so ... Mitt Romney.

[U2Girl1978]

Oh well, his lawn looks great courtesy of all those illegal immigrants his lawn company employed. Good thing they made it here before that 700 mile fence he endorses could be built, or his big fancy lawn would have been full of weeds and crabgrass.

He stands there screaming about letting the people vote on gay marriage while he takes a hatchet to critical human services. He's an opportunistic hypocrite.

Indeed. I can't wait for him to leave office. I hope someone pushes him down a flight of stairs when he leaves in January. oh did I just say that? sorry.

 

[Varitek]

He's an opportunistic hypocrite.

Some opportunistic hypocrites are very, very good and very, very dangerous. At least he's bad at it and only managed to inflict 4 more years of incompetence upon the state. The facade is crumbling, and he's not going anywhere but back to his immigrant-mowed Belmont lawn, or maybe now that he doesn't have to pretend to be a mass resident, back to Utah or Michigan or wherever he came from. TAKE HIM AWAY!!!

 

[diamond]

i see hatred in some of these posts.

dbs

 

[Varitek]

i see hatred in some of these posts.

dbs

pretty much. The man conned the voters (admittedly his opponent wasn't overwhelming), then proceeded to spend 4 years becoming more and more conservative, going on a disproportionate trips out of state often costing the state money for his statie detail, trips on which he bashed the state to various groups while promising folks back home he was trying to make it more attractive for business. Meanwhile we're the only state to have lost population 2 years running (so much so that we are poised to lose a seat in congress, which I'm sure will make Mitt's national Republican constituency proud...did I say conspiracy theory.....), the state is hemorhaging jobs and companies (Gillette, Fleet, Hancock...) and murder rates are spiking in the urban areas while he's cut funding to police forces.

But I guess this thread was just supposed to be about religion and the American public.

 

[BVS]

i see hatred in some of these posts.

dbs

Hatred for hypocricy is a good thing.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I don't hate the man, what I do hate is someone being a governor of a state and then turning around and making fun of that state and the people who live in in when he decides to run for President. That's a major slap in the face and an insult, and that's called being a user and a calculating opportunist. I hate when that same person goes on and on about how every child deserves a mother and a father and how gay marriage is such a colossal issue while at the same time manufacturing a pseudo budget crisis, again for political purposes, and cutting funds for services such as beds for the homeless in shelters in winter. Every child deserves a mother and father, but every human being doesn't deserve a roof over his/her head in the cold of winter? And I'm sure some of those cuts must have also included services for children. That's disgusting and hypocrisy in my opinion. But oops, suddenly the money for the shelter beds was restored when a newspaper columnist exposed it. I don't give a hoot about gay people getting married and actually I think it's wonderful. But I do care about homeless people sleeping on the streets in the winter among other things, and that's what he should care about too instead of standing on the steps of the State House ranting about voting on gay marriage. I have no desire to vote on it- I never voted on straight marriage, for starters. He should also care that so many people had to leave the state he was governor of because they couldn't afford to live in it anymore thanks in large part to what he has done as governor-but then again, why would he? Washed his hands of that, got what he wanted, time to move on. And time to make "jokes" at the citizens' expense and flip flop your way to the White House-not. Won't get fooled again, hopefully.




Romney's dance to the right

By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist | November 26, 2006

It's like turning a ballerina into a right-leaning elephant.

For more than a decade, Mitt Romney has been dancing around some hot-button social issues. Now, he is running hard to the right to position himself for the 2008 presidential contest.

But his tutu catches on some inconvenient realities: He ran for office twice in Massachusetts as a moderate, pro choice Republican. All the political theatrics in the world can't change the record.

Take Romney's war on gay marriage in Massachusetts. The governor is now asking the state's highest court to force a referendum on a proposed amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Obviously, Romney is laboring hard to establish his social-conservative credentials for upcoming Republican primaries.

But, as a recent opinion piece in Bay Windows, New England's largest publication for lesbian and gay readers, pointed out, "Anyone thinking of supporting Romney's bid for president because of his socially conservative views on gay people should know a few things about the governor."

Among the items writer Susan Ryan-Vollmar notes:

When he ran against Ted Kennedy for the Senate in 1994, Romney wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Log Cabin Club, pledging that as "we seek to establish full equality for American gay and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent." During that same campaign, Romney was accused of once describing gay people as "perverse." In response, Romney's campaign vehemently denied that he used the word "perverse" and said that he respected "all people regardless of their race, creed, or sexual orientation."

While running for governor in 2002, Romney and his running mate, Kerry Healey, distributed pink fliers at a Gay Pride parade, declaring "Mitt and Kerry wish you a great Pride weekend." He backed domestic partner benefits for public employees, winning the endorsement of the national Log Cabin Republicans. In his inaugural speech, he promised to defend civil rights "regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or race."

As governor, he appointed openly gay and lesbian people to high-profile administration positions. He doubled the budget line item for the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, until he tried to disband it last May -- more political theater for the Republican right.

Romney also chose to stage his big antigay marriage rally on the State House steps after the Nov. 9 constitutional convention. Why not before legislators took their vote on the marriage amendment?

And Romney accuses Senator John McCain of Arizona of being "disingenuous "? McCain simply said that while he opposes gay marriage, he believes the states should decide the issue.

Abortion is another tough -- make that disingenuous -- issue for Romney. He was pro choice in Massachusetts before he was anti choice as a would-be presidential candidate.

He can't run from his words, and the bigger puzzle is: Why bother?

Didn't Romney notice what happened Nov. 7? Desperate Republicans ran against Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco liberals, kissing cousins to the Massachusetts variety, and lost that battle, along with control of the House and Senate.

It's true that on Election Day, voters in seven states also approved measures to ban gay marriage. But in choosing their representatives in Washington, voters were thinking globally, not locally: They cared, first, about the war in Iraq.

They also looked to the center, and away from the partisan fringes Romney is now working so hard to tap into.

With Democrats in control of Congress, the new year promises to showcase a national debate on war and national security. Any presidential contender will be expected to handle those issues with thoughtfulness and depth.

They also happen to represent the weakest link in Romney's resume, especially when compared with an opponent like McCain, a decorated combat veteran and longtime Washington voice on military and foreign affairs. Republican Rudy Giuliani also has the hands-on experience of dealing with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as mayor of New York City.

Romney will tout his security credentials as head of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. But like all governors, Romney faces a major challenge when it comes to establishing credibility on foreign policy and national security issues.

Laying claim to the right on social issues temporarily distracts from other gaps in his experience. It also puts future opponents on the defensive.

At some point, they will try to throw Romney's own words and record back at him -- before he dances away.

 

[Macfistowannabe]

politics and policies aside, let's take a look at the man.

much of the discussion from the right wing of the country since George W. Bush appeared on the scene has been about how religion and faith matter, that we don't need and shouldn't want a firewall between political life and religious life, and it's fairly clear that many have voted for W mostly because of his evangelical protestanism.

so ... does Romney's Mormanism make you more or less likely to vote for him?

be honest.

Good question.

Kamal Nawash is a conservative and a reformed Muslim who ran for Congress, but lost. I would have gladly supported him.

Mitt Romney is actually my favorite potential candidate so far. He has distanced himself from liberal positions he once advocated in order to get elected in a blue state. As far as the evangelical vote, I think he has potential, although there are some who put religious affiliation before policy. JFK went through the same thing, being Catholic. But for as Clinton-lite as McCain and Giuliani are, I think Romney has a lot of potential within the conservative base.

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Hatred for hypocricy is a good thing.

Hypocrisy can be an ongoing factor in beltway politics, right or left.

Does that license us to hate hypocrites? Without exception, all of us have been hypocritical at some point.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yeah but all of us aren't running for the position of "leader of the free world". And all of us aren't screwing people over in the process, to be blunt.

 

[Ormus]

Re: Re: so ... Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney is actually my favorite potential candidate so far. He has distanced himself from liberal positions he once advocated in order to get elected in a blue state.

So, basically, he'll say anything just to get elected. How do you know he's not doing just that yet again?

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Yeah but all of us aren't running for the position of "leader of the free world". And all of us aren't screwing people over in the process, to be blunt.

You don't honestly think John Kerry was hypocrisy-free, do you?

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Re: Re: Re: so ... Mitt Romney.

say anything just to get elected.

Welcome to politics.

 

[U2Girl1978]

i see hatred in some of these posts.

dbs

Yea well, you don't live in a state where you have a governor that is not even there half the time. Usually he has his head up his own ass and is constantly being negative towards Massachusetts. He's so concerned about being President that he isn't doing his duty to make sure people are taken care of. He's cut spending, etc. etc.

Do you really want to elect someone like that for president? Of course you do.

I would suggest living here for a week to see what I mean. So since you don't you really have no freakin idea what he's like only what you've read online.

 

[diamond]

You have to admit he has that Reagan moxxie thing going for him.

 

[Irvine511]

You have to admit he has that Reagan moxxie thing going for him.

 

[diamond]

 

[coemgen]

Isn't this the "tar baby" quote guy?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Isn't this the "tar baby" quote guy?

Yes

And yeah, if moxie equals being a pompous two faced hypocrite he's got that down.



Moxie, a carbonated beverage, is considered to be the USA's first mass produced soft drink.

Created in 1876 by Dr. Augustin Thompson of Union, Maine, Moxie was first marketed as a patent medicine in Lowell, Massachusetts, under the product name “Moxie Nerve Food”.[1] Moxie was said to cure ailments ranging from softening of the brain to “loss of manhood.”

Softening of the brain? Check. I won't even comment on the loss of manhood..but as far as I'm concerned and how I define what a man is, Mitt lost that a long time ago.

 

[deep]

pretty much. The man conned the voters (admittedly his opponent wasn't overwhelming), then proceeded to spend 4 years becoming more and more conservative, going on a disproportionate trips out of state often costing the state money for his statie detail, trips on which he bashed the state to various groups while promising folks back home he was trying to make it more attractive for business.

Meanwhile we're the only state to have lost population 2 years running (so much so that we are poised to lose a seat in congress, which I'm sure will make Mitt's national Republican constituency proud...did I say conspiracy theory.....),

the state is hemorhaging jobs and companies (Gillette, Fleet, Hancock...) and murder rates are spiking in the urban areas while he's cut funding to police forces.

But I guess this thread was just supposed to be about religion and the American public.

Utah seeks fourth seat in U.S. House

By JENNIFER TALHELM
Associated Press writer

WASHINGTON -- Utah lawmakers must beat the clock -- and overcome a distracted Congress -- to push a bill through Washington that would give the state a fourth House seat. Backers say they still hope it can be done in a lame-duck session of Congress next week.

Utah lawmakers are pushing hard for the new seat, which would give the state added clout in Washington. The plan is half a proposal that would also grant the District of Columbia a voting member in the U.S. House.

 

[Varitek]

Go enfranchisement for DC! Does the article say why Utah thinks they deserve another seat over other states?

 

[deep]

Go enfranchisement for DC! Does the article say why Utah thinks they deserve another seat over other states?

they claim an undercount in the last census

Because thousands? of their residents were not counted because they were out of state serving as missionaries for the Mormon church.

During the 2000 reapportionment Utah barely missed out on picking up one additional seat.

I believe that seat went to W VA.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

You don't honestly think John Kerry was hypocrisy-free, do you?

What does he have to do with any of this? We can play hypocrisy tit for tat all day-but that won't change what a phony user Mitt is.

John Kerry never bad mouthed MA and its' people as soon as he got what he wanted by using his position as a stepping stone when he was running for President-from what I can remember, he did nothing but praise it. He wasn't going to South Carolina or anywhere else and mocking it and the people he served as Senator.

John Kerry never stood around ranting about gay marriage literally while people were in danger of freezing to death on the streets because of his imaginary created budget crisis and cuts.

John Kerry didn't rant about illegal immigrants for political purposes all the while using them to manicure his golf course lawn.

Vote for Mitt for President and you will regret it. But at least if he ever becomes President he won't be using it as a stepping stone, unless he has the desire to become King Of The World (which he probably does). His Lt Gov lost the election for governor to a man with no political experience that I know of other than his civil rights job under Clinton (great job and nothing wrong with that, but it's not running a state or even a city or town) partially due to her association with Romney-what does that tell you? She lost for other reasons (mainly her nasty negative ads) but the Mitt thing was still important. People were desperate for a change from life under Mitt. People in MA don't take kindly to feeling used and abused and are intelligent and savvy.

 

[diamond]

anger
anger
anger

coming from those who usually espouse:

acceptance
tolerence
diversity.

 

[BVS]

Hypocrisy can be an ongoing factor in beltway politics, right or left.

Does that license us to hate hypocrites? Without exception, all of us have been hypocritical at some point.

Who said anything about hating hypocrites? Read my post again.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

anger
anger
anger

coming from those who usually espouse:

acceptance
tolerence
diversity

Yeah that's right diamond, and you live where exactly? You know what exactly about Mitt by actually living under his rule? Or do you just like his hair...

Justified anger about important matters including job performance and ethics is righteous and our responsibility. Espousing acceptance and tolerance and diversity about certain matters has absolutely nothing to do with this, if you can't see that well....Having issues with Mitt being a Mormon would be directly comparable- and I have ZERO. I know very little about the Mormon faith, but I would assume that protecting the poor and homeless might be a priority. But alas Mitt is suddenly preoccupied with right wing conservative issues-with the poor and homeless, not so much. Read the editorial I posted, it says it all.

 

[U2Girl1978]

anger
anger
anger

coming from those who usually espouse:

acceptance
tolerence
diversity.

Well, like I said why don't you come live out here and see how swell of a job ole Mitt Romney is doing.

Like MrsS. said you will regret voting for him if it comes down to it.

 

[Zoocoustic]

As a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (i.e. Mormon) I can say that, unfortunately, Mitt Romney won't get the republican nomination BECAUSE he is a Mormon.

I'm really pleased to see that the general majority here at interference doesn't seem to care, and this would not be a factor in their decision. That shows a level of maturity and tolerance that I personally can really appreciate.

However, the unfortunate reality is that most "Christians" of other faiths have a MAJOR problem with my religion (and that's a whole other topic) and because of this, any Mormon running for president hasn't got a chance. It's pretty shallow and discriminatory, but it's reality.

 

[BVS]

As a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (i.e. Mormon) I can say that, unfortunately, Mitt Romney won't get the republican nomination BECAUSE he is a Mormon.

I'm really pleased to see that the general majority here at interference doesn't seem to care, and this would not be a factor in their decision. That shows a level of maturity and tolerance that I personally can really appreciate.

However, the unfortunate reality is that most "Christians" of other faiths have a MAJOR problem with my religion (and that's a whole other topic) and because of this, any Mormon running for president hasn't got a chance. It's pretty shallow and discriminatory, but it's reality.

You are probably right. The christian right usually don't recognise much outside of their Protestant denominations.

 

[U2Girl1978]

It's too bad religion always has to be a problem in an election or anywhere for that matter. I don't care what kind of religion you are, as long as you can do the job that's all that matters. Mitt will not be able to do the job because he couldn't produce results in Massachusetts. What makes anyone think he can produce results for the U.S. and the rest of the world? I could list alot of things that I felt that he bungled but it would take up half the page. If Romney gets in he'll make Bush look like a saint.

 

[Dreadsox]

I am laughing my ass off. I do not like the guy, and I was a delagate to the convention that gave him the nomination for Governor.

People are criticizing him becuase the LAWN COMPANY he hired to do his lawn had illegals. PLEASE!!!!!

Someone tellme how the fuck anyone is going to run for office if this is the issue. What I am supposed to screen the employees of a COMPANY?

There is not a flipping small business around that is not employing illegals.

The Cranberry industry in Massachusetts would fall apart.

I suppose all of the democratic candidates must screen the employees of a PRIVATE company before they eat out in a restaraunt.

Give me a break. FYM is too intelligent to evolve into this.