DENVER—GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney insisted Wednesday that Rudy Giuliani made a mistake when as New York mayor he fought the presidential line item veto, saying he should have accepted the president’s use of it even if Giuliani thought it was unconstitutional.
During Tuesday’s debate in Michigan, Romney criticized Giuliani for filing a court challenge to a law that gave President Clinton the right to veto spending items line by line.
Romney said he used the line-item veto 844 times while governor of Massachusetts.
“I like the line item veto, and even if he thought it was unconstitutional, he should not have fought it because that was the power of the president to rein in unnecessary pork spending. It’s the best tool you could possibly have, as a president or the governor,” Romney told students at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
Congress gave Clinton the line-item veto in 1996. Clinton used it to keep New York from raising taxes on hospitals, but Giuliani filed a lawsuit that resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that the line-item veto was unconstitutional.
“The Clinton Administration line item veto was unconstitutional. Anyone who does not understand that has not read the Supreme Court’s opinion striking it down and does not have a clear understanding of the Constitution,” said Theodore B. Olson, former U.S. solicitor general and head of Giuliani’s judicial advisory team.
During Wednesday’s 45-minute town hall meeting, Romney also got into a testy exchange with a student who said he was gay and wanted to know if Romney supported gay marriage. Romney said he opposes discrimination in hiring, education, housing and employment for gays, but he believes marriage should only be recognized between a man and a woman.
He said when he was governor, a member of his Cabinet was gay. The unidentified student accused Romney of playing “the gay friend card,” then walked out.
Calling illegal immigration a big problem, Romney said that as president he would move to secure the nation’s borders, set up an employment verification system and force undocumented immigrants to get in line for citizenship.
He also met with Republican state lawmakers and outlined his agenda, including plans to transfer responsibility for health care to state governments, according to state Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs.
