Mitt Romney

**raycarey** · 26-06-2012, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Ceburat1

Just wait until C Rice gets into the ring - might just stir the pot.

oy vey.

1. she was sec. of state for an administration that is widely regarded as having made the worst foreign policy decisions in modern american history.

2. do you really think romney wants to draw (more) attention to the fact his potential administration will be made up of former GWB appointees and staffers? americans generally aren't much for history, but they are able to remember what a mess she and he cohorts dragged the rest of the country into.

3.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to tamp down any speculation she could be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. Rice tells “CBS This Morning” she’s not interested in joining Romney, who has more than enough delegates to win the presidential nod at the party convention in Tampa.
Rice says, quote, “I didn’t run for student council president. I don’t see myself in any way in elective office.”
Rice also says “there is no way that I will do this because it’s really not me. I know my strengths and weaknesses.”

Condi Rice: ‘There Is No Way’ I Will Be Romney’s Running Mate « CBS DC

so, in short, she won't be involved with any pot being stirred.

**S Landreth** · 27-06-2012, 12:34 AM

Character Matters

A Case of Romnesia

Mitt Romney has a history problem.

It's not only that past events and stances—say, his implementation of an Obamacare-like reform in Massachusetts, or his 1994 call for "full equality" for gay and lesbians—undermine his current efforts by calling into question his political integrity. Romney often distorts—or is detached from—significant realities of his personal past.

Voters and the media world received a glimpse of this last month when the Washington Post disclosed that Romney, while attending an elite prep school, once led a posse of schoolmates to assault a fellow student who was thought to be gay. Though the newspaper cited five sources, including several participants in the brutal episode, Romney, through a spokeswoman, claimed he had "no memory" of the matter. After the story appeared, Romney, still insisting not to recall the event, apologized for pranks that "might have gone too far." Yet his lack of recollection was tough to believe, especially given the searing memories the attack had left within others. More important, Romney's blank-out was in keeping with a pattern of selective and manipulative presentations of his past. He's not merely a flip-flopper; he's a self-revisionist.

I. The Father

Romney has a wonderfully colorful and much-storied family past. His great-great grandfather Miles Archibald Romney, an English carpenter, was one of the first Brits to convert to Mormonism. Following the call, Miles immigrated to Illinois. Three generations later—after plenty of family drama intertwined with the rise of the Mormon Church—the Romney family would yield George, Mitt's father. He would become an innovative auto executive, a well-regarded governor of Michigan (who in 1964 walked out of the Republican National Convention to protest nominee Barry Goldwater's opposition to civil rights legislation), and a presidential candidate.

snip

II. The War

Mitt Romney, who was born in 1947, was eligible for the Vietnam War draft. But he did not serve in the military. In 2007, he told the Boston Globe that he "longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there, and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam." Romney could have acted on that supposed longing by merely signing up—or by not taking steps to avoid the draft. But he chose to duck the war.

snip

III. The Businessman

Why should Mitt Romney be president? He says it is because of his experience as a free-enterprise-loving businessman who has had whopping success in the private sector. On the stump, Romney praises risk-taking entrepreneurial behavior. "What makes America's economy go is individuals with dreams who take risks, borrow money from their family, max out their credit cards, maybe get an outside investor," he declared this month. He claims that President Obama doesn't understand this basic dynamic of the US economy, and Romney suggests that he himself possesses a fundamental appreciation, due to his own biography. At a Republican debate last fall, when Herman Cain challenged Romney's business record, Romney countered that he had been the CEO of a "start-up."

snip

Romney's serial denials of past positions have partly shaped his public political persona. He was for gun control measures, now he's not. He favored climate change action, now he doesn't. He was a fan of individual health care mandates, now he decries Obamacare. His craven flexibility was perhaps best epitomized when he tried to explain to Kranish and Helman why during the 1994 Senate campaign he had written a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay rights group, asserting a desire "to establish full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens." He told the reporters, "well, okay, let's look at that in the context of who it's being written to." Romney, in this moment of candor, was inadvertently admitting he was an unapologetic panderer.

That was an exception. Romney tends to reject charges of flip-flopping, as he did in his unsuccessful interview last November with Fox News' Bret Baier. And this is to be expected. To be a credible candidate, Romney cannot acknowledge his long list of 180s. (Nor can he dwell on his years as governor of Massachusetts, where his signature accomplishment was health care reform that was the basis for Obama's initiative.) But his refutation of the past extends beyond the politician's traditional refusal to acknowledge previous positions that have since become inconvenient. He has adopted an overly flexible attitude toward his personal history, showing that he is an unreliable source of information about himself. If he cannot tell his own tale accurately, can he be trusted to tell the nation's?

Originally Posted by raycarey

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the matter.

is scott up for re-election in november? i know he's wildly unpopular, but if he's running, he's going to have to walk a fine line here.

No Scott was elected in 2010 defeating Alex Sink with 48.87% of the vote to Ms. Sink’s 47.72%.

Scott might be the most disliked governor in the US,………

In May of last year just 29 percent of Florida voters approved of the job Governor Rick Scott was doing. So Scott hired a new chief of staff, invited reporters over for donuts.

He ditched his executive suits and changed his official photo to a more causal picture. Under the watchful eye of his new chief advisor, Scott’s approval rating rose to 41 percent. But now it’s falling again.

A Quinnipiac Poll released Wednesday shows Scott’s rating dropping to 39 percent. Pollster Peter Brown says the governor needs more support from his own party. “One of the reasons he’s having so many problems, is his Republican numbers are low.”: Florida Governor Rick Scott's popularity dips: Quinnipiac Poll shows rating dropping to 39 percent

**Boon Mee** · 28-06-2012, 05:49 AM

Romney up big in Arizona

Romney leads 54 to 41 percent over Obama. And we're sure to see that lead widen!

Poll: Romney up big in Arizona - The Hill's Ballot Box

**S Landreth** · 29-06-2012, 03:24 AM

Romney applauds Supreme Court decision (kinda)

he's the best they got

**Boon Mee** · 01-07-2012, 09:45 AM

Another falsehood exposed: FactCheck.Org: No Evidence Romney Shipped Jobs Overseas

FactCheck.Org keeps most of its focus on the Obama campaign's ads and statements, but you can also read this as a repudiation of the Washington Post's now discredited reporting.

The evidence is now irrefutable. The Post and the Obama campaign not only coordinated an attack against Mitt Romney, they coordinated a false attack against Mitt Romney.

FactCheck.Org: No Evidence Romney Shipped Jobs Overseas

Shame on them...

**raycarey** · 02-07-2012, 07:26 PM

uh-oh.

this isn't going to play well with the base:

romney and bain capital invested in a company that disposed of aborted fetuses.

Earlier this year, Mitt Romney nearly landed in a politically perilous controversy when the Huffington Post reported that in 1999 the GOP presidential candidate had been part of an investment group that invested $75 million in Stericycle, a medical-waste disposal firm that has been attacked by anti-abortion groups for disposing aborted fetuses collected from family planning clinics. Coming during the heat of the GOP primaries, as Romney tried to sell South Carolina Republicans on his pro-life bona fides, the revelation had the potential to damage the candidate's reputation among values voters already suspicious of his shifting position on abortion.

But Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney founded, tamped down the controversy. The company said Romney left the firm in February 1999 to run the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and likely had nothing to with the deal. The matter never became a campaign issue. But documents filed by Bain and Stericycle with the Securities and Exchange Commission—and obtained by Mother Jones—list Romney as an active participant in the investment. And this deal helped Stericycle, a company with a poor safety record, grow, while yielding tens of millions of dollars in profits for Romney and his partners. The documents—one of which was signed by Romney—also contradict the official account of Romney's exit from Bain.

The Stericycle deal—the abortion connection aside—is relevant because of questions regarding the timing of Romney's departure from the private equity firm he founded. Responding to a recent Washington Post story reporting that Bain-acquired companies outsourced jobs, the Romney campaign insisted that Romney exited Bain in February 1999, a month or more before Bain took over two of the companies named in the Post's article. The SEC documents undercut that defense, indicating that Romney still played a role in Bain investments until at least the end of 1999.

Romney Invested in Medical-Waste Firm That Disposed of Aborted Fetuses, Government Documents Show | Mother Jones

it's long been proven that romney donated money to planned parenthood....but profiting from the aborted fetuses? can the religious right really swallow that?

now i'm sure some will question the source (as it is undeniably partisan), but if the allegations in the article are proven to be true, it will certainly be gut check time for conservatives who have up to this point supported romney.

**Mr Earl** · 03-07-2012, 04:30 AM

^Don't worry Ray Mother Jones readership doesn't extend very far outside loony leftie circles.

**Boon Mee** · 03-07-2012, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

^Don't worry Ray Mother Jones readership doesn't extend very far outside loony leftie circles.

Heh...they're all getting the facts straight now:

‘Washington Post’ Backs Off Claim Romney Outsourced Jobs.

After all, just how many loonies tune into Rachel Mad Cow or read the WaPo anyway?

**Boon Mee** · 03-07-2012, 07:26 AM

Day One, Job One: #FullRepeal - YouTube

In a few months, Americans will cast their ballots and make a choice. Do we continue on a path of rising, out of control health care costs? Do we continue with massive tax increases to fund a new two trillion dollar program? Do we continue stifling our economy with a growing government that discourages hiring? Or do we chart a new course and change directions. The Supreme Court may have made their decision, but the American people haven't. Day one. Job one. Repeal Obamacare.

Indeed...

**sabang** · 03-07-2012, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Do we continue on a path of rising, out of control health care costs?

That is exactly what Health care reform is aimed at preventing- and the numbers from the CBO are compelling when it comes to Deficit reduction.

Some of you guys exist in a topsy turvy, illogical world. You are not going to be able to reduce your blossoming Deficit problems by continuing to throw money willy nilly at the Pentagon, and ignoring Health care reform, alright. Unless you increase taxes considerably, which of course you vociferously argue against.

I can only assume that your spouses handled the family finances.

**raycarey** · 03-07-2012, 07:13 PM

mitt romney made $22 million in 2010, and paid $3 million in taxes.....14%

now, $3 million is a lot of taxes.

$3 million, in fact, is more tax than most people will pay in their entire lives.

But it's also only 14% of what Mitt Romney made in 2010.

14% is a lot lower than the 35% tax bracket that most people assume those who make a lot of money pay.

It's also lower than the 15% capital gains and dividends tax rate.

It's also lower than the 15% income tax rate paid by Americans who make between $8,500 and $34,500 per year.

So, you can understand why some people think Mitt Romney pays a pretty low tax rate.

And you can understand why some people wonder how it is, exactly, that Mitt Romney pays such a low tax rate--and where and how he has stashed all of his money.

Read more: Mitt Romney Made $22 Million In 2010 -- And Paid Only $3 Million Of Tax (14%) - Business Insider

**raycarey** · 05-07-2012, 07:36 PM

more information on romney's taxes....

Romney gave the Mormon church nearly $1.7 million in 2010--about 60% his charitable donations in 2010.

Read more: Here's The REAL Mystery Charity That Mitt Romney Has Given Millions Of Dollars To... - Business Insider

btw, vanity fair has a huge piece in the current issue about romney's taxes....and in the next few days we could be hearing more about whether or not willard has been straight with the tax man. something about a tax shelter in bermuda. should be interesting.

**barbaro** · 06-07-2012, 12:13 AM

Originally Posted by Ceburat1

Just wait until C Rice gets into the ring - might just stir the pot.

She will not "get in the ring."

Never was.

And she was and is a teacher and a former diplomat.

What views of hers do you agree with? Disagree with?

You (and I), do not know because she's never told them to us.

**sabang** · 06-07-2012, 05:51 AM

It was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, not Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, that was the first choice for Senator John McCain's female running mate, according to a mid-level member of the Republican National Committee.

"Once [Democratic presidential nominee, Illinois Senator] Obama selected [Delaware Senator] Biden" instead of Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), the source told journalist Ian Halperin, "they had this theory that Condi was the perfect candidate to put up against him. She's tough, conservative and a hawk, not to mention a football fanatic, which would be more than enough for white men.

McCain's inner circle argued "furiously" for Rice to be his running mate instead of one-time top contenders Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Tim Pawlenty. However, according to the RNC source, persistent rumors about Rice's sexual orientation took her out of the running. "In Washington circles," the source said, "it's just assumed Rice is gay and nobody really cares. But in the glare of the media spotlight, those rumors were bound to get magnified a thousandfold and the mainstream media would have had an excuse to reveal the facts that would have caused conniption fits among the Republican base."
PageOneQ | Republican source: Lesbian rumors ruined Condoleezza Rice's VP chances

I don't think the choice of Condi as VP would exactly play into the hands of the religious Right, whom the Republicans kowtow to for votes.
Neither would it play to the GOP's hypocritical but widely tubthumped 'family values' platform.

**barbaro** · 06-07-2012, 12:17 PM

^ Thanks for this Sabang.

I don't care what Condi's orientation is, but that goes to show you the dynamics of selecting a VP.

**HermantheGerman** · 06-07-2012, 12:52 PM

$ 30 million in the Cayman Isles...good ole Romney will show Americans how to become better criminals ...aheemm investors.

Bonn Mee, Romney is not going to make it. You are betting on the wrong Jack-Ass again

**S Landreth** · 07-07-2012, 07:32 AM

Mitt Romney on Health Care,..........

ya think he has had a change of heart as of late?

**Cthulhu** · 08-07-2012, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by barbaro

Originally Posted by Ceburat1

Just wait until C Rice gets into the ring - might just stir the pot.

She will not "get in the ring."

Oh, and while I agree that Condoleeza Rice would be a formidable VP candidate, I doubt Romney will select her - first of all, I doubt she'll be interested, but her being black will certainly irk his primary support base - old, white, racists.

**Boon Mee** · 09-07-2012, 05:17 PM

Heh... ANTI-ROMNEY/KOCH BROTHERS DEMONSTRATION IS AN EPIC FAILURE.

Everything these folks do is an abject failure...

**S Landreth** · 09-07-2012, 06:13 PM

Come on Mitt open the books,.be more like your daddy (I think his father showed 15 years),..what are you hiding?

The Obama campaign has called on Mitt Romney to release years of tax returns to prove he did not break the law following claims that the Republican presidential candidate held secret accounts in foreign tax havens.: Obama aide hints at tax evasion in challenge to Romney to release records | World news | guardian.co.uk

**Cthulhu** · 09-07-2012, 06:39 PM

What's he got to hide? Obama opened his books.

**raycarey** · 09-07-2012, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

What's he got to hide?

accounts in the cayman islands, bermuda and switzerland for a start.

apparently 250 million isn't enough for this guy, so he's been trying to game the system by sheltering more of his vast wealth overseas to avoid paying his fair share of taxes.

can't imagine that's going to play well in CO, PA, OH and MI.

**Cthulhu** · 10-07-2012, 05:14 AM

I bet there's some feverish shuffling of monies and ownership papers going on, as we speak.

By the way, there's nothing wrong in sheltering money, or making efforts to defer or reduce your tax liability. The problem is when people get too greedy and too stupid. Looks to me like he is both -- and running for President.

Granted, perfect qualifications for a GOP candidate.

**robuzo** · 10-07-2012, 07:51 AM

American Conservative writer Scott Galupo asks an important question: "How did we come to this pass, where a man like Mitt Romney — whose candidacy represents a breathtakingly cynical, borderline nihilistic pursuit of power on behalf of a tiny sliver of the population — sits within striking distance of the highest office in the land?"
The Loathsome Romney Candidacy: How Did We Get Here? | The American Conservative

**Cthulhu** · 10-07-2012, 08:46 AM

... and that's why Condi is smart. She won't be no Aunty Tom:

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to tamp down any speculation she could be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. Rice tells “CBS This Morning” she’s not interested in joining Romney, who has more than enough delegates to win the presidential nod at the party convention in Tampa.
Rice says, quote, “I didn’t run for student council president. I don’t see myself in any way in elective office.”
Rice also says “there is no way that I will do this because it’s really not me. I know my strengths and weaknesses.”

She basically just gave the middle finger to Romney.

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