Mitt's New Plan: Go See Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber

I think a little more bloodletting and some boar's vomit, and he'll be just fine.
~ Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber

Mitt Romney wants everything to go back to the 1950s when people paid doctor bills with hickory nuts and the poor just fended for themselves.

"Well, we do provide care for people who don't have insurance. If someone has a heart attack, they don't sit in their apartment and die. We pick them up in an ambulance, and take them to the hospital, and give them care. And different states have different ways of providing for that care."
~ Mitt Romney in an interview with Scott Pelley of CBS's "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night

His new Health Care plan is actually a rip-off of a Democrat - Alan Grayson of Florida. Remember what he said?

"If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly."


In fact, it's easy to believe that Mitt has become so retro in his ideas, maybe thanks to High Inquisitor and Rape Expert Paul Ryan, that he wants to go much further back . . . to the Middle Ages.

Joan: Will she be alright?

Theodoric of York: Well, I'll do everything humanly possible. Unfortunately, we barbers aren't gods. You know, medicine is not an exact science, but we are learning all the time. Why, just fifty years ago, they thought a disease like your daughter's was caused by demonic possession or witchcraft. But nowadays we know that Isabelle is suffering from an imbalance of bodily humors, perhaps caused by a toad or a small dwarf living in her stomach.

Hmm, he went to the Todd Akin school of Medicine!

Joan: You charlatan! You killed my daughter, just like you killed most of my other children! Why don't you admit it! You don't know what you're doing!

Theodoric of York: [ steps toward the camera ] Wait a minute. Perhaps she's right. Perhaps I've been wrong to blindly folow the medical traditions and superstitions of past centuries. Maybe we barbers should test these assumptions analytically, through experimentation and a "scientific method". Maybe this scientific method could be extended to other fields of learning: the natural sciences, art, architecture, navigation. Perhaps I could lead the way to a new age, an age of rebirth, a Renaissance! [ thinks for a minute ] Naaaaaahhh!

Bombshell ~ The Romney Tapes on Mother Jones

That Mitt Romney is going down in flames is a given now thanks to some bombshell videos that will hasten Mitt's journey to Loserville. Or should I say "Potterville."

The videos given to Mother Jones and released yesterday show Romney at a fundraiser talking about Obama and the voters in the worst possible way imaginable. He condescendingly insults not only the President, but 47% of the country. Vile. Corrupt. Self-Serving. I can think of so many descriptions.

I started out a few months ago rather liking Mitt and almost sorry that he was the butt of every joke. As time went on I found him entertaining because he was such a train-wreck of a candidate. But after last night, I loathe him in a way that makes my skin crawl. It's obvious why he and Lyin' Ayn Ryan are like father and son - no feelings for society, out for themselves, lacking empathy for anyone in trouble, and not good for our country.

There are more videos to come, so tomorrow should be interesting!!!

Mother Jones Has the Scoop

Mother Jones has obtained video of Romney at this intimate fundraiser—where he candidly discussed his campaign strategy and foreign policy ideas in stark terms he does not use in public—and has confirmed its authenticity. To protect the confidential source who provided the video, we have blurred some of the image, and we will not identify the date or location of the event, which occurred after Romney had clinched the Republican presidential nomination.
[UPDATE: After a restriction was lifted, Mother Jones reported that this fundraiser was held at the Boca Raton home of controversial private equity manager Marc Leder on May 17.]

...There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

...There is a perception, 'Oh, we were born with a silver spoon, he never had to earn anything and so forth.' Frankly, I was born with a silver spoon, which is the greatest gift you can have: which is to get born in America.

..."Had he (my father) been born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot of winning this."

...I have a very good team of extraordinarily experienced, highly successful consultants, a couple of people in particular who have done races around the world. I didn't realize it. These guys in the US—the Karl Rove equivalents—they do races all over the world: in Armenia, in Africa, in Israel. I mean, they work for Bibi Netanyahu in his race. So they do these races and they see which ads work, and which processes work best, and we have ideas about what we do over the course of the campaign. I'd tell them to you, but I'd have to shoot you.

...my own view is that if we win on November 6th, there will be a great deal of optimism about the future of this country. We'll see capital come back and we'll see—without actually doing anything—we'll actually get a boost in the economy. If the president gets reelected, I don't know what will happen. I can—I can never predict what the markets will do. Sometimes it does the exact opposite of what I would have expected. But my own view is that if we get a "Taxageddon," as they call it, January 1st, with this president, and with a Congress that can't work together, it's—it really is frightening.

Obama Campaign Response

“It’s shocking that a candidate for President of the United States would go behind closed doors and declare to a group of wealthy donors that half the American people view themselves as ‘victims,’ entitled to handouts, and are unwilling to take ‘personal responsibility’ for their lives,” Jim Messina, Obama for America campaign manager, said in a statement. “It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation.”

Mitt Romney wants to help all Americans struggling in the Obama economy. As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government, including the record number of people who are on food stamps, nearly one in six Americans in poverty, and the 23 million Americans who are struggling to find work.
~ Statement from Romney Spokesperson Gail Gitcho


Mitt's Lame Apology

"Well, um, It's not elegantly stated let me put it that way I'm speaking off the cuff in response to a question and I'm sure I can state it more clearly in a more effective way than I did in a setting like that and so I'm sure ill point that out as time goes on."

Full Transcript Here

Right Wing Heads Explode Over Romneycare Gaffe

Apoplexy is probably the correct scientific term for the reactions of the far right over yesterday's statements of Andrea Saul, Romney's spokesperson.

Saul committed the sin of telling the truth, which is that Mitt Romney is proud of his achievements as Governor of Massachusetts, including the dreaded "Romneycare" insurance plan. But we can't just blame Andrea Saul since Romney also talked about his "experience with insurance" on the same day.

Saul was attempting to give an official response to an ad from the Obama campaign, about a GST Steel worker who lost his job thanks to a forced Bain closedown of the mill. Later he lost his wife to cancer, and blames it on their lack of health care.

When Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my healthcare, and my family lost their healthcare. And a short time after that my wife became ill . . . and I took her up to the Jackson County Hospital and admitted her for pneumonia and that’s when they found the cancer and by then it was stage four/It was, there was nothing they could do for her. And she passed away in 22 days.
~ Joe Soptic, former employee of GST Steel

Romney Press Secretary Andrea Saul responded on Fox News

“To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care."

Romney also mentioned his Massachusetts plan on the campaign trail in some kind of lame attempt to take it back from Obama, possibly the "etch-a-sketch" moment as he tries to move back to the center. Notice how the crowd claps tentatively, as if confused. I can understand that. The rightwing talking point is that "all health care is bad" even if you need it desperately and want it for your family. Major cognitive dissonance.

But basically Romney's constantly shifting views on Obamacare are the real problem, not anything that Andrea Saul said, since apparently she was just backing up the candidate. How can Romney be against Obamacare, but pro-Romneycare when they are basically one in the same?


Heads exploded with outrage:

OMG.This might just be the moment Mitt Romney lost the election.Wow. politico.com/news/stories/0…
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 8, 2012

What conservatives are doing re Andrea Saul's comment is the same as how you housebreak your dog. Romney needs to know not to go there.
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) August 8, 2012

This isn't about health care! They're out there saying that your guy killed this woman! And your answer is 'well, she'd a had healthcare if she lived in Massachusetts'?
. . . Andrea Saul’s appearance on Fox was a potential gold mine for Obama supporters. They can say, ‘Romneycare was the basis for our health care.'
~ Rush Limbaugh quoted by TPM

Spokeswoman Saul said these words that were followed by a thunderclap of hands smacking foreheads around the nation.
. . . Lord, lord, lord! The last thing conservatives want to talk about, even less than Romney's tax returns (because at least there, they have a common enemy in Sen. Harry Reid), is Romneycare's similarity to Obamacare. Saul's comment turns Romney into the conservative's worst nightmare! Their main complaint about Romney all the way back to the primary season was his implementation of Obamacare on a state level would make him an ineffective messenger on repealing the president's legislation.
~ Bill Schmalfeld on Digital.com

Bob Shrum explained it best on Hardball:

Today they endorsed in essence the central idea of the Affordable Care Act. They've done it because they're in a lot of trouble. . . . they've lost the Long Hot Summer, they've ended up in a situation where Romney's upside-down in his favorable/unfavorable. These Bain ads are really hurting him. And they come up with this answer. It seemed opportunistic, but it was stupid. . . . When you run as somebody you're not, it's hard to keep straight who you're supposed to be.

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Next, Ann Coulter's head exploded while ranting to Sean Hannity of Faux News, and she called for Romney to fire Saul as spokesperson, which hasn't happened yet. Stay tuned for further developments.

“Her response was not that it was despicable, not that Bain… that Romney had left Bain five years earlier or the woman died five years after the plant closed and didn’t even get her insurance from her husband, her response was, ‘Well, if she had lived in Massachusetts with Mitt Romney’s health care plan, she would have had health insurance.’ Anyone who donates to Mitt Romney, and I mean the big donors, ought to say if Andrea Saul isn’t fired and off the campaign tomorrow, they are not giving another dime, because it is not worth fighting for this man if this is the kind of spokesman he has… There’s no point in you doing your show, there’s no point in going to the convention and pushing for this man if he’s employing morons like this. This ad is the turning point and she has nearly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat! She should be off the campaign.”

They had a good discussion of Coulter's hissy fit on MSNBC's Last Word, making the point that if Andrea Saul has to resign over this, why not Eric Ferhnstrom, who coined the infamous "Etch-A-Sketch" phrase earlier this year in a major gaffe? Isn't it possible that Saul's statement is part of Ferhnstrom's strategy to move to the center anyway?

And what about that guy named Gorka, who told reporters to "kiss his a$$" at a "holy site" in Poland. Or maybe Dan Senor, the so-called "foreign policy adviser" who gave Romney some really bad advice about his Israeli speech that ticked off the Palestinians.

If Romney fires one, he might have to fire the whole gang. And while he likes firing people who provided services to him, I don't think he can really overturn his entire campaign at this point. People on Twitter are even joking that Romney should just fire himself. LOL

 

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John Stewart Critiques Romney in London

LOL ~ Romney will wake up someday and wonder why he didn't have someone who would tell him the truth on this trip. Maybe then he wouldn't have trashed the London Olympics and offended our closest ally.

The Daily Show
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Romney Warsaw Speech: "Pulaski" a Ku Klux Klan Dog Whistle?

I debated whether to write this down, but after reading Mitt Romney's Warsaw speech several times, a possible racist dog whistle jumped out at me. I do not know if this was intentional or unintentional, but I bring it up since everyone from Cokie Roberts to Chris Matthews has mentioned that Romney is trying to get the white Polish American vote in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

But my theory now is that the goal is bigger than that -- What if he is trying to seal the deal not just with European ethnic groups, but with all the white supremicist voters in the United States? After all, he has to have them to win because he's alienated so many other groups in the country, such as Hispanics.

I'm talking specifically about all those people who hate Barack Obama just because he is African American, the ones outraged that he was ever elected President in the first place, the birthers who view him as "foreign" or un-American - as Romney spokesman John Sununu was blabbing about a few weeks ago.

Sometimes for the racist factions, "European" is as much a dog whistle as "Anglo-Saxon," which Romney threw out in a statement just last week before his London debacle.

And NOTE: I realize there are lots of other places called Pulaski in many states. I'm discussing just one in particular. Stay with me here, and follow Romney's own words . . .

Let's look at what Romney said, then study some history:

I, and my fellow Americans, are inspired by the path of freedom tread by the people of Poland. Long before modern times, of course, the Polish and American people were hardly strangers. The name "Pulaski" is honored to this day in America, and so is the memory of other Poles who joined in our fight for independence.

Complete Text of Speech Here

The "fight for independence" is a reference to the Revolutionary War, correct? That could just be a shout out to the "Patriot" movement connected to the Tea Party, but there's more . . .

Who is he talking about specifically? Who is the person called "Pulaski" who helped us in our fight for "independence" from the British?

Here's the answer: Casimir Pulaski, native of Warsaw, who fought with George Washington.


From the Polish American Center

Casimir Pulaski, son of Count Joseph Pulaski, was born in Warsaw, Poland, on March 6, 1745. At the age of fifteen, he joined his father and other members of the Polish nobility in opposing the Russian and Prussian interference in Polish affairs. Outlawed by Russia for his actions on behalf of Polish liberty, he traveled to Paris where he met Benjamin Franklin, who induced him to support the colonies against England in the American Revolution. Pulaski, impressed with the ideals of a new nation struggling to be free, volunteered his services. Franklin wrote to George Washington describing the young Pole as "an officer renowned throughout Europe for the courage and bravery he displayed in defense of his country's freedom."

In 1777, Pulaski arrived in Philadelphia where he met General Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Later, at Brandywine, he came to the aid of Washington's forces and distinguished himself as a brilliant military tactician. For his efforts, Congress appointed him Brigadier-General in charge of Four Horse Brigades. Then again, at the Battle of Germantown, Pulaski's knowledge of warfare assisted General Washington and his men in securing victory for American forces.

All well and good - he was a Revolutionary War hero. Nice.

But here's the Dog Whistle part: there's a town named precisely for Casimir Pulaski here in my home state of Tennessee.

Pulaski, Tennessee, in Giles County.

But beyond the European/Polish/Revolutionary War connection, what is is Pulaski, Tennessee, MOST famous for? Do you know? Well, here's the dog whistle part: Pulaski is where the Ku Klux Klan was founded.

From PBS, Jim Crow Stories

The Ku Klux Klan was originally organized in the winter of 1865-66 in Pulaski, Tennessee as a social club by six Confederate veterans. In the beginning, the Klan was a secret fraternity club rather than a terrorist organization. (Ku Klux was derived from the Greek "kuklos," meaning circle, and the English word clan.) The costume adopted by its members (disguises were quite common) was a mask and white robe and high conical pointed hat.

According to the founders of the Klan, it had no malicious intent in the beginning. The Klan grew quickly and became a terrorist organization. It attracted former Civil War generals such as Nathan Bedford Forrest, the famed cavalry commander whose soldiers murdered captured black troops at Fort Pillow.

The Klan spread beyond Tennessee to every state in the South and included mayors, judges, and sheriffs as well as common criminals. The Klan systematically murdered black politicians and political leaders. It beat, whipped, and murdered thousands, and intimidated tens of thousands of others from voting. Blacks often tried to fight back, but they were outnumbered and out gunned. While the main targets of Klan wrath were the political and social leaders of the black community, blacks could be murdered for almost any reason. Men, women, children, aged and crippled, were victims.

The Klan occasionally still marches in Pulaski, although most of the locals aren't happy about it.

Klan Rally in Pulaski, TN, 2009


The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Pulaski the "white supremicist epicenter of the nation" in this article about a Klan march there back in 2010:

Racist Event in Pulaski

Although it’s a small town of about 7,800, Pulaski, Tenn. may well be the white supremacist epicenter of the nation — at least if the number of rallies held there by bigoted groups is any indication.

The mayor and other residents aren’t pleased. “There’s never been a local person involved in these marches or rallies,” Mayor Daniel Speer told Hatewatch this week. But they’re resigned to being a favorite locale for the haters on the American radical right. Speer’s town is more than one-quarter black, but it has for decades been a favorite place for white supremacist groups to rally because of one unfortunate historical fact: This was where the Ku Klux Klan was born.

“It’s a great place to come and learn about the heritage of European Americans,” the festival’s website says. The site includes links to racist individuals and groups including David Duke, who founded Robb’s Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in 1975; the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group that has described black people as a “retrograde species of humanity” and opposes “race mixing”; and The Barnes Review, the leading American journal devoted to denying the Holocaust.

The European Heritage Festival follows by three months a “White Unity Day March and Rally” in Pulaski conducted by the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations. A year earlier, in July 2009, the Fraternal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan staged a birthday march in Pulaski for their hero, Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. There have been many other Klan rallies in Pulaski over the decades.

. . . “It’s frustrating,” the mayor says. “[We’re associated with] the Klan. It’s a stigma. Unfortunately, I just don’t see it going away.”

"A great place to . . . learn about the heritage of European Americans." Yep - just like Casimir Pulaski, the guy referred to in Mitt Romney's Warsaw speech.

More Here: Southern Poverty Law Center and Hate Watch

NOTE: I do NOT in any way, shape, or form mean to insult anyone named "Pulaski" or any Polish Americans, nor anyone living in present-day Pulaski, Tennessee. My goal is just to point out that Mitt Romney may have made a racist reference in his Warsaw speech, whether intentional or unintentional. If it is unintentional, then he really needs a new speechwriter because it is unbelievable that they would let the candidate unintentionally invoke the history of Pulaski, TN, in the United States.

If it is intentional, then Romney is just as cynical and cut-throat as everyone thinks, since he also quoted Condileeza Rice and Pope John Paul II, who make strange bedfellows with the Klan. My feeling is that his political team will do or say anything to win, and that's why this speech is a jumbled word salad aimed not at Europe, but at the Tea Party and even the Aryan Nations in the U.S. He is name-dropping this and that to get the couple hundred thousand votes he needs to win, ironically along with the help from the new Jim Crow-style laws in the swing states. Does this sound strange? Well, stranger things have happened - remember the election of 2000?

I'm only talking here about the way that reference might be taken by certain factions, and given the fact that Romney needs the Southern White or Midwestern White vote to win this election, this is a fair topic. I don't seek to insult anyone or any place either, but history is history, and considering how many borderline racist comments Mitt Romney has made in the past few months, let alone the past few days with the Israel/Palestine comparison, I'm just throwing this out there . . .

Palestinians are "Those People" to Romney

We would think that Mitt Romney could hide his class consciousness for just a little while on a foreign policy trip in the most volatile area of the world.

Nahhhhh . . . he just can't do it. His sense of "us" versus "them" is just too ingrained. There's always the "in group" and the "out group," very cut and dried to him, as when he attacked another student with long hair who "didn't look right" in his old school. I'm sure this comes from his wealthy upbringing, and perhaps his sense of moral righteousness as a Mormon. He seems to believe, and it is shared with many Evangelicals, that the Jewish state is so important to the fulfilling of some Biblical prophecy that they should get whatever they want. And Palestine is in the way of that prophecy, so they don't matter.  Therefore, Romney feels he can diss the Palestinians in favor of his rich Jewish donors and God will smile down on him and make him President of the United States. *gag*

Here is the worst part of his Jerusalem speech, in which is compares the West Bank to Mexico.

As you come here and you see the GDP [gross domestic product] per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality." Mr. Romney told a group of donors gathered at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. He added: "And that is also between other countries that are near or next to each other: Chile and Ecuador, Mexico and the United States

But wait, is Mexico an occupied country? They have problems, yes, but mostly of their own making. No one is bombing Mexico or keeping citizens from looking for jobs in Mexico City.

And then after bringing up this volatile issue in his Israeli speech, today Romney told CNN that "the issue of settlements is something which should be discussed in private by the American president and our allies."

Okay, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?  Romney once again mentions that "quiet room" he referenced once before when, not surprisingly, he was discussing inequality between two groups - rich and poor Americans. I think these are code words - "private" and "quiet" - that show he is embarrassed by inequality and injustice, but the rich just don't speak of such things, else they might have to feel guilty about their vast wealth, and that is an unacceptable idea.  He doesn't have much empathy for those "beneath" his status, but maybe he has learned over the years that he lacks that human feeling that would connect him as a human. This is why some refer to him as "Romneybot" - something is missing in the emotional intelligence department.

January 2012, from the Matt Lauer Today Show Interview:

I think it's about envy," Romney replied. "I think it's about class warfare. I think when you have a president encouraging the idea of dividing America based on 99 percent vs. 1 percent, and those people who've been most successful will be in the 1 percent, you've opened up a whole new wave of approach in this country which is entirely inconsistent with the concept of one nation under God.

. . . Lauer asked, "Are there no fair questions about the distribution of wealth without it being seen as envy, though?"

"You know I think it's fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms," Romney said. "But the president has made this part of his campaign rally. Everywhere he goes we hear him talking about millionaires and billionaires and executives and Wall Street. It's a very envy-oriented, attack-oriented approach."

If Romney likes the "quiet room" approach so much, why is out there at the Wailing Wall making speeches about Israel without once mentioning the plight of Palestine? Why is it "class warfare" when Obama points out inequality, but off-limits to question when Romney compares the Palestinians and the Israelis?

Is he implying that all the problems of the Middle East are economic, and that perhaps the Palestinians are just envious? That's the way Romney's mind seems to work, with money and privilege being the only goals people aspire to in his private world.  What about just having enough to take care of your children? What about keeping your ancestral land?

He loves to invoke all that weight of the Holy Bible, plus the Book of Mormon in a roundabout way, but forgets that the Palestinians are vastly more connected to Jerusalem than his mythical Lost Tribe of Israel here in the United States.  I think most people who comment on Romney are missing that crucial point - Romney thinks he and his wife have more "divine right" to be there in Jerusalem than a people who have lived there for thousands of years.

Romney is just way out of his depth on the international stage, and sounds more like Sarah *doofus* Palin every day.

The White House had this to say through Deputy Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, via MSNBC:

"One of the challenges of being an actor on the international stage, particularly when you’re traveling to such a sensitive part of the world, is that your comments are very closely scrutinized for meaning, for nuance, for motivation," Earnest said, adding, "and it is clear that there are some people who have taken a look at those comments and are scratching their heads a little bit.”
When pressed, Earnest stopped short of elaborating on the larger implications of Romney’s comments.
“I would leave it to Gov. Romney to explain them, to the extent that there’s some measure of confusion."

You can say that again! Confusion reigns, although spokesperson Andrea Saul says Romney's words "grossly mischaracterized" although it's difficult to see just how Romney was misunderstood. Perhaps if the Romney advisers were doing a better job of helping their guy choose his words more carefully, and avoid all these racist dog whistles, everything would make more sense.

Mr. Romney, please go into a "quiet room" and think about it!

Wall Street Journal: Romney Irks Palestinians

Mr. Romney's figures Monday were inaccurate and underestimated the actual GDP gap between the economies. Per capita GDP stood at $31,400 for Israel last year, while Palestinians' per capita GDP was $1,500 in 2010, according to an April 2012 World Bank report, which attributed the figure to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

Palestinians also rejected the comparison as inappropriate, pointing out their lack of sovereignty and the limitations enforced by Israeli military authorities.

"If he checked his facts, he would know why the Palestinians actually have to build an economy when they have no freedom of movement, no human rights, no fundamental freedoms," said Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator and a top official in the Palestine Liberation Organization. "We can't even control our natural resources, including our human resources; and then he compares us to our occupiers?"

Poor Romney Victim of "Bad Media Prep" ~ Are You Kidding Me?

I'm a little steamed about the way the Romney campaign is explaining all the "London Shambles" gaffes the past few days. Instead of admitting that Romney has problems with diplomacy and tact, they are blaming jet lag and those "odd, eccentric" Brits.

Come on, really? You want us to believe Romney can be a world leader "better" than Obama even while he complains that every little thing throws him for a loop, from baked goods to grits, from jet lag to meeting the press? Candidates are often unprepared, and so are Presidents, but they have to be able to think on their feet, to go with the flow, to play it by ear, and to wing it. Romney likes to talk about "sport" - well, that's the "sport" of politics. If he can't do it, he just can't do it.

Romney has been running for months as an international businessman. Hasn't he ever been to London before this? Doesn't he know what manners are appropriate in such settings? Or were his trips to Europe before this just about fine hotels and dining, with servants who said "Yes, Sir" whenever he snapped his fingers?

He cannot have it both ways - that he is an "innocent abroad" but also a savvy politician who "connects" with both Cameron and Netanyahu.

The Romney camp needs to quit this apologetic crap because they are insulting our collective intelligence. Romney can't expect us to believe he's on the same level as Obama in human relations, then have his anonymous sidekicks excuse-away muliple snafus as "bad briefing." How much briefing does a grown man who attended some of the best schools in the country need in order to not piss-off our closest ally? You've got to be kidding us, right?


The New York Times:

. . . the British press devour(ed) Mr. Romney like a pile of mushy peas. His campaign was slow and flat-footed in recognizing it had a problem, and unable to improvise a quick response.
Afterward, the campaign said that Mr. Romney had misspoken because he was tired and jet-lagged. “Even the Energizer Bunny needs new batteries once in a while,” said an adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a delicate topic.

From an "Unnamed Source" in the Daily Mail UK

The official said that Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘wisecrack’ about it being harder to stage an Olympic Games in London than ‘in the middle of nowhere’ – an apparent reference to Salt Lake City, where Romney oversaw the 2002 Winter Olympics – was ‘probably appropriate, albeit awkward’ and unfortunate for Romney
‘Johnson on the other hand lived up to his reputation as an eccentric, odd fellow. It was unbecoming to attack Governor Romney in that way. There really was no need. But Johnson made it clear in 2008 that his vote would have gone to Obama.’
. . . The campaign official, who was not directly involved organising the London trip, that that the Romney campaign had not prepared sufficiently for ‘a visit of this magnitude’ and that the candidate had not been briefed properly on how to answer questions about the staging of the Olympics.
‘What he gave was the honest assessment of the situation based on his previous experience. Unfortunately in a diplomatic context that's not the sort of thing that should have been coming out of the candidate's mouth. It was bad messaging and media prep.’
The trip should have been a straightforward one, he said. ‘You show up, you smile, you do photo ops, you talk about the special relationship, the deep bonds that connect us and then you go home, or in this case on to Israel and Poland.
Unfortunately, it shows that the campaign by solely focussing on jobs has really neglected foreign policy and international affairs.

The Romney Shambles in Britain

gif via tumblr
"Romney Shambles" is a descriptive hashtag on Twitter to describe Mitt Romney's trip abroad, which started in Great Britain yesterday. He made so many gaffes in such a short amount of time that without instant news on Twitter no one could keep up with them.

My collection of quotes on Snark Amendment

In just one day, Romney managed the following:

• He insulted the entire country, implying they weren't ready for the Olympic Games
• Seemed to forget the name of Labour Leader Milliband, calling him "Mr. Leader"
• Reversed his criticism of the Olympics after a trip to 10 Downing Street  but . . .
• Made a security faux pas by blabbing about meeting the head of MI6 Intelligence
• Sounding rather rude speaking of "looking out the back side" (instead of back garden) of Downing Street
• He only took questions from British reporters, making the U.S. Press Corps angry
• Was insulted by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, as the Olympic Torch arrived
• Was labeled "Mr. Bean" by Guardian UK
• Told CNN's Piers Morgan that he "feels like a Brit" and that Ann is "from Wales" due to their family trees while
• Ann mentioned watching Downton Abbey as a frame of reference
• Was criticized by Harry Reid but also Charles Krauthammer on Fox
• Had to slash prices on tickets to a fundraiser where he
• Insulted Obama by vowing to return the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office

More Here: Guardian UK: Oh, Mitt, Those Romney Gaffes In Full

Edited to Add: This video from the DNC taking full advantage of Mitt's misfortune.




By the end of the "longest day" people had dug up this gem, from Romney's book No Apologies:

England [sic] is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn't make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn't been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler's ambitions. Yet only two lifetimes ago, Britain ruled the largest and wealthiest empire in the history of humankind. Britain controlled a quarter of the earth's land and a quarter of the earth's population

So I guess Mitt once thought of himself as an expert on "England," someone who could explain the  British Isles better than the people actually living there. I wonder if he feels that way after yesterday?


   

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Romney Flubs His British Invasion

I have been enjoying the heck out of Romney's British Invasion so far, even before he landed in the country. One (or possibly two) of his surrogates went nuts yesterday and told the British tabloid Telegraph UK a few bizarre things about what Romney wants from British relations, including several racist dog whistles about how Romney is "more Anglo Saxon" than Barack Obama, who "hates NATO." You can't make this stuff up.

Updates on this ever-evolving story from Think Progress

UPDATE: Romney doesn't dispute Telegraph's "Anglo-Saxon" report, says "I dont agree with whoever that advisor might be" thkpr.gs/PgzcpP

— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) July 25, 2012

UPDATE: The Romney campaign has not requested that The Telegraph update or retract their "Anglo-Saxon" story thkpr.gs/PgzcpP

— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) July 25, 2012

More humor, quotes and tweets on Snark Amendment
Mitt Goes Brit (Anglo-Saxon, That Is)
Mitt's Epic Anglo-Saxon Fail
Romney Dog Whistles: Foreign, Anglo-Saxon, Atlanticist

Original Article in the Telegraph UK

We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser said of Mr Romney, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.
. . . Obama is a Left-winger," said another. "He doesn’t value the Nato alliance as much, he’s very comfortable with American decline and the traditional alliances don’t mean as much to him. He wouldn’t like singing ‘Land of Hope and Glory'.”
. . . He is naturally more Atlanticist.

Comment by Vice President Joe Biden

Despite his promises that politics stops at the water's edge, Gov. Romney's wheels hadn't even touched down in London before his advisers were reportedly playing politics with international diplomacy.
. . . The comments reported this morning are a disturbing start to a trip designed to demonstrate Gov. Romney’s readiness to represent the United States on the world’s stage. Not surprisingly, this is just another feeble attempt by the Romney campaign to score political points at the expense of this critical partnership. This assertion is beneath a presidential campaign.

Romney spokesman Ryan Williams quoted in the LA Times: The Vice President of the United States used an anonymous and false quote from a foreign newspaper to prop up their flailing campaign. We have very serious problems confronting our nation and American families are hurting, yet the Obama campaign continues to try to divert voters' attention with specious shiny objects. We have more faith in American voters, and know they will see this latest desperate ploy for what it is.

Obama Spokesperson Jen Psaki: One of his advisers violated exactly what they said they wouldn't do which is criticize the president beyond the borders of the U.S.
This is a case where there is a continuous fumbling of the foreign policy football here, and it does raise a question as to whether Mitt Romney and his team are ready to have serious conversation about a foreign policy

Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg in a statement to ABC News: It's not true. If anyone said that, they weren't reflecting the views of Gov. Romney or anyone inside the campaign.

Trump Trumps Himself on CNN - Goes All Kooky Birther

Today Mitt Romney became the Heir Apparent to the Republican Throne by delegate count. He is in Las Vegas with Donald Trump on a fund-raising mission. So what does The Donald do to help his man? He goes on CNN, gets in a fight with Wolf Blitzer, and goes completely crazy-ass over the Birther Issue.
You have to watch it and listen to Trump to believe it. He says Obama was born in Kenya and nothing will change his mind, not even the state of Hawaii issuing a valid birth certificate. Is this helping Mitt Romney?






The other day George Will called Trump a "bloviating ignoramus," and leave it to Trump to prove him right again just two days later. Trump responded that Will was "the dumbest political commentator of all time," but I would say no - that would be Trump as well, and this piece of videotape proves it.

Politics makes strange bedfellows, indeed. For Romney to be legitimate (poor choice of words, I know) he needs to get the big bloviated bedbug out of his campaign.

Bigoted Is as Bigoted Does

I always warn people that I have strong opinions that many people may not want to hear. I'm as partisan as I can be, and unapologetic for that. And sometimes we just don't like public figures, and sometimes they say things that make us crazy.

But honestly, to me it matters not whether someone is from the left or the right - a bigot is a bigot, and an extremist is never going to win people over. Take a look at Rick Santorum if you don't believe me - oh wait, he's gone. Yes, he influenced an election and appealed to the 25% of extremists in this country, but most of us are not that person, no matter what party we are. Eventually he had to leave the stage. Paul Ryan was just attacked by the Catholic Church for being uncharitable and misinterpreting the Bible, and yet he believes he is the most devout and worthy member of that august institution.



On the Democratic side, we have our share of  religious opinions, and while Atheists want to be considered the  most opened-minded and enlightened people for rejecting organized religion, they can also be zealots. Try this - read the comments under any news story about religion and you will find a comment by some pompous jerk mocking people for belief in the "flying spaghetti monster" or the "imaginary being in the sky." Why is that enlightened? You are just attacking people for their beliefs, which is what some (not all) evangelical zealots do.



If you want people to listen to your point of view, just do something simple - be polite, think about your audience, think about the taste level. Just think. That's what President Obama does and he doesn't make many of these stupid mistakes. Don't use hate as a weapon all the time - it's doesn't work.

Please go read a List of Logical Fallacies and some of you might see what you've been wrong that gets you into trouble on the Internets.

Ad hominem (‘personal attack’; ‘poisoning the well’): L. "to the man;"
Def- attacking a person’s habits, personality, or reputation;
Ex- "His argument must be false because people say he’s a liar."

Bulverism: (named for C.S. Lewis’s imaginary character: Ezekiel Bulver) Def- attacking a person’s identity (race/gender/religion);
Ex- "You only think that because you’re a (man/woman; Black/White;
Catholic/Baptist; Democrat/Republican; Christian/Atheist; etc.)"

Straw Man (‘misrepresentation’):
Def- misrepresenting the opponent's argument; exaggerating or oversimplifying
Ex- "Einstein's theory must be false! It makes everything relative--even truth!"

3. Either/or (‘false dilemma’):
Def- limiting the possible answers to only two; oversimplification;
Ex- "If you think that, you must be either stupid or half-asleep."

We see all of those and more in political debate. The Mitt Romney Etch-A-Sketch joke is an ad hominem, but the twist is that Romney's own manager stated that erasing past statements was part of an election strategy. So the joke became a delicious irony that  tickled the humor of the public. However, when Ted Nugent and Rush Limbaugh attack President Obama or Sandra Fluke in vile language and spread lies about them, it's just not funny. Lies are not always jokes - sometimes they are just slurs, insults, and crazy-speech.

On many political forums, people make "sweeping generalities" - or what I call "throw out the baby with the bathwater" statements about other parts of the country they know little or nothing about. If Rick Perry in Texas makes some stupid remark about "wantin' to secede" because mean old Obama is forcing him to take medicaid funding (horrors) then some idiot will automatically write "Why do we need Texas anyway? Let them secede or merge with Mexico" as if every person in Texas is a Rick Perry clone. People don't realize how those statements bother Democrats who live in those states and fight for every vote. Rick Perry doesn't speak for the vast majority of Texans, and even the most right-leaning Texan would probably like to keep his United States Citizenship, don't you think? In most cases, the red states are split 50/50 so that conservatives win by very small margins, even in presidential races. Things are not cut and dried the way they seem on political forum or TV shows.



Let's recall it wasn't that long ago that the Dixie Chicks were lambasted and shunned for having the gall to say that not everyone from Texas was identical to George Bush. Obviously a false equivalency doesn't exist among "all the people down in Texas." Or in Tennessee where I live, or in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, or even South Carolina. The South has a diversity beyond a red-state status, just as the more liberal "blue states" actually have their share of card-carrying NRA members, evangelicals, tea partiers, and apocalypse-any-minute survivalists. There is no "one type" of person from any state, and to dismiss people based on geography is a rampant type of bigotry on the internet. Democrats are just as guilty of this as Republicans who think everyone in Massachusetts or New York is pro-abortion and loves President Obama.



Some people think that everyone south of the Mason Dixon line is automatically (a) a Christian or (b) a bigot. And the converse is true - there are those who say everyone north of Kentucky is automatically enlightened and immensely free of bigotry or prejudice of any kind. To anyone who believes that, I must ask if they've followed the careers of Michelle Bachman in Minnesota or Scott Walker in Wisconsin? 'Cause they are up there, you know - in a northerly direction. Sarah Palin was way up northerty-north in Alaska - where she saw Russia from her porch. Her husband belonged to a secessionist group, but that doesn't convince me that everyone in Alaska should be cut loose from the country due to Todd's extremism. Californians sometimes call themselves "Left Coasters" which is a cute tag-line, but that big blue state also gave us Ronald and Nancy Reagan, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger. The United States is like that, even if we love to broad-brush the conversation.

Both sides of the political debate use Bulverism, Straw Man, and False dilemma every day because we are a divided society and people have become so extreme that real discourse is almost not possible. "You're either with me or agin' me, dadgummit!" And the internet makes it easy to throw down the gauntlet and "take a stand" as if your life depends on it, or as if our society will crumble if they don't. I think that's how the Civil War started, but never mind . . . That doesn't mean that either side is "right" in all cases. Many right-wingers will say that "all" Democrats are communists and baby killers, for instance, when most Democrats are actually just pro-choice, not pro-abortion. Many on the left will say that Christians are either Evangelicals or Tea Party members - ignoring the many Christians who work daily to re-elect President Obama.

It doesn't matter who is spewing this nonsense - it's not logical. Everyone starts to sound like Archie Bunker. A glance at any discussion about the Trayvon Martin case proves there is plenty of bigotry to go around on all sides. It's shocking.

I've always been both a Democrat and a Christian. That doesn't mean I believe that the Bible is correct about everything, but that also doesn't mean that Jesus was wrong about everything. I find the teachings of Jesus quite soothing after a day of reading insults to women, talk of cutting children out of food programs, and hate-filled screeds about shooting the President or anyone who gets in the way of gun rights. I don't think Jesus would have a chance of even getting on the radio in these days and times, and if he did the Left would say he was too "mild-mannered" and too bipartisan, while the Right would slam him for persecuting the money-lenders and saying that rich people aren't bound for glory.



Please go read some famous quotes from smart people in the past if you want your words to resonate:

"We must make a personal attack when there is no argumentative basis for our speech”
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

"A bigot delights in public ridicule, for he begins to think he is a martyr." ~ Sydney Smith

Bigot: One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain.”
~ Ambrose Bierce

And to those I would add the old proverb: "Two wrongs don't make a right."



To me it's just as bad for Monica Crowley on Fox to attack Sandra Fluke with some homophobic slur as it is for anti-bullying gay activist Dan Savage to attack Christian teenagers as "pansy-aZZes" for walking out on his captive-audience diatribe against the Bible. I recently wasted a couple of days gathering their statements and public reaction on my other blog, Snark Amendment because I think it's good to archive this stuff, which is ephemeral and tends to get erased when no one is looking.

And these are just great examples of two-sides to the same coin (to be proverbial again).



Monica Crowley Becomes a Bigoted Internet Meme

Irony Lost on Dan Savage as He Bullies Christians (Now with Nearly Non-Apology Apology

I love the irony and the jokes, and of course twas ever thus that freedom of speech also means freedom to make a fool of yourself by acting like a mean little girl as the bitter Crowley did, or stepping in your own bulls****, to quote the ever-eloquent Savage (who seems to know only one unimaginative noun).

A blogger writing in near obscurity -- like me -- who expects that few people will ever read this post, can have a fixed point of view and maybe only offend someone about once a month, but when you have a large audience hanging on your every word, then you have to engage brain much more before putting mouth in gear. And also remember that the internet is forever. That is something Mitt Romney keeps forgetting as he rewrites his old opinions on everything from Student Loans to Osama Bin Laden. We remember this stuff, we really do. And we will call you out on it!