Why did Mitt run from Romneycare?

For those who do not live in Massachusetts and are still trembling at the presupposed apocalyptic, futuristic nightmare of universal health care coverage, known variously as Obamacare or, in this Commonwealth, "Romneycare", calm down.

The Sweet Taste of Victory and precious few bitter herbs

The evening afterglow brings the sweet taste of victory to be savored and precious few bitter herbs:

Charles Pierce talks me off the last left limb

Earlier today, in a blooming burst of whimsy, I flirted with the notion of voting for Green party candidate, Jill Stein for President. Oh, I might not have actually pulled her lever, but when a simplistic on line survey compared my positions with that of the candidates and concluded that Ms. Stein was my one true champion, how could a simple fellow such as I resist?

Will The Willow shutter FEMA? The daily update and a history lesson

During a debate at the height of the GOP primary, Mitt Romney was asked, in the context of the Joplin disaster and FEMA's cash crunch, whether FEMA should be shuttered and states required to take over responsibility for disaster response. His response?

Mitt's foreign policy revealed: Cowboy up! Oops!

ETCH-A-SKETCH UPDATE: Oh great! Yesterday I was ready to grab my 10 gallon hat, boots, spurs and rusty cap gun and saddle up for Team Romney to play Sheriff to the world just like back in the good old Bush days when oliver sudden morphs into a peacenik and pulls the plug on the whole shooting match. All that fretting and fuming over whether Mittens was gonna steal the nuclear code and hit the button right there on the debate stage and it turns out all he wants to do is give peace a chance. Fooled me again, slick.

Mitt Romney, Robert Bork and abortion

It is now days before the election and we are still expected to peer behind a mask of obfuscating slogans in search of the very few clues we can find that tell us which way the Willow will bend when the winds blow and what it is that he will risk mussing his hair to fight for.

On one issue at least, help is here, courtesy of Politifact.com which has compiled Romney's abortion positions over the years, step by circuitous step.

Romney's Vietnam- The Tale of a Fortunate Son

A Fortunate Son

In 1966, Mitt Romney was a freshman at Stanford at a time when the campus was roiled by anti-war demonstrations.  Romney, like his father, was an ardent supporter of the war. Mitt's campus contribution? He joined a counter-protest urging his fellow students to abandon their protests. That's him in the upper right corner of the photo. 

Another Mass Kiss Off for Mitt the Man With No Home

Coda: When it was over and he was soundly beaten, Mitt Romney delivered a concession speech that revealed himself to be a gracious, decent and honorable man. Unfortunately for him, he never learned to run a gracious, decent and honorable campaign.

The Next to the Last Great Debate

UPDATE: How do you debate someone who never takes a consistent position on anything and when he is called out on any one of them, denies that was ever his position in the first place? I've been listening to this guy for 18 years and still haven’t got the slighted clue what be truly believes in. The last time this country bought a bundles of surprises like this it was gift wrapped by Richard Nixon. The last time we elected an actor this skilled, his name was Ronald Reagan, right down to the Brylcreem. If that’s your cup of tea, take a swallow. But first, ask yourself this: who is it you are voting for and what is it that he is going to do for you, especially if you are among the 47% who, when behind closed doors, he dismisses as freeloaders? And how does he propose to reach across the aisle when he’s got the right wing of his party ready to smack him down every time he tries it right on down to the next Supreme Court Justices? Etch-a-Sketch is the name of the game alright. PS You balanced the budget in Massachusetts because it is a constitutional requirement, sport.

UPDATE: BOOM! 149 MINUTES INTO DEBATE #2 AND ... Barry O. hits Mittens with "47%" for the final blow. That's 47% people. Remember, folks, Mittens said it behind closed doors surrounded by $$$. Are you or your loved ones in that 47%? If so, what's left to decide? One guy is a poseur in an empty suit under a coiffure and the other is the present and future President of the United States of America. VOTE!

Mitt the Patrician; suspicions confirmed.

Over the course of a campaign, one way or another, candidates are revealed. In this campaign, Romney has disclosed as little of his planned policy as possible, revealed relatively nothing of his personality, professional background or finances. But he has consistently demonstrated an entire lack of understanding and  compassion for those he calls "victims" who live in this country he presumes to govern.  I don't know about you, but I don't want a President who holds me in such contempt.

This is the audio clip of  "Thurston Howell Romney"  as The NYT's David Brooks dubbed him, expounding to wealthy donors about how he truly feels about those who support President Obama for reelection. 

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney says in one clip. "(T)here are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, you name it.' '"[M]y job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives." 

At a late night press conference, a certain sign that his campaign knows he stepped in it again, Romney explained that his views were not "elegantly stated" and "off the cuff" but he didn't back down from his comments. 

What we are left to ponder is how little he seems to know - and possibly care - about those presumed 47%. Are we all free loaders and lay abouts? What of those who are elderly, disabled, Vets and who have fallen through the safety net of the social compact through no fault of their own? 

It may not be as searing an indictment as The Dick Who Hated Us All but it is troubling to know that this is a guy who, behind closed doors dismisses nearly half the electorate in so cavalier a manner. 

Romney's Team Chicken Hawk vows to take us with him

Yesterday, Mitt Romney, campaigning in Virginia, said that President Obama wants to limit the U.S. military's capacity so it can only engage in one conflict at a time. Criticizing the automatic defense spending cuts looming at the end of the year, passed as part of the bipartisan debt-limit deal, Romney said he will "restore our military commitment and keep America the strongest military in the world."

"This president's done something I find hard to understand. Ever since FDR, we've had capacity to be engaged in two conflicts at once," Romney said. "He's saying, 'No, we're going to cut that back to one conflict.'"

Let's step away from the time machine, Mitt. I want to ask you a couple of questions and I'll give you the answers.

1. How did things work out for We, the People, the last time we fought two wars at once?  Not real well for the men and women, boys and girs who got shot up on the ground, right?

2. How did it work out for you, your five sons and your 18 granchildren, Mitt? My guess is that, if you noticed at all, you all did just swell.

Now that Mitt is convinced that he has to be a play pretend tough guy, you can bet his last bottom dollar which side he's on. He's with manufacturing! Munitions manufacturing, that is. Munitions manufacturers who will experience a mild but discomfiting credit squeeze of those budget cuts (a minuscule $680 billion) kick in, and who could really use a good war to stir the bottom line. 

You want to invoke FDR? Really And take us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear (Gee, it seems like it was just the last administration) when we waged large scale hot and cold wars as policemen to the world? Must be the secret part of your jobs bill. Anybody seen Rosie the Riveter?

September 14, 2012

Tell us Mitt: Who will you send to die and why?

As we await the foreign policy debate between The President and Cowboy Mitt, in which Mittens is sure to attack over the administrations perceived "weakness" in its' response to the embassy attacks, let's get the chronology straight. 

Mitt The Willow just keeps swaying in the breeze

Mitt Romney will advocate for and defend universal health care, abortion and gay rights and affirmative action. How do I know? Because he said so and I trust him; that's why. 

 

From Ryan and Akin: the GOP shows its' true heart

     Even as Rep. Todd Aiken tries to untungle himself from his own mouth and truest heart from his "legitimate rape" comments,  Mitt the Willow desperately tries to disassociate himself from Aiken while never quite telling us what he means when he promises to govern as a "pro-life" President. 

    Now hold on a minute, Mittsy. If Roe v. Wade  is the law of the land and it is, and Roe v. Wade upholds a woman's right to choose, and the President of the United States is sworn to uphold the law of the land ... you see where this breeze blows, Willow?

    Meanwhile, back at the Tampa ranch, the GOP continues to reveal it's own true heart and soul with the drafting of it's party platform in advance of next weeks' primary in Tampa. 

Here's the language of the anti-choice/birthright plank: 

“Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.  We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.” (emphasis added).

     Rather striking for the complete absence of  any qualifiers, limitations or exceptions in the event of oh, let's say, rape, incest or the safety of the mother, is it not?

     Now, in fairness, if Mittsy would prefer not to run on a less strident agenda message (and when has he ever stood four-square for anything other than that it is his turn to be President?) he would not be the first candidate at odds with his party over the platform. 

     John McCain objected to similar language when he was the standard bearer the last time around.  However, two distinctions must be made: 1) this continued stance by the party influences the substantial flow of campaign finance money down-ticket which is how knuckle draggers like Aiken find themselves in position to challenge for a Senate seat in the first instance; and 2) unlike the McCain-Palin ticket in which the VP candidate was a novelty act without intellectual heft, Mittsy has on his ticket the man he has proclaimed as the intellectual leader of the party, Mr. Atlas Shrugged himself, Paul Ryan. 

     So, we must ask, where does Mr. Ryan stand on the social issues that Mr. Aiken has so clumsily and permanently injected into this campaign? Setting aside Medicare for the time being because, if the Romney campaign has its' way that issue is going to be deeply muzzled throughout the campaign, we have the following: he's "opposed abortion rights (the law of the land if you recall)  has introduced legislation to eliminate Federal programs for family planning,  opposed same-sex marriage and oh, yes, as one who brags of being mugged on his resume, he supports the unfettered rights of gun owners. 

     And, lest we forget or missed it the first time around, in 2009, Ryan and Akin co-sponsored legislation that would have banned tax payer funded abortions. Surprise! The "No Taxpayer funding for Abortion Act" also defined rape as "forcible rape". 

      Under the Ryan-Akin bill, rape would no longer have been considered as such if overt physical violence was not a factor in the crime.  For example, if a date rape drug was slipped into a drink and a woman was raped while she was unconscious, but there was no external physical bruising, this would not be considered forcible rape and the victim would have been precluded from access to abortion.  Statutory rape and incest, absent overt proof of "violence" would have fallen into the same category and the fetus would have to be carried to term - without regard to further consequences. 

     The "forcible rape" language was dropped in the ensuing hue and cry and the legislation died in the Senate, but the fact remains that, however much Ryan now insists "rape is rape" he has been closely aligned with Akin in the past. What, if anything, other than the pending election, has changed his mind and heart? 

    The Romney-Ryan ticket can try to insist that this election is all about the economy, but their own party injected social issues into the campaign.  The fate of the campaign is now entwined within the fervored clasp of the faith based wing of the congregation of which Paul Ryan is a confirmed true believer while the Romney campaign and the rest of the infidels are about to forfeit the opportunity to advance its' own policy arguments. 

    Whether they can make Todd Akin go away for the good of the ticket*, if not the good ol' U.S. of A., they are trying,  but Pandora's box is now wide open.  It's time to choose. 

* They couldn't.

Come one, come all and marvel at Mitt's greatest flips!

Come one; come all ye naive brothers and sisters, related heathens and other suckers and marvel at the daring Elephant man on the flying trapeze performing his ever so nimble mid-air twists and turns from this position to that and back again all with nary a hair out of place. Yes, here it is, in one fabulous collection, (edited for brevity), it's Mitt's Greatest Flips and Trips, Volume One.

The Gospel according to Mitt; a complete and accurate translation

The Gospel according to Mitt; a complete and accurate translation, 
And I quote: 

"What I said and what I meant to say and what you think you heard me say is not what I think I said but that depends on when and where you heard me say it and what you really heard me say is not what I wanted to say because I have no idea what I really meant to say in the first place so, even if you are sure you know what I said when I did say whatever it is that you think I said it, which I didn't say, by the way, it doesn't mean that is what I meant to say whenever you heard me say it because all I ever really mean to say is that I do so want to be President because my daddy never was and if you ever figure out that is what I really mean and all I have to say, I'll just shake it all up and start over because it's just etch-a-sketch to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I going to give my hair a "little dab'll-do ya" and then give y'all a l'il ol' shuck and jive. Mind if I warble a little patriotic tune?" - Mitt Romney (well, that's what I heard him say)
HL March 23, 2012

Who Won Mitt's Bet?

Remember Mitt's proposed $10,000. bet with Rick Perry? Sure you do. Remember what it was about? In a Republican presidential debate on Oct. 11, 2011, Texas Gov. Rick Perry attacked Romney saying that in his book No Apology, Romney called the Massachusetts health care reform a model for the nation.

Perry’s accusation arose from a deletion between the first, hardcover edition of Romney’s book and the later paperback version.

Here is their exchange:

Perry: (speaking like a real dumb guy) "I read your first book, and it said in there that your mandate in Massachusetts, which should be the model for the country — and I know it came out of the reprint of the book, but, you know, I’m just saying, you were for individual mandates, my friend."

Romney: (Speaking like a guy about to take advantage of a real dumb guy)  "You know what, you’ve raised that before, Rick. And you’re simply wrong."

Then they spat at each other a bit before Mittsy rose to the occasion and upped the ante from a cat fight to a $10,000.00 bet - for which he didn't have to bother checking his wallet. Perry refused the bet because when he balanced his checkbook that morning, he moved a decimal point 8 spaces to the right and wasn't sure he could cover.

So. Here’s the text of each edition:

HARDCOVER: "We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country, and it can be done without letting government take over health care." (emphasis added).

PAPERBACK: "And it was done without government taking over health care."

Now, between publication of the hard cover and paper editions, health care passed but without the individual mandate. 

What remains unclear is why the line, “We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country.”was removed. Was it too suggestive that Romney favored federal, individual mandates and then, afraid of the backlash, backed off and just took the sentence out of the paper edition? Or, does the phrase, “the same thing” refer to the preceding phrase “portable, affordable health insurance,” and not the individual mandate or the entire law? If so, then was the passage intended to be an argument for the Massachusetts plan to be used as a model for other states to follow but not as a federal mandate?

You would think we could look to his record for a clue, wouldn't you? Aah, but he wouldn't be The Willow if it were that easy. Instead, he's doing a USane(?)-Bolt away from his own Romney care while lashing out with all the wet noodles at his command against the Health Care plan that has been passed into law and been deemed constitutional. (Let's see how far you get with that repeal nonsense when the entitlements really start to kick in and folks realize and want to keep the benefits they are receiving, smart guy).

After all his years' on the public scene, just as with everything else connected with his political convictions and principles, we are still left to ponder; just who is this Willow fella and to which windmill does he truly bow? 

Oh yeah. And who won the bet? I don't know...that's why I'm asking you. More importantly, does Mitt?

3/23/12 updated 9/6/12

Mitt hits the Etch-a-Sketch button one more time (Yawn)

Previously on Mitt the Willow:
Asked if he was concerned Romney might alienate general election voters with some of the hard-right positions taken during the primary to appeal to conservatives, Romney Communications Director, Eric Fehrnstrom, said, "Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch-a-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all of over again." March 22, 2012

Now, I am willing to concede that candidates routinely moderate positions while moving through campaigns and that Fehrnstrom may have been referring to changes in strategy, donor bases and even (oops!) staff, but gosh and golly gee, could there have been a more poorly conceived, inept, untimely and foolish metaphor for a candidate of whom even that noted bastion of conservative piety, Britt Hume, has observed, "you're only allowed so many flips before people question your character." HL March, 2012

The Sketch: "If I’m the godfather of this thing, then it gives me the right to kill it. And if I’m the president, I will get rid of Obamacare. I will stop it in its tracks on Day One, and get it repealed." Mitt Romney, Over and over and over again. 
The Etch: "I said we're going to replace Obamacare and I'm replacing it with my own plan. And even in Massachusetts when I was governor, our plan there deals with pre-existing conditions and with young people." Romney, September 9, 2012 

Which brings us to last week's episode:
THE SHAKEUP: "I have experience in health care reform. Now and then the president says I'm the grandfather of Obamacare. I don't think he meant that as a compliment but I'll take it. This was during my primary, we thought it might not be helpful". September 21, 2012

As the campaign deepens and the election looms, Mitt the Willow continues to come into focus as a man without a true ideological center, someone who will say whatever is expedient to get elected before he figures out what he wants to do or bothers to tell us what that might be. 

To be continued again, I'm sure ... 

Well, whatd'ya know? Yesterday, His Willowness pointed to the health care reform law enacted during his "just  passing through on my way to the White House and I need a piece of signature legislation to brag about" tenure as Governor of Massachusetts, as proof of his empathy and care for the American people.

In an interview with NBC News, he was asked how he could prove he understands the lives and tribulations of middle class Americans. The Willow bowed deeply and said, "I think throughout this campaign as well, we talked about my record in Massachusetts, don't forget -- I got everybody in my state insured. ' 'One hundred percent of the kids in our state had health insurance. I don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of record."

Well, now we know. You (helped) pass a law that you then disavowed and now want to embrace. The Tea Party must be so pleased. Shake it up, baby. Etch-a-Sketch ...Shake it up, baby! September 27, 2012

Romney to Detroit: Let 'em go bankrupt!

Memo to Mitt: Another in a continuing series of advice and comment upon Mittsy's campaign, offered in the fervent hope that he successfully wades through the frothy mix of santorum that now stands between him and the nomination so that I can relish the spectacle of this bloodless twit trying to master that strange foreign language, "Regular American Joe". 

Oh, Mitt! If I were running in the Michigan primary and had opposed President Obama's government bailout of of the automotive industry in 2009, with an argument appearing under the headline: "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt", 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html ,

and then learned that GM was reporting profits of $7.6 Billion (as in Billion) in 2011, I would shut up about my business credentials and remind everyone that I grew up in Michigan, too. 

Of course, if I did, I would use a photograph that was taken in Michigan instead of atop a helipad at the 1964 New York World's Fair.  And I wouldn't be driving a car that was made in Canada. Either this guy is a bad businessman, which, given his loot, ain't likely, or he's one real bad politician. 

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/02/16/426988/mitt-romney-michigan-ad-helipad/?mobile=nc

Either way, I think we've got the picture by now, Mitt. You're just one of those guys who can't give it to us straight but if you get the chance, you're gonna give it to us good.

Mitt the Willow bares his soul and his truth goes marching that-a-way

“What the Court did not do on its’ last day in session, I will do on my first day in office; repeal Obabamacare.’ ‘If we want to repeal Obama care, we have to replace Obamacare”.  - Mitt Romney June 28, 2012.

 "I say we're going to replace Obamacare and I'm replacing it with my own plan. And even in Massachusetts when I was governor, our plan there deals with pre-existing conditions and with young people." Romney on Meet the Press September 9, 2012

......................................................................................................
On December 16, 2007 Mitt Romney appeared on Meet the Press. In that appearance he said, "You can see what I believe and what my family believed (sic) by looking at our lives. My Dad walked with Martin Luther King." 

Days later, his spokesman issued the following statement, "He was speaking figuratively, not literally." 

Mitt then clarified with this, "I didn't see it with my own eyes". 

As long as we know that you stand strong in any stiff breeze, Mitt.

I mean, really! What's so difficult about telling the simple truth - or simply not offering up a pretty little lie?