What Sort of Man Is Mitt Romney? by Mike Gold Brainiac On Banjo #292 | @MDWorld
September 17, 2012 Mike Gold 3 Comments
“The Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.” Mitt Romney said that last Tuesday, while the bodies of the four American diplomats slaughtered by religious fanatics in at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya were still warm.
His staff held that statement until late that night in the hope it would get buried by the day’s events. His staff were smarter than he was.
I’d slam Romney for having the diplomacy of a three-year old protecting his favorite toy while at Day Care, except Barack Obama said it better: “You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally.”
Back in 1976, President Gerald Ford said “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe,” to which the moderator responded “I’m sorry, what?” That slice of fantasy might have cost Ford reelection, but the statement was merely stupid. It wasn’t said for political gain. He wasn’t trying to grab the Commie vote away from Jimmy Carter.
On the other hand, Romney’s statement is more than stupid. Granted, when you look back to the comments President Obama and Secretary Clinton made earlier in the day – and those timely comments represent the official policy of the United States government and not the babblings of fools, underlings, or candidates – Romney clearly is lying his head off. Like most Republicans, he simply does not understand his comments and those statements he was criticizing have been recorded and are available for comparison. I still cannot understand why these guys don’t get that. Their ignorance keeps The Daily Show in business.
No, Mitt Romney told those lies to gain political advantage, to show that despite Obama’s aggressive track record in vaporizing our enemies in the Middle East, he is an appeaser who sucks up to the Great Muslim Menace and who will let the Arabs run loose to murder your sons and rape your daughters.
Even Republican leaders such as House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released statements that were patriotic in nature, that wouldn’t hinder diplomacy and did not inure to the benefit of their party’s presidential campaign.
Romney, showing the same worldwide savvy we saw last month during his overseas adventure, would rather be president by any means necessary than be a patriot concerned about our nation’s well-being, or concerned by the sacrifice made by career employees of our nation who were, indeed, patriots… or care one whit about the dead and their families.
So, what sort of man is Mitt Romney? He’s the sort of man who would tie the family dog to the roof of his car and drive 500 miles to Canada.
In other words, Mitt Romney is a greedy, malicious opportunist and a very, very dangerous fool.
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Mike Gold performs the weekly two-hour Weird Sounds Inside The Gold Mind ass-kicking rock, blues and blather radio show on The Point, www.getthepointradio.com , every Sunday at 7:00 PM Eastern, rebroadcast three times during the week (check the website above for times) and available On Demand at the same place. He also joins Martha Thomases and Michael Davis as a weekly columnist at www.comicmix.com where he pontificates on matters of four-color.
Rick Oliver
September 17, 2012 - 10:06 am
I’m still waiting for the Romney camp to explain what they think an appropriate response should have been.
What if Birth of a Nation had been released last week instead of a hundred years ago and resulted in widespread rioting (which it did)? And what if the administration had responded by saying: “We didn’t make this racist piece of shit, and we condemn its message — but that’s no excuse for violence.” Would Romney have accused Obama of “sympathizing” with the rioters?
Mike Gold
September 17, 2012 - 10:35 am
Rick, I’m still waiting for the Romney camp to explain what they think is an appropriate response to ANYTHING. They bitch a lot, but won’t take offer a plan for resolving any of the stuff they say Obama hasn’t resolved — other than raising costs on what’s left of the middle class by giving /extending massive tax breaks for the greediest bastards in the nation and, oh yeah, coal. More coal. CLEAN coal! And free cake and ice cream, too! Wow!
BTW, DW Griffith’s response to the response to Birth of a Nation was to make Intolerance. OK, that might sound like a naive response, but you had to be there at the time. You know, when the Ku Klux Klan had a much bigger impact on elections than the NRA. Romney’s response is to change the subject. Fast.
Rick Oliver
September 17, 2012 - 11:16 am
The response of the author of the source material, Thomas Dixon, was to fabricate a quote from President Wilson. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Mike Gold
September 17, 2012 - 11:24 am
Here’s another fabricated quote:
“I’m a lying motherfucker.” — Thomas Dixon.
Martha Thomses
September 17, 2012 - 2:21 pm
What I don’t understand is where all the money is going. We are supposed to accept the premise that Romney should be president because he know how to manage a business, and he can’t even manage his campaign. His convention was a disaster — off message and out of control. If he can’t manage his own party, how can he deal with Congress?
Mike Gold
September 17, 2012 - 2:31 pm
Presidents don’t deal with Congress. They propose bills and then his party either has enough warm bodies to get it passed or it doesn’t. The days of rational discussion, give-and-take and even horse trading ended at exactly 12 noon January 20 2009.
As for Romney’s business acumen, it seems clear what he’s planning on doing: outsourcing the government to India and putting the middle class’s tax dollars in the Cayman Islands in accounts held by the 1%. That’s how business is done in 2012. That’s what makes the Republican Party great.
Reg
September 17, 2012 - 4:44 pm
And Mitt’s hits just keep on coming.
SMH.
Reg
September 17, 2012 - 6:33 pm
Just to clarify, I’m shaking my head at what has become of the Republican party. The amateurish nature of the pratfalls and rapidity of the implosion has been baffling to watch. It’s like watching Sonny Liston take the dive against Ali or watching the electorate get PUNK’D on a national scale.
And I concur with Martha…if this is what’s been able to be accomplished with the googobs of monies that are in the coffers…I’m pretty sure that this doesn’t reflect an efficient use of capital.
And a serious question to GH and RM…are you surprised or concerned about the current state of the party?
MOTU
September 17, 2012 - 7:26 pm
Mitt thinks that half of America does not pay taxes and are dependent on government.
I’ll say that again, Mitt thinks that half of America does not pay taxes and are dependent on government.
THAT’S what sort of man he is.
Mike Gold
September 17, 2012 - 9:08 pm
Depends. If Mitt is referring to being dependent upon our nation’s roads, our military, our air traffic control, our police and FBI, our firefighters, and the seven or eight meat inspectors who still have jobs, well, then, YEAH, MORE than half of America is dependent on government.
We ALL are. And that INCLUDES Mitt.
P.S. Would Richie Rich tie Dollar the Dog to the roof of his dad’s car? I think not. His dad must be one of those liberal socialist democrats. Pro-robot, you know…
Rick Oliver
September 18, 2012 - 8:03 am
In fairness to Romney, I think accusations of Bain outsourcing have been somewhat exaggerated. Many of Mitt’s greatest success stories are companies that don’t make anything. They’re fast food franchises and clothing retailers, where most employees don’t make a living wage — but you can’t outsource their jobs!
Mike Gold
September 18, 2012 - 8:22 am
Interesting point. How many outsourced jobs is acceptable? I mean, is outsourcing jobs to the point where the upper executives get to maintain their seven and eight figure compensation packages okay, but, say, twice that number is egregious? Or half again that number?
Or, let’s be charitable here. Let’s say they cut those executives compensation packages that are worth, oh, over $25 million a year by two percent. Is it acceptable then to export another 1000 jobs?
Yeah, when Romney ran Bain — before and during his retroactive resignation — when it came to outsourcing, the bastard was just a little bit pregnant.
And god bless that boon to humanity, Staples! I can hardly wait to see the Los Angeles Kings’ home opener at their arena!
MOTU
September 18, 2012 - 8:40 am
It looks like Mitt is going to double down on his comments that half of America does not pay taxes and are dependent on the government.
He’s throwing red meat to the far right base and it might work. I’m going to France at the end of the month, I may just stay there. I’m on record as hating the French but living in a Romney Tea Party America is worth saying Jerry Lewis is a god.
George Haberberger
September 18, 2012 - 11:07 am
MOTU,
I just got back from Paris and I should warn you about the pickpockets. I lost my iPhone to a group of teenage girls who, under the pretense of wanting you to sign a petition, surround you and in while you are distracted, steal whatever they have access to. Don’t carry anything valuable in plain sight. There was a bit more to the occurrence that makes me seem less pathetic but suffice to say, be wary of people approaching you on the street for any reason.
And presuming that the GH that Reg refers to above is me, yeah campaigns stumble and mistakes are part of the game. I suspect Obama would love to go back to 5 minutes before he said, “You didn’t build that.” and not say it.
As for the state of the party, I have no emotional investment in either party. I can’t vote for Obama because of his Pro-Choice position and the Republican Party has a Pro-Life plank in their platform so that makes it simple for me. Call me a single-issue voter. I’m fine with that. It’s is an issue that, for a myriad of reasons, trumps all others.
Mike Gold
September 18, 2012 - 11:59 am
MOTU, apologizing for the fact that I sent this to you and Martha (and Mindy and Glenn) in an email, I am now sharing my private wisdom with the masses.
There’s only one effective response to this one. Own it. Mitt goes up there and says “Yeah, I said it and I meant it. Gotta problem with that?”
I swear, he’d pick up even more of the stupid white guy vote if he does. This is Archie Bunker 101. Make welfare an issue without calling it welfare. Paint Obama as our Welfare President. Mitt could gain points with that.
Mike Gold
September 18, 2012 - 12:03 pm
George — Watch your ass, or at least your iPhone, next time you’re walking through Manhattan. That very trick is old school in NYC. Actually, they have an interesting two person variation: a relatively sort of attractive woman comes up and asks you a question, gets closer and rubs part of her body against yours (an interesting variation: she grabs your junk) while her partner picks your pocket.
That one simply stands the test of time.
Rick Oliver
September 18, 2012 - 12:08 pm
MOTU: I don’t care what the actual percentage is; it’s Romney’s assertion that they are all a bunch of shiftless bums sucking the government teat that really pisses me off. As I’ve said elsewhere:
Just to make sure I understand: If I work full-time, support my family without resorting to federal or local aid, but don’t make enough to be required to pay federal income tax, I have somehow failed to take “personal responsibility”. Maybe if I voluntarily sent the government a check for taxes I don’t owe, I would then be taking “personal responsibility”?
Reg
September 18, 2012 - 1:28 pm
George…welcome back (albeit sans phone but retaining jewels :-))…and yep…question was directed towards you and Russ.
Thanks for your response and respect for your stance.
I suspect you were in Le France when I asked my question under a previous topic that inquired as to what other aspects of life could/should fall under the banner of Pro-Life…or whether it’s limited just to the unborn.
Mike Gold
September 18, 2012 - 1:48 pm
Rick: I presume taking personal responsibility means stashing as much of your money as possible in off-shore accounts, paying your “fair share” of taxes on what’s left, and then refusing to show your bona fides to the people as part of your job interview for president.
Maybe that 47% is better at getting their loot to the Caymans than Mitt is, and he’s jealous.
Whitney
September 18, 2012 - 2:08 pm
Golden Boy –
If Mitt says that 47% don’t pay taxes, are dependent on the government, and will vote for Obama no matter what, does that mean that Mitt is planning on voting for Obama? Ya know, ‘cuz he pays a shockingly low tax debt which he fears to disclose (no one but his CPAs know…) and he depends on what he has said are lawful governmental loopholes to conduct his carpetbagging?
I thought he was in the 1%, not the 47%…
Mike Gold
September 18, 2012 - 2:23 pm
Mitt says he pays his fair share of taxes and not one penny more. I believe him. I believe he defines “fair share” as the lawful percentage of his income, adjusted for deductions including loopholes, and exclusive of funds he’s hidden in off-shore accounts. If he weren’t a politician he would feel more comfortable stashing a hell of a lot more money overseas than he already does.
I also believe that Mitt thinks this is the American Way. Just as he thinks students are stupid if they take out crippling college loans instead of simply borrowing the loot from their parents. He believes the middle class starts at a quarter-of-a-million a year, undeterred by the fact that the median American household income in 2011 was $49,445. Of course, my source on that is the U.S. census bureau, which is a well-known Socialist organization.
I have known Hollywood executives with better reality testing than Mitt Romney.
And the Palestinians don’t want peace. He said that, too. Let’s assume he’s right, for the purpose of conversation. With that in your public record, exactly how do you deal with the Middle East situation when all the Arab nations know you, the President of the United States, are convinced the Palestinians don’t want peace? You have no negotiating position. You can’t do shit. Mitt is so stupid he doesn’t understand there’s a difference between being pro-Israel and being pro-nuclear war.
George Haberberger
September 18, 2012 - 3:34 pm
MIke: I’ve been to New York 3 times in the last 5 years and I’ve never had anything like you describe happen to me. Maybe I’ve been lucky or maybe that scam won’t work when my wife is standing there with me. The only incident in NYC was the occasional panhandler, not someone trying to steal. In fact in Paris there was a man sitting on the sidewalk with his little dog next to the ATM where we usually got Euros with our credit card. I gave him a Euro once after my phone was stolen, partly because of the dog and partly because at least he was honest. My wife is a lot more… frugal than me and even she gave him some money.
Reg:As far as I’m concerned all aspects of life fall under the Pro-Life umbrella. That includes opposition to the death penalty and care for the indigent. Of course, I don’t want people to not have to make an effort to improve their lives. That really does not help and leads to life-long dependency of charity or government programs.
Mike Gold
September 18, 2012 - 3:51 pm
George, I didn’t mean to imply it is LIKELY you would be accosted in Manhattan, although it would be somewhat less likely (only somewhat) with your wife there. A lot of people from other parts of the nation are used to bad neighborhoods and tend to either stay out of them or be on guard when confronted with real or perceived visual clues. Manhattan isn’t like that: every block has its own feel, and you can go through two separate “bad neighborhoods” within any half mile walk. I’m not saying Manhattan is any less safe than anyplace else, it’s just harder for outsiders determine the type of places they might be going through getting from Point A to Point B.
Street pickpockets tend to wander, and they don’t prey specifically on tourists. They prey specifically on easy marks who look like they have something to offer. It’s easier to deal with if it’s already part of your worldview: for example, I would trust a native New York woman to know how to hold onto her purse before I would a woman from anyplace else, and I think gaggles of them should tour America teaching others. But your typical New Yorker tends to think that he or she can handle anything, and in many other cities — those that have defined bad neighborhoods — that’s an attitude that can get you killed.
R. Maheras
September 19, 2012 - 11:52 am
Mike wrote: “Their ignorance keeps The Daily Show in business.”
While true, your statement is actually a half-truth. For the vast majority of its material, “The Daily Show” only scours the video archives of Republicans.
If I ever met Jon Stewart, I’d tell him he’d have much more credibility — and much higher ratings — if his skewering went both ways, ala “The National Lampoon” during the 1970s.
The one-sidedness of his schtick has gotten old simply because it’s now so frickin’ predictable.
R. Maheras
September 19, 2012 - 12:06 pm
Reg wrote: “And a serious question to GH and RM…are you surprised or concerned about the current state of the party?”
Sorry I didn’t answer sooner, but the wife and I were in Vegas, baby!
Reg — for the record, I’m not now, nor ever have been, a Republican. I’ve also never donated money to Republicans (except through that general fund box one checks off on one’s income tax form).
If anything, I was a Democrat back in my young and dumb idealistic days, circa 1972-1978, but was shocked into reality by Carter’s absolutely abysmal presidency.
That said, here’s my take on the Republican effort to date: I think Romney’s run so far has been mediocre, because, all things considered, he should have a wide lead over Obama at this point.
And if Romney screws up at the debates, he’s probably finished — which is too bad, because Obama is obviously still in way over his head — especially regarding the economy and the deficit.
Reg
September 19, 2012 - 12:20 pm
Randy Newman’s…“I’m Dreaming”…of a White President.
Reg
September 19, 2012 - 12:27 pm
@ George…Respect and props for your response.
@ Russ…re: Vegas…TMI, man!! 😛
“… all things considered, he should have a wide lead over Obama at this point.
And if Romney screws up at the debates, he’s probably finished — which is too bad, because Obama is obviously still in way over his head — especially regarding the economy and the deficit.
Response appreciated, Russ. But I admit to being confused by parts of it. Do you feel that Romney should be ahead because of the brevity of people’s memories or because you feel that Obama (and his advisors) have been inefficient in climbing out of the pit due to bad policy and not GOP obstructionism?
And do you feel that Romney/Ryan have a cogent plan to do better?
Reg
September 19, 2012 - 12:30 pm
p.s. “If I ever met Jon Stewart, I’d tell him he’d have much more credibility — and much higher ratings — if his skewering went both ways…”
I agree with you here.
R. Maheras
September 19, 2012 - 2:07 pm
Reg — I never thought Obama was ready for the presidency in 2008 from an experience standpoint, and neither did he — in 2004. I voted for him for the U.S. Senate then, and he promised his Illinois constituents after he won that he wouldn’t run in 2008 because he would never run for an office he was not yet ready for.
Obama’s problem is he listened to the ego-strokers that soon surrounded him and changed his mind.
To be honest, I didn’t think McCain was qualified either, but we’ll never know how good or bad a president he may have made.
The “obstructionist Republican” stuff doesn’t work for independents, because we’re more than aware how much bullshit that was. Obama had a congressional advantage few presidents in history have ever seen, and the problem with Obama is he had problems leveraging even the moderate and conservative members of his own party.
I think the most telling example of how out of touch his administration can be is when Obama’s budget was voted down UNANIMOUSLY by Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, 99-0. Frankly, I can’t ever remember anything like that ever happening in all of my years following politics. That shows failed communication and leadership on so many levels I simply don’t know where to begin with a critique.
But Romney’s got problems as well, so we’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.
Rene
September 19, 2012 - 2:52 pm
George –
I do respect people who are “single-issue voters”. I mean, if that is important for you, then why not?
But I always had some doubts about how would you implement a Pro-Life stance, in pratical terms. If you consider an abortion the same as murdering a child, then a mother that is suspect of seeking an abortion, or that has tried to abort the child, is similar to planning a murder or a murder attempt.
How would you deal with that? In all cases of attempted murder, it’s possible to separate the would-be murderer from the victim. But in the case of the unborn, it isn’t possible. Do you keep the mother trapped for months under constant surveillance, so people can rush in if she tries anything against the unborn child?
What if the mother is eating badly, drinking and doing drugs? Is it okay then to forcefully commit her to a medical institution, as her behavior is similar to wilfully endangering a child?
I think that, if you think abortion is murder, then go all the way. Because, what happens in practice in many countries were abortion is illegal is that it all happens in a black market, while the authorities look the other way. Sometimes it seems like Conservatives want this to be the case in the US.
Or are Conservatives prepared to propose that families that have abortions be sentenced to life sentences or the electric chair, the same as for killing a defenseless child?
Rick Oliver
September 21, 2012 - 2:54 pm
Obama came into office with a majority in both houses of Congress, but to pretend that the Republican party was not obstructionist is to ignore the record-shattering number of times that the Republicans in the Senate invoked cloture to kill legislation. This is not a matter of opinion. This is a matter of public record.