Mitt Romney has taken the pledge…the marriage pledge. Smart move.
Read below from Politico:
Former Gov. Mitt Romney has joined Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Rick Santorum in signing a pledge to oppose same-sex marriage on a number of specific fronts.
The three candidates signed the pledge advanced by the National Organization for Marriage, which has led national and state campaigns to limit marriage to a man and a woman. The signature of the frontrunner, Romney, is a bit of a coup for the group, as he's been careful about committing to other pledges, including a broad promise to a socially conservative Iowa group that caused trouble for other candidates.
Romney, Bachmann, and Santorum signed on to supporting a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage, to appoint federal judges who don't see a Constitutional right to same-sex marriage, and to back the Defense of Marriage Act.
They've also pledged to support offering a referendum on marriage in the District of Columbia, and to establish a "presidential commission on religious liberty" aimed at protecting the rights of marriage foes to speak out.
The pledge is less meaningful for its direct consequences than for the fact that it commits the three candidates fully to the hottest front in the culture wars.