Fred Thompson: "Romney Claims NRA Endorsement He Didn't Receive"

December 16, 2007 -- "Romney Claims NRA Endorsement He Didn't Receive"
Michael D. Shear

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Maybe it was the pressure of the moment. Being under the Tim Russert spotlight can get to anyone. Under Russert's grilling about guns on this morning's "Meet the Press," former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney claimed an endorsement he'd never won.

In answer to questions about whether he would sign an assault weapons ban, Romney said: "Just as the president said, he would have, he would have signed that bill if it came to his desk, and so would have I. And, and, and yet I also was pleased to have the support of the NRA when I ran for governor. I sought it, I seek it now. I'd love to have their support."

Later in the interview, he added the following:

"I just talked about, about guns. I told you what my position was, and what I, what I did as governor; the fact that I received the endorsement of the NRA."

The problem?

He was never endorsed by the NRA, and didn't have their official support during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign. The NRA declined to endorse in that race, as was acknowledged by Romney's spokesman this morning.

"The NRA did not endorse in the 2002 campaign," said spokesman Kevin Madden, when asked about Romney's comments. "Mitt Romney as a candidate received a respectable B grade rating from the NRA, and when he was governor he had the support of the NRA and the Gun Owners Action League in relaxing some of the state's burdensome licensing regulations."

What Madden didn't say was that Romney's Democratic opponent in the governor's race, Shannon O'Brien, was given a more than respectable "A" grade by the NRA, according to its website.

The issue of guns has repeatedly dogged Romney, who as a U.S. Senate candidate in 1996 was in favor of several gun control measures. Earlier this year, Romney was mocked for saying that he was a "small varmint" hunter.

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Source: Fred Thompson campaign