with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who is chairing Romney’s campaign in Virginia, and spoke to a small gathering of supporters. He toured the Fairfax County GOP headquarters, where he thanked about two dozen activists making calls for the upcoming legislative elections on Nov. 8.
In addition to playing defense on the Ohio union issue, Romney used the stop to criticize the flat-tax proposal Texas Gov. Rick Perry rolled out Tuesday, and touted his own plan to eliminate the capital gains tax for the middle class and cut the corporate tax rate.
