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Prominent grassroots conservatives were dismayed this week to learn of a 1994 letter written by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney when running for the U.S. Senate, in which he voiced his support of "gay rights," to the point of claiming to be a stronger ally than Ted Kennedy. His stance on abortion was little better, assuring pro-aborts that he would do nothing to infringe on current Massachusetts law.

While not as thoroughly indicting as John McCain's tirades against the Christian right back in 2000, this information represents a clear disconnect with the constituency Romney now seeks to court.

Ever since the mid-term elections, he has sounded like a citadel of traditional values. But as the details of his past are revealed, conservatives around the nation find it increasingly difficult to join the Romney camp. In truth, none of this is really new. Certainly those conservatives living in Massachusetts, few in number though they may be, are not surprised.

The Bay State has been at the epicenter of such movements as the establishment of same-sex "marriage" and public school "sex education" programs designed by the homosexual advocacy. To ensure that little Johnny arrives at adulthood properly pre-programmed to accept this countercultural ideology, schools have presumed the authority to teach on such subjects without parental knowledge or consent.

In none of these circumstances has Romney led the charge to return to traditional values. Nevertheless, he recognizes the necessity to garner support from the vaunted "values voters" whose antipathy towards the Republican Party proved decisive in this past election. So now Romney is presuming to carry the torch for faith, family, mom, and apple pie.

Far from being outraged at the recent revelations of Romney's moral and philosophical inconsistencies, conservative movers and shakers ought to be extremely thankful this information came to light long before the 2008 primaries. The timing of this controversy affords them the opportunity to find another, more worthwhile candidate around whom they can rally. And some such individuals may indeed be entering the presidential fray.

In the meantime, it is critically important that conservatives do not entrap themselves with their own version of John Kerry. In 2004, Kerry was the presumptive winner of the Democrat nomination early on, despite being unable to muster any voter enthusiasm other than being an alternative to President Bush. The ploy did not work.

Nor has such an approach ever proven successful for the Republican ticket, especially in recent decades, after social/moral issues rose to prominence. Any Republican candidate, who does not possess a clear track record of actively and enthusiastically championing such causes, can be virtually guaranteed to lose in the '08 general election.

The real lesson of the '06 elections, despite the incessant "spin" being put on them, is that the conservative base will not support liberalism from either party. But while Democrats can appeal to their leftist fringe as a suitable substitute, Republicans who lose conservative support will ultimately be hung out to dry.

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