Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Friday defended his conservatism on Day Two of the Conservative Political Action conference in a speech aimed at assuring his party's right flank that he is not the wavering GOP moderate his opponents portray him to be.
Despite a speech that earned him several standing ovations, some were not convinced by Romney's words.
"I'm not sure I can trust him," Don Ewing, of Meredith, New Hampshire, told The Washington Examiner after the speech. Ewing said Romney's refusal to denounce the Massachusetts health insurance mandate he helped create as governor is one of the main reasons he is backing candidate Rick Santorum.
Romney walked onto CPAC's main stage just two hours after Santorum, who also brought the audience to its feet.
Santorum, in the eyes of many CPAC attendees, is considered the most viable conservative alternative to Romney after winning the Iowa caucuses in January and in three state contests on Tuesday.
Santorum's wins have put Romney on the defensive and his speech before CPAC was a chance to connect with the party's most conservative activists.
Romney, who is also a former business executive, crafted his CPAC remarks around the idea that he is the candidate with the best experience to turn the government around and who is equally conservative as Santorum and Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who won the South Carolina primary last month,
On Wednesday, Romney met privately with conservative leaders at the D.C. Marriott, which is hosting the three-day CPAC event.
"I know conservatism because I have lived conservatism," Romney told the CPAC crowd "I was a conservative governor. I fought against long odds in a deep blue state. I understand the battles that we, as conservatives, must fight because I have been on the front lines."
About an hour earlier, Santorum, flanked by his family, took to the stage and attacked Romney, without naming him, as a candidate with the most money but who lacks the conservative credentials to boldly contrast Obama in the general election.
"We're not going to win this election with lopsided money advantages," Santorum told an enthusiastic crowd. "We won't have one in the fall. President Obama will have more money, whoever our nominee is.So just think about what it's going to take. It's going to take ideas, vision, contrast, a record of accomplishment that can go up against the failed policies of Barack Obama. That's the winner."
Audience members who filtered out of the auditorium after Romney's speech praised him but some said they feared he cannot win over the hearts and minds of the GOP's most conservative base.
"I'm worried that people are divided and it's just going to help Obama in the fall," said John Schaffer, of Kensington Maryland.
"Some people here feel Romney's a bit of a moderate but that's ok with me. As long as he can turn the country around. He's Mr. Turnaround."
Polly Sullivan, of Cincinnati, Ohio, said Santorum's speech seemed more heartfelt than Romney's, echoing a common criticism that Romney suffers from the politically dangerous flaw of failing to connect with voters.
"Either one of them is fine with me," Sullivan said. "I do feel Romney may be more of an executive than Santorum."
Romney made the case to the audience that his experience cutting taxes and balancing the budget in the Bay State, then turning around Utah's Olympic games and running a successful, job-creating corporation make him the best candidate to turn the country around.
"I spent 25 years balancing budgets, eliminating waste, and keeping as far away from government as was humanly possible," Romney said "I did things conservatism is designed for. I started new businesses and turned around broken ones. And I am not ashamed to say that I was very successful at it."
Andrew Payne, of Reston, Virginia said he's supporting for Romney for practical reasons.
"I think Mitt Romney will be able to win the Independent vote," Payne said. "Santorum is too conservative to win over the Independents."
