Tuesday, May 29, 2012

ROMNEY: WHO YA GONNA BELIEVE -- ME OR YOUR LYING ABILITY TO JUDGE CHARACTER?

The Obama campaign is attacking Mitt Romney for his association with Donald Trump, who's still a proud birther, but Romney isn't backing down:

President Barack Obama's campaign is highlighting what they call Mitt Romney's "refusal" to condemn Donald Trump's continued highlighting of the "birther" conspiracy....

Asked on his charter plane Monday night whether Trump's questioning of Obama's birthplace gave him pause, Romney said he was grateful for all his supporters.

"You know, I don't agree with all the people who support me and my guess is they don't all agree with everything I believe in," Romney said. "But I need to get 50.1% or more and I'm appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people." ...


Romney does this a lot: he and his team gently rebuke people other presidential campaigns would cut loose. Romney mildly denounced incivility in general when Ted Nugent made inflammatory remarks about Obama, but he did no more than that -- he is still apparently happy to have Nugent's endorsement. In April, Romney's campaign claimed that immigrant-bashing Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach was a "supporter" and no longer an "advisor" (while Kobach claimed his role hadn't changed), but Romney hasn't repudiated Kobach. Romney stuck by foreign policy adviser Richard Grennell when a look at Grennell's Twitter feed revealed that he'd frequently insulted prominent people in politics, primarily women. (But this loyalty thing goes only so far, of course: when it was clear that Grennell's presence in the campaign offended people on the right -- he's openly gay and a supporter of marriage equality -- he was thrown under the bus.)

Romney seems to be trying to rewrite the rules of toxicity. He seems to be trying to take advantage of his own straitlaced-ness, and of the relaxed rules in general for scandal-plagued Republicans (hello, David Vitter), to give himself immunity whenever an associate offends (as long as the offended parties are merely lefty and centrist). He seems to be telling us that we should let him hang out with anyone he pleases, as a general rule, and that we have no right to judge him by the company he keeps.

Well, he's Republican, so if he's brazen enough about this, he may get away with it.

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Here's an Obama Web ad made in response to this. It's not bad:





DougJ has wondered for years whether birtherism would ever go truly mainstream, with centrist pundits arguing that there are "legitimate issues" we really shouldn't ignore. I don't see that happening -- but I see this as a way for the right to declare, by fiat, that birtherism is a harmless eccentricity, and the only problem is that you make too much of it. (That's basically the way the right talks about racism.) That could easily happen. And maybe it could work.

3 comments:

  1. The Republican strategy is all about preying on fear and ignorance, whether it be religious freedom, rights to bear arms, super-human monsters at Gitmo or black kids in gated communities. Romney can't do without conspiracy theorists any more than Ron Paul can.

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  2. Hello Steve,
    This bit of Mitt Romney not chastising “The Donald” for his “Birther” nonsense, making an argument where there is none, but instead embracing “The Donald’s” support. As far as I am concerned just shows a lack of any moral compass.

    With the topic of lack of any moral compass, as we speak today, the Republicans are actively planning and implementing the stealing of another election like what was done during the 2000 elections in Florida by purging the voting roles of those who would be voting against the Republican Party. It is going on all across the country in many states too.

    http://engineerofknowledge.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/if-you-preserve-secrecy-half-the-battles-won-the-khmer-rouge-principle/

    This is the warning that needs to be made more public for the sake of our Democracy….or maybe it’s all ready gone.

    The Justice Department is pursuing cases against, not only Florida, but many of the states across the country perpetrating this scam, and hopefully, something can be done. As I am glad that the Justice Department is pursuing these cases but I guess the question is will they get this corrected in time for this election? Another thought that comes to mind, “What would the repercussion or penalties be should the Justice Department find this purging illegal….after the election and votes already cast? A smack on the hands with a “Don’t do this again,” statement?”

    Romney and the Republicans will be in control for at least the next four years. That is all they were hoping for in the first place.

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  3. If they get control in January of 2013, they won't let go.

    They'll change the voting rules, and the SC will back-up their destruction of the Civil Rights Acts Laws.

    Can you say, '1,000 Republican Reich?"

    Of course, after 10 years, this country will have fallen apart like a suit made by a blind tailor out of tissue paper in a hurricane, but the Conservative Fascists won't care.

    Party over country!
    PARTY UBER ALLES!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete