At combative town hall in Maine, Romney defends record, slams Obama contraception decision

On the campaign trail with Felicia Sonmez

PORTLAND, Maine – Mitt Romney may be a native son of New England, but the reception voters gave him here in this northeastern state Friday was far from a hearty “welcome home.”

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)With an eye toward avoiding a fourth straight defeat in an early nominating contest, the former Massachusetts governor and GOP frontrunner brought his campaign on Friday night to the Pine Tree State, where he took questions from voters for the first time in nearly a month and worked to round up support in the state’s week-long municipal caucuses, which wrap up Saturday.

Romney also spoke out in opposition to the Obama administration’s revised position on its rule calling for Catholic- and other religious-affiliated institutions to provide contraceptive coverage to women, casting the move as “disingenuous and deceptive.”

“Today, he did the classic Obama retreat, all right?” he told the crowd at the Portland Company Marine Complex. “And what I mean by that is, it wasn’t a retreat at all. It’s another deception.”

At the often-combative town hall, which drew more than 400 people and stretched on for nearly an hour, Romney kept his cool as he sparred with some attendees who asked him pointed questions and a handful of others who repeatedly interrupted his remarks, heckling him.

Their questions were wide-ranging, touching on topics from Romney’s statement that he’s not concerned about the “very poor;” to his offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands; to his positions on environmental and financial regulation.

Romney -- whose main rival in Maine, libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), makes his second swing to the state on Saturday – jousted with both the hecklers and the town-hall questioners. The audience responded by cheering him on and, at times, shushing and shouting down those who tried to yell out questions.

Early in his remarks, as Romney was making a point about the national health care law, a man in the crowd shouted out, “That’s not true!”

“Well, I’m glad you don’t think so,” Romney responded, not skipping a beat. “But why don’t you wait until we get to questions and then I’ll respond to your question?”

The crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.

Later, when Romney was in the middle of speaking about the economy, the same man interrupted by yelling, “There’s a recession going on, Mr. Romney.”

“Yes, and it’s been going on for three years,” Romney responded, to cheers.

When Romney was discussing the housing crisis and the 2008 financial collapse, the man again yelled out.

“It was the large banks that crashed our economy, sir,” he said. “And they need to be regulated.”

Romney engaged him, arguing that “a lot of people were responsible” for the financial crisis.

“I’m not suggesting you don’t have regulation,” Romney said. “You have to have regulation.”

As the event wore on, other members of the crowd responded to the hecklers, with some yelling aloud, “Shut up!”

Two of the hecklers were removed from the event by local police but were not arrested, according to the Romney campaign.

The event came on the same day that Romney addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference. His campaign is looking to score a win in Maine as well as tweak its message in the wake of unanticipated losses in Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday.

Saturday’s caucuses provide Romney a chance to convince voters that the momentum is back on his side, but Paul – who has yet to win a primary or caucus – is also eyeing a strong showing here, and his enthusiastic supporters could dominate the traditionally low-turnout caucuses.

The Saturday contest is nonbinding, and there are no further nominating contests for the next 17 days, Maine’s caucuses have particular import for the Romney campaign heading into Michigan and Arizona, which hold their contests at the end of the month.

In the rest of his remarks, Romney focused on themes that have marked his campaign stump speech: he defined himself as a Washington outsider, criticized the Obama administration’s handling of the Solyndra controversy and stressed the importance of the nation’s founding documents.

“I don’t want to transform America. I want to restore the principles that made America America,” he said to applause from the crowd.