Conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin lashed out at GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney for not “standing up” for Chick-fil-A and demanded that the former Massachusetts governor pick a conservative to be his running mate.
“We want a little bit more than crumbs,” Levin asserted on Monday’s show. “We want a conservative running mate and we want some conservatives who have real speaking time at prime time.”
Levin said he continues to be “very concerned” about Romney, particularly with the candidate’s public reticence in recent days to join conservatives who have made statements and appearances on behalf of the embattled fast-food chain.
SPECIAL: Can Romney Defeat Obama? Vote Now!
Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy has been targeted by Democrats and other liberals based on statements he made in support of the traditional definition of marriage.
During a news conference in Las Vegas last week, Romney refused to weigh in on the fray, saying it was not part of his campaign.
“There was a man in this country, a single private citizen, who was under brutal attack for exercising his First Amendment free speech rights,” Levin snapped. “And the left had targeted him. And they were going to shut down his business.”
Levin questioned Romney’s non-committal public response. “What’s not part of your campaign? The First Amendment? Standing up for a man who dared to express his opinion? The same opinion Obama held six months ago? The same opinion most leading Democrats held six months ago?”
He said even those who disagree with Cathy’s opinions on marriage should support his right to express them under the First Amendment.
Cathy told the Baptist Press last month that the company was "guilty as charged" for backing "the biblical definition of a family." Gay rights activists and others answered with calls for boycotts. They even held a national "Kiss In" at Chick-fil-A restaurants on Friday bolstered by harsh words from Democratic mayors in several large cities.
Former Romney rival Rick Santorum and celebrity Republicans like Sarah Palin and Pat Boone rushed to show their support for Chick-fil-A even as Romney tried to distance himself from the controversy.
“Romney didn’t speak up about it. He had plenty of time to think about it,” observed Levin. “This troubles me very, very deeply.”
Acknowledging that Romney would most likely choose some conservatives to serve in his cabinet, Levin noted that there will undoubtedly also be conservatives who are invited to speak at the Republican National Convention later this month in Tampa.
But “I’m focused on the decisions being made now,” he declared. “I want to strongly, strongly encourage the Romney camp for Romney’s sake — both as a presidential candidate and perhaps as president one day to pick a conservative, a conservative as his running mate — not somebody who can be spun as a conservative, but somebody all of us know.”
SPECIAL: Can Romney Defeat Obama? Vote Now!
He pointed to Ronald Reagan’s choice of George H.W. Bush as his running mate in 1980 even though Bush ran against him in one of the “nastiest, most vicious” primary battles.
“So far Mitt Romney can’t even choose one of his opponents to speak at the Republican convention unless it’s maybe [Tim] Pawlenty,” Levin charged.
“But we’re not talking about Pawlenty. We’re talking about Gingrich, and Santorum, and then you have Sarah Palin who has done more than — as far as I’m concerned — than almost anybody to help elect conservatives in these states,” added the radio host.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.