Liberal N.H. newspaper slams Romney

CONCORD, N.H., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has been lambasted by a liberal New Hampshire newspaper as someone who "must be stopped."

A Concord Monitor editorial slammed the former Massachusetts governor, calling him "a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely must be stopped."

The editorial recalled Romney's advocacy of gay rights in 1994, when he was running against Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., for the U.S. Senate, and compared that with his current stance.

"These days, he makes a point of his opposition to gay marriage and adoption," it said.

The newspaper also attacked his record on scientific ethics.

"There was a time that he supported stem cell research and cited his own wife's multiple sclerosis in explaining his thinking; such research, he reasoned, could help families like his. These days, he largely opposes it," the editorial said.

Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden told CNN the criticisms were taken in stride.

"The Monitor's editorial board is regarded as a liberal one on many issues, so it is not surprising that they would criticize Governor Romney for his conservative views and platform," Madden said.

New Hampshire is the site of the first U.S. president preference primary early next month.