Mitt Romney okay with Rick Scott on drug testing, but retreats from calling it an 'excellent idea'

Responding to a local reporter's question, Mitt Romney said Thursday that he doesn't oppose Florida Gov. Rick Scott's attempts to drug test state workers:

"The states have rights under their constitution to do what they think is best," Romney said. "The governor here is trying an idea, and I'm not going to disagree with Governor Scott. The idea of people being tested is something, which, we'll see what the results are."

Apparently, it makes no never mind to him what the courts have to say about this. They say it's unconstitutional.

Back in February, the all-but-crowned GOP presidential nominee wasn't so weasel-wordy about the drug testing of another group of Floridians, welfare recipients, as reported by Laura Clawson:

Jeff Hullinger: [Lawmakers] have bantered about the proposition that welfare recipients should be drug tested. How do you feel about that?

Mitt Romney: Well my own view is, it's a great idea. People who are receiving welfare benefits, government benefits, we should make sure they're not using those benefits to pay for drugs. I think it's an excellent idea.

Of course, it's a dreadful idea, as the courts noted in that instance as well. Either Romney is unaware of this or he just figured his audience was part of that cohort which thinks courts are illegitimate when making rulings not in lockstep with the latest authoritarian intrusion.

For once, however, you have to give him credit for not changing his mind from the time he starts a paragraph until the time he gets to the end. He's been favoring drug testing for at least the past 18 years, back to 1994 when he sought to unseat Sen. Edward Kennedy.