POLITICO: Mitt Romney Wanted Homocon Ken Mehlman To Lead His Campaign

In a lengthy piece titled How Mitt Romney Stumbled, which slams his campaign chief Stuart Stevens, yesterday Politico claimed that at one time Romney wanted former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman to have the job. Politico’s brief mention of Mehlman:

POLITICO has learned when Romney was gearing up for his 2012 run, he made never-before-reported overtures to Ken Mehlman, the manager of Bush’s campaign, and Mike Murphy, a top strategist who remains close to Romney. Still, when Romney went for a leaner campaign with fewer consultants, Stevens was left standing. At Romney’s insistence, Stevens and his business partner, Russ Schriefer, went all in, closing the Stevens and Schriefer Group office in Washington and moving into a first-floor warren at Romney headquarters in Boston’s North End.

It’s not clear if Romney’s “overture” occurred before Mehlman came out in 2010. As you doubtlessly recall, Mehlman steered the 2004 Bush campaign to victory by championing anti-gay ballot measures in many states.