Romney's Go-To Guy For Conservatives

By: Scott Helman

The Boston Globe

Monday, Feb 05, 2007

"On Nov. 30, as Mitt Romney pitched his conservative message to a major Republican gathering in Miami, the nitty-gritty politicking of his presidential campaign was going on privately, 1,250 miles north.

"The setting was a dinner at Princeton University for leading conservative intellectuals and opinion-makers. At a corner table, a small group challenged Romney surrogate Peter G. Flaherty on his boss's evolution from moderate to conservative. Why, they pressed, should conservatives believe it's genuine?

"'They just launched right into him,' said Princeton professor Robert P. George, who was there.

"But Flaherty, a devout Roman Catholic with deeply held socially conservative views, gave a deeply personal response, according to those at the table. His response, according to George, was this: 'Obviously I've got to believe he's for real, or I wouldn't be wasting my time.'

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"Trading on his sincerity and reputation as a man of family and faith, the soft-spoken former prosecutor has emerged as one of Romney's most instrumental operatives.

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"'When you see someone like Peter on Governor Romney's team, not just as show but actually doing real work, that does send a strong signal to conservatives,' said Gary L. Bauer, president of the group American Values.

"And that work is bearing fruit: Last week, after heavy courting by Flaherty, James Bopp Jr., a top conservative lawyer and anti abortion leader, joined Romney's campaign as a special adviser.

"Flaherty and Romney come from different faiths, different parts of the country, and different generations, but they are working closely together in the early days of Romney's presidential bid. Conservatives say Romney, as he tries to woo the right, is lucky to have such a straight-shooting ambassador.

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"'I'm enthusiastic for the rest of the country to know the Governor Romney that I know and the record that he should be very proud of,' Flaherty said in an interview last week. 'Because when the rest of the country gets to know him as a person and as a governor, I'm convinced they will have the same respect for him that I do.'

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"Flaherty was born in Brighton and raised in Arlington, the middle child of three brothers. In the Catholic community, some would say he grew up in St. Agnes parish.

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"From Nov. 18, 2003, the day the Supreme Judicial Court issued its watershed ruling legalizing gay marriage, Flaherty established himself at the State House as Romney's go-to guy on social issues that also includes stem-cell research and abortion. He has since become almost a household name in conservative circles.

"'Peter has been extremely influential in being a one-man think tank for the governor,' said Maggie Gallagher, a prominent writer and activist against gay marriage.

"From Beacon Hill to the presidential trail, it is hard to find anyone with anything negative to say about Flaherty. He's known as a quintessential family man. He lives in Belmont with his wife, Jennifer Mugar Flaherty (the daughter of Boston businessman and philanthropist David Mugar) and their three boys. Some nights, Flaherty said, he leaves work to read to his sons before bed, then returns to the office.

"Because conservatives hold Flaherty in high esteem, his devotion to Romney carries sway. Ramesh Ponnuru, a well-known writer, cited the phrase 'personnel as policy.' Flaherty's presence, Ponnuru explained, reassures some conservatives about Romney." ...

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