Now that the law has been passed, Romney has no plans to get rid of it, that adviser, Ed Gillespie, added. But Romney didn't support it while it made its way through Congress.
"The governor would not repeal the Lilly Ledbetter Act," said Gillespie, following Tuesday night's presidential debate. "He was opposed to it at the time. He would not repeal it."
The statement from Gillespie is the furthest that the Romney campaign has gone in detailing the candidate's position on the law, which allows women greater opportunity to sue over pay inequity at the workplace. Previously, the governor's campaign has said that he would not repeal the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which was the first bill President Barack Obama signed into law, while leaving unanswered whether or not he would have signed it had he been president at the time.
The topic came up during the debate, with Obama criticizing Romney's campaign for demurring when asked about the legislation.
"I just want to point out that when Governor Romney's campaign was asked about the Lilly Ledbetter bill, whether he supported it, he said, 'I’ll get back to you,'" Obama said. "And that’s not the kind of advocacy that women need in any economy."
In the spin room after the debate, other Romney surrogates tried to skirt questions regarding the legislation, arguing that it was more valuable to look at how the candidate had constructed his staff while in public office.
"Governor Romney feels that he is absolutely in favor of equal employment opportunity for women, equal pay for women. I don’t think he wants to be cornered into talking about this particular piece of legislation as a tool of a campaign," said Kerry Healey, who served under Romney as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. "I think Governor Romney wants to be judged on his own record and how he has dealt with women in his administration and with women's issues throughout his career."
But Gillespie's admission that Romney opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Act while it was being debated -- there is no evidence readily available showing Romney weighing in on the topic in the months before it was signed -- provided ample material for his critics.
"Is that leadership?" said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, who is on leave to serve as a surrogate for the Obama campaign. "If he was president, we wouldn't have equal pay. I think that's the point. He doesn't lift a finger to do anything for women."
Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Sam Stein
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