The American Spectator

p> ROMNEY ROMANISM br> “Why are devout Catholics getting behind this guy?” wonders a Washington, D.C. based Republican fundraiser about Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney . /p>

His thoughts came a day after the Romney campaign announced that longtime New Hampshire Republican power player Tom Rath has signed on to Romney’s Commonwealth PAC as a “senior adviser.”

Rath’s denomination is unknown. But what is known is that he is a man who has been closely involved in two of the most devastating moments for pro-life and social conservatives involving the Supreme Court.

Not only was Rath one of the two most influential men in the President George H.W. Bush’s decision to nominate Judge David Souter to the court, but Rath was also a key player for the White House in attempting to ram White House counsel Harriet Miers onto the court.

Rath’s decision to sign on with Romney isn’t surprising, given his proximity to Massachusetts and his politics. What is surprising is the way in which the news was met by some Catholic conservatives, who have become big touters of the man from Michichusetts.

Word is, some prominent Catholic Federalist Society members are working with the Romney campaign to build out conservative Catholic support in Washington and elsewhere for a man whose positions on life and social issues have been, if nothing else, evolving.

Their support is surprising since, according to pro-life sources in New Hampshire, Rath has actively attempted to smear pro-life candidates visiting his state. When Sen. Sam Brownback, who many believe will decide to make a decidedly uphill run for the Republican nomination, made an initial foray into New Hampshire, he was greeted by a mass-mailed letter attacking him for being a leader of the opposition against the Miers nomination, and the scuttlebutt was that Rath was working behind the scenes twisting arms for signatories.