Marriage Quote by Mitt Romney

Romney’s sentence performs a familiar political two-step: hug first, then block. The opening clause is calibrated compassion, a soft-focus appeal to “respect” and “tolerate” that positions him as reasonable in a culture moving quickly on LGBT rights. The verbs matter. “Respect” is dignified; “tolerate” is revealing. Tolerance implies something objectionable that society agrees to endure. It’s acceptance with a handbrake on, and it signals to skeptical voters: I’m not with the bigots, but I’m also not with the activists.

Then comes the pivot phrase that does the real work: “But at the same time.” It’s presented as balance, yet it’s a permission slip to hold two ideas that are in obvious tension. If you “feel very deeply” about respecting people of different sexual orientations, why is the core civic recognition of their relationships off-limits? The structure suggests that the person can be affirmed while their equality can be denied - a neat compartmentalization that lets the speaker claim moral decency without conceding policy.

“Preserved” is the strategic word. It frames marriage equality not as expansion but as vandalism of tradition, smuggling in a sense of loss and threat. In early 2010s politics, this was the center-right’s safe harbor: acknowledge changing norms, keep the institution’s gate closed, and call it principled. The subtext isn’t just about marriage; it’s about reassuring cultural conservatives while sounding modern enough for swing voters who don’t want cruelty, only limits.