Senator John McCain's timetable accusation has been widely exposed as a smear. It is not the only false charge made against Governor Mitt Romney, however. 

 For example, critics falsely charge that Romney flip-flopped on Immigration. The accusation: that Romney supported McCain-Kennedy in 2005 and instituted sanctuary cities as Governor of Massachusetts. The reality: sanctuary status was instituted on a city level outside Romney's purvue. With a liberal state legislature, the Governor was unable to act. Further, Romney did not endorse McCain’s bill in 2005; he explicitly refused to endorse it. Romney did say that it was “reasonable” but the 2007 bill is very different from the 2005 bill; the provisions Romney objects to, like the z-visa, were NOT in the 2005 bill. Accordingly, his position did not change. The bill changed. 
 
 They claim Romney hired illegal aliens to work on his yard. The truth is, Romney hired a lawn care agency. The fact that some employees were illegal had nothing to do with Romney. Anyone who has ever purchased produce has paid for services performed by illegal aliens. It is a symptom of the extent of the problem, it is not a commentary on Mitt.    

 Critics falsely charge a "flip-flop" on the death penalty because Romney did not execute any criminals. The truth is, Massachusetts does not have the death penalty--though Mitt Romney actively sought one.

 They claim Mitt Romney flipped on gay marriage. The fact is, Romney has consistently opposed gay marriage. They cite Romney's 1994 statement supporting gay rights, but the term “gay rights” had a different meaning in 1994 than it does today. They also claim that Romney supported Civil Unions. In truth, the issue of Civil Unions was discussed as a possible downgrade from the marriage law as imposed by the state high court. At the time, Romney stated that he would prefer to not have either. 

 They accuse Romney of changing on waiting periods for guns. The fact is, Romney supports background checks and technology has changed so waiting periods are no longer required for conducting background checks. A change in technology does not a change in position make.

 They accuse Romney of refusing to comment on Bush’s tax cuts. In fact, at the time Romney was trying to pass a budget through a liberal legislature--and wisely chose to stay out of national politics.

 They also claim that the total tax burden went up under Romney. In some cases, these critics include taxes passed by the former governor which took effect during Romney term. In other cases, critics include city taxes. At the state level, taxes went down because Romney cut them.

  They also claim that fees are akin to taxes. Surprisingly, many conservatives fail to understand the conservative nature of fees. A fee covers the cost for a special good or service (similar to paying a local business); when a fee is not high enough to cover the cost of the service provided, the taxpayer ends up subsidizing. Romney saved tax dollars by eliminating the taxpayer subsidizing of fees. To illustrate the conservative nature of fees, consider: if I lose my driver's license, should tax dollars be used to get me a new one or should I pay for it out of my own pocket? 

 With respect to Romney's claim to have seen his father march with Martin Luther King, they conveniently leave out not only the fact that George Romney led civil rights marches but that Martin Luther King Jr. said that George Romney would make a good president.

 Another common charge is that Mitt Romney allowed for inexpensive abortion co-pays in his healthcare plan. In truth, it was a court decision and was not in the bill. The bill itself calls for privatized insurance. The court ruling requires the state to pay, in the case of abortion.

 Also on abortion, they claim Romney forced private hospitals to provide rape victims "morning after" pills. The truth is, Romney vetoed the legislation. The legislature overrode Romney's veto and Romney told the Department of Public Health that they had to enforce the law even though he disagreed with it.

  They even accuse him of "flip-flopping" because he said that in "many respects" he wished he had served in Vietnam, while on a different occassion stated that in his youth it was not his desire to serve in Vietnam. However, they do not use the entire quote from the article: "I was not planning on signing up for the military," he said. "It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam, but nor did I take any actions to remove myself from the pool of young men who were eligible for the draft. If drafted, I would have been happy to serve, and if I didn't get drafted I was happy to be with my wife and new child."

 And yes, Governor Romney purchased a lifetime membership in the NRA. They point out that Romney has not been an NRA member all his life to paint it as a lie, but "lifetime membership" is the name of the membership; Romney never claimed to have been a member his whole life. They are perhaps confusing it with Romney's claim to have been a "lifelong hunter," which is an accurate claim. They hold that against him too, because he has primarily been a small game hunter. The fact remains, Romney has been a lifelong hunter.

 Every claim brought against Governor Romney is shown to be inaccurate. The truth about Governor Romney's statements and positions deserves to be heard by all.