The HyperTexts

Mitt Romney’s $100 million Cayman Island IRA: Did he pay 13%, really, or is he a tax cheat?
Will Romney's Fascist Dreams of an "American Century" lead to more unwinnable wars in the Middle East?
Will Bishop Romney continue to Wage War on American Women and Teachers and Big Bird and China and American Workers and Flood Victims?
Will Romney Hood rob Americans blind with his Medicare Scam, by stealing from the poor to give to the rich?
Are Romney and the Romulans trying to get rid of Martin Luther King Day and Buy the White House?
Mitt Romney Quotes, Paul Ryan Quotes and Ann Romney Quotes
Mitt Romney Poems, Parodies, Songs, Jokes and Nicknames

an immense blog and cornucopia of Mitticisms compiled by Michael R. Burch

Related Page: Romney Cayman Island IRA Part 2

Mr. Free Stuff

Willard Mitt Romney scornfully accuses ordinary Americans of wanting "free stuff" when they request affordable healthcare, and yet it seems he may have paid virtually no federal income taxes for years, despite being one of the world's wealthiest men. Wouldn't that make Romney the King of Free Stuff?



Does Romney really believe in American exceptionalism, or just his own "exceptions" (i.e., evaded income taxes)? If he believes in American exceptionalism, why did he stash so much cash in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands? Romney drives high quality American-made cars, so why does he park his money in obscure financial institutions on tiny, insecure islands? Why did a fabulously wealthy man choose the Yugo of banks, rather than a Cadillac? The answer seems obvious: offshore "IRAs" are a rich man's way of shafting working Janes and Joes who are forced to pay their taxes, rain or shine, via automatic payroll deductions. That Romney scams his fellow Americans calls his character into question: whatever happened to leading by example? That More Money (his nickname at Bane Kapital) would mock less affluent Americans by claiming they want "free stuff," after he used every trick in the book to avoid paying taxes, is simply beyond the pale.

Rich Americans frequent the Cayman Islands for two reasons: either to work on their tans, or their tax shelters. Obviously, soaking up the Caribbean sun does not require 137 offshore shell corporations. Other Americans are limited to retirement contributions of a few thousand dollars per year, but it seems Romney put entire companies in his IRAs, which have been estimated to be worth up to $100 million. How? It seems he probably assigned his shares implausibly low initial values, then let them "appreciate" only once they were safe from taxes. If there's any other explanation, I'd certainly like to hear it, but Romney remains mum despite even his supporters' anxious pleas for him to come clean. Thus, he obviously has something to hide. And Romney's assertions that he paid at least 13% in taxes every year mean nothing, without the evidence of the hidden returns. If he paid 13% on one-tenth of his income, while sheltering nine-tenths, that means he actually paid 1.3% on his total income. Romney's malarkey has earned him nicknames like Matinee Mitt, Mitt Robme, Decepticon, Willard Fillmore, Mitt Moneybags, the King of Bain Pain, and Romney Hood.

HMS Romney

In 1767 the British Empire dispatched a warship of the Royal Navy to New England to enforce its right of taxation over American colonists. The name of that warship was, ironically, the HMS Romney, a fourth-rate Man of War. Operating under the command of Captain John Corner and Admiral Samuel Hood, the Romney entered Boston Harbor to support royal commissioners who had asked for help in enforcing the Townshend Acts. ("Shend" means to shame, injure or destroy.) Being short of men, Captain Corner began to corner and impress Massachusetts seamen. This was understandably unpopular with the locals, who began attacking the cornering gangs. Hostilities escalated when the royal tax commissioners ordered the seizure of the merchant vessel Liberty, which belonged to John Hancock. When sailors and marines from the Romney attempted to seize the Liberty, the American colonists turned on the tax commissioners, who then took refuge aboard the Romney before transferring to Castle William (named after a feudal British monarch). These incidents heightened tensions that would eventually lead to the Boston Massacre in 1770. The underlined names are interesting, to say the least. Albert Einstein once said the God reveals himself through coincidence. To read more on this subject, please click here: HMS Romney.

"Look at my record: I vetoed any bill that was in favor of choice."

Where does Mitt Romney stand on a woman's right to choose? As a Mormon Bishop with a Diocese, called a "Stake," by his own admission he told girls to bear unwanted babies, and as governor of Massachusetts he vetoed all pro-choice legislation that crossed his desk, even birth control [RU486] and sex education. In 2007, while campaigning in Iowa, Romney appeared on WHO-AM 1040. The host, Jan Mickelson, brought up abortion, questioning Romney's pro-life credentials. In a video of the encounter, a visibly agitated Romney explodes in defense of his record as an arch anti-choice conservative: "Let me help you understand. You don’t understand my faith like I do. So give me for a moment the benefit of the doubt, that having been a leader of my church, and a Bishop and a Stake President, I understand my church better than you do ... I was beaten up in Boston because I pointed out time and again that I encouraged girls not to get abortions, that I told them to have adoptions ... The [Mormon] Church says, "We are vehemently opposed to abortion ourselves, and for ourselves. But we allow other people to make their own choice. I disagree with that view [i.e., he disagrees with freedom of individual conscience and other people's right to choose]. Politically, I looked at it and said, That's wrong! It's not a Mormon thing, it's a secular position to say, You know, I was wrong. We should have a society with a prohibition on abortion in the following circumstances ... I was governor four years—it’s not just what I’m talking about—I was governor four years. I had a number of pieces of legislation that came to my desk that dealt with abortion, abstinence education, RU486, and so forth. I vetoed any bill that was in favor of choice ... So it’s not just my word you can take—look at my record."

Immoral Aid?  

As Hurricane Sandy threatened 50 million Americans with devastating floods, I was reminded of Mitt Romney's statement that it is "immoral" to borrow money to help flood victims. Romney, a Mormon Bishop and therefore someone who should presumably understand the term, didn't call it "immoral" for the federal government to borrow billions to bail out the Olympic games and his rich Wall Street cronies. He obviously doesn't consider it "immoral" to borrow the better part of $7 trillion dollars to give even bigger tax cuts to the super-rich and increase defense spending for things the Pentagon hasn't requested. According to Bishop Romney, it seems the only people it's "immoral" to help are the 47% of Americans who need help the most, including flood victims, Detroit auto workers, homeowners facing foreclosures, homeless veterans, the elderly, the uninsured, people with preexisting conditions, and girls who need Planned Parenthood’s help with contraceptives and preventive healthcare. To read more on this subject, please click here: Romney: "Immoral" Aid to Flood Victims?



Mitt's Storm Tips

"Poor people make great flotation devices!"
"Move your binders full of women to higher ground, to keep them warm, dry and exploitable!" 
"Use car elevators to get your dancing horses to higher ground!"
"Borrowing money to help flood victims is immoral, but borrowing money to bail out Wall Street tycoons is absolutely grand!"
"Sheesh, 47% of these hurricane victims think they're entitled to food, water, shelter and blankets!"
"If you don't have a mansion on higher ground, just borrow the money from your parents!"
"After I de-fund FEMA, I will give flood victims a voucher that covers one-tenth of what they need to live!"
"My prayers are with the successful 53% ... the rest of you don't concern me in the least!"
"If you die, I'll blame the failed policies of Barack Obama!"
"But if you get lucky and survive, I'll take all the credit!"
"I know how to keep you magically alive, but I can't tell you until after the election!

Shades of Julius Caesar

I came, I saw, I wonkered.—Paul Ryan
I came, I saw, I metamorphed into Barack Obama at the third debate.—Mitt Romney
I came, I saw, I lost my Battleship.—Mitt Romney
I came, I saw, I requested a P.O. for $2 trillion worth of mules and bayonets.— Mitt Romney

"Pretty Pitiful" ... Decepticon Strikes Again

A new campaign ad claims that Chrysler is going to begin producing Jeeps in China, creating the misleading impression that the move will come at the expense of American jobs. So began the latest attempt by Decepticon (aka Mitt Romney) to woo Ohio voters over to the Dark Side of the Force with fear-inspiring disinformation. In reality, Jeep has announced plans to add 1,100 jobs to an Ohio assembly plant currently being refitted for the next iteration of the Jeep Liberty. Chrysler was only considering resuming production in China for its consumers there. Jeep currently makes vehicles in Egypt and Venezuela, and all the largest automakers have factories in multiple countries, so there was no need to scare the living daylights out of American auto workers in order to deceive voters.

Bruce Baumhower, the president of the United Auto Workers local at an Ohio plant, said that Romney’s allegations about Jeep moving production to China drew a rash of calls from members concerned about their jobs. When he informed them that Chrysler was, in fact, expanding its Ohio Jeep operation, the response to Romney's deception was, "That’s pretty pitiful!"

Pitiful, indeed. Chrysler quickly released a scathing statement calling suggestions that Jeep is moving American jobs to China "fantasies" and "extravagant." Fact checkers locally and and nationally have called the Romney campaign’s statements misleading. Calling the Romney ad a "blatant attempt to create a false impression," former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland demanded that Romney stop airing it. Former president Bill Clinton called Romney's ad the "biggest load of bull in the world."

Romney will have a hard time blaming this fiasco on other people, as he recently told a rally in Defiance, Ohio that Jeep was considering "moving all production to China." Not some production, but "all" production.

The auto bailout was one of the first major moves of Mr. Obama’s presidency, and gave Romney a chance to prove his conservative credentials. So just as the incoming Obama administration was beginning to contemplate a bailout, Romney wrote an op-ed article for The New York Times entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" in which he predicted that in the event of a federal bailout we "can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." But President Obama was right, and Romney was wrong. Now Decepticon wants to take credit for the bailout he opposed and said would doom the U.S. auto industry. And he want to use distortions and outright lies to scare Ohioans into voting for him.

Pitiful, but by no means pretty.

Romney Donors: Buying the White House

We can easily follow the trail of money that leads to the Waffle House. How do people without principles (other than making money) buy the presidency? By telling voters whatever they want to hear. That, of course, explains why Mitt Romney has more flip-flops than Daytona Beach during a spring break wet T-shirt contest. Romney is the ultimate confidence man, selling a used Yugo by telling gullible voters what they want to hear: that it's "much better" than the car they're currently driving.

Willard Mitt Romney is named after hotel magnate J. Willard Marriot, one of the best friends of his father, George W. Romney. At least twelve members of the Marriott clan contributed to Mitt Romney's campaign. More troubling is the list of big-money donors to Romney's campaign and associated PACs. According to OpenSecrets.org and other sources, here are some of the main suspects in what seems to be the buying of the White House by the big banks, Wall Street investment companies, and hedge funds: Buying the White House.

Romney Fires Big Bird, Outsources Sesame Street to China!

During his first presidential debate with President Barack Obama, the extraterrestrial android Willard Mitt Romney came up with a truly unique solution: fire Big Bird and outsource Sesame Street, along with the rest of PBS, to China.



Romney Exposes Enormous Ass, Shocks Schoolchildren



Madame Butterfly

Egad, yet another act of shape-shifting metamorphosis by Bishop Romney. During the final presidential debate he emerged from the political chrysalis as a peaceful, serene, almost feminine butterfly ... not to mention a fan, advocate and supporter of the Obama administration's values, policies and actions.



As the New York Times pointed out, this more moderate version of Multiple Choice Mitt "kept talking about American 'strength' and the need to be 'tougher,' but he seemed at times unnerved by the president, a man he accused of being too weak." Is this because Romney's handlers, spin-meisters and neo-con advisers instructed him to once again reset the Etch-a-Sketch, but he had to look the president in the eye while parroting their lies, and that gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach? Is he belatedly coming to realize just how oily and unctuous his used-car salesman act seems to the American public? Is even Romney himself growing weary of his constant dissembling?

Ironically, Romney looks weakest on jobs and the economy, which were supposed to have been his strengths. Romney's only consistency through three debates is that he never gave a straight, specific answer when when President Obama pointed out the massive illogic of $5 trillion in tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthiest Americans, plus $2 trillion in additional military spending the Pentagon hasn't requested.

Horses and Bayonets



"Horses and bayonets" became the most memorable catchphrase of the third and final debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, as the Democratic president used  the past to paint the Republican candidate's worldview as hopelessly outdated. Romney had criticized Obama's military policy throughout the campaign, accusing the president of spending too little on the U.S. military by noting that the Navy has fewer ships than in 1917. When the former Massachusetts governor made the point again during the  debate, President Obama was ready with the perfect rejoinder: "Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go under water, nuclear submarines." Obama even invoked a children's military role-playing board game: "The question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships." 



Romney's is a "pointless" comparison, as CNN noted recently, explaining that it’s "wrong to assume that fewer ships translates to a weaker military" because of "the technological supremacy of current Navy ships." Hundreds of 1940s-era fighter planes combined can’t match one modern Stealth bomber, and the same is true for Navy vessels. The Washington Post's fact checkers agreed with CNN, saying: "This is a nonsense fact." Factcheck.org called it "a meaningless claim.

Believe it or not, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan sealed their political nuptials by running down the gangplank of a decommissioned battleship to the podium (below), laughing and waving, even though neither of them ever served a day in the military. Bishop Romney avoided the Vietnam war by living in a French palace as a 19-year-old "missionary." The palace, owned by the Mormon church, had stained glass windows, chandeliers and servants.



As President Obama pointed out, Romney and the Romulans are backward-looking in every respect: "Governor, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s." Here's just one of many examples of Romney's backwardness ...



The New York Times recently disclosed a September 2011 memo drafted by Mitt Romney’s advisors which advocates the resumption of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" initiated under President George W. Bush but banned by President Barack Obama on his second day in office. In a December 17, 2011 Town Hall meeting, Romney said, "I will not authorize torture." But at the press conference after the Town Hall meeting, when a reporter asked him if he considered waterboarding to be torture, Romney responded "I don’t." Romney’s stance led one UN official to warn that his election would amount to "a democratic mandate for torture."

If this topic interests you, please click here: Mules and Bayonets.

Shades of China, Romney Hominy Plagiarized!

"Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose."

Mitt Romney seems to be obsessed with the "clear eyes" slogan, used by the small-town high school football team depicted on the now-defunct TV series Friday Night Lights. It came up again during the third presidential debate, which took place in Boca Raton, Florida (ironically, where Romney’s infamous "47 percent" video was recorded). When the former Mormon Bishop and Massachusetts governor was taken to task by President Obama for claiming that Russia remains America’s foremost "geopolitical foe," Romney replied: "I have clear eyes on this. I’m not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia or Mr. Putin ..."

Well, there he goes again. Peter Berg, the executive producer of Friday Night Lights, recently fired off an angry letter to the Romney campaign, claiming they plagiarized his show’s trademark phrase: "Your politics and campaign are clearly not aligned with the themes we portrayed in our series. The only relevant comparison that I see between your campaign and Friday Night Lights is in the character of Buddy Garrity—who turned his back on American car manufacturers [by] selling imported cars from Japan."



Ouch, that does sound like Bishop Romney, who famously (or infamously) wrote an article entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." Romney claims to love American cars, but his comments about the 47% and his liquidation of American companies and job during his tenure as CEO of Bane Kapital make it seem pretty obvious that he doesn't love American factory workers.



As is his imperious wont, ignoring Berg’s fiery missive, Romney has not only kept the phrase in his repertoire, but has even begun selling cheap plastic red, white and blue bracelets bearing the slogan for $10.

Shades of China! Not only did the Romney camp steal the phrase, they're now making money by selling something they don't own. Bishop Romney condemns China for stealing American trademarks and intellectual property, by selling cheap knock-offs, then turns around and does the same thing himself!

Obama's Battleship reference seems doubly ironic because Peter Berg directed the movie Battleship—one of filmdom's biggest box office busts. Berg’s Friday Night Lights and Battleship both exude a dizzy, unthinking  patriotism. Romney wants to increase the military budget to 4 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, even though there is widespread agreement that spending cuts must be made. According to the New York Times: "Todd Harrison, a senior fellow for defense budget studies at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, has calculated that even if a Romney administration slowly increases the military budget to 4 percent of the G.D.P. over two presidential terms, that would still amount to spending $7.5 trillion over the next decade—or $1.8 trillion more than the Obama administration plans for the Pentagon’s base budget in the same period."

Can even Visine get the red out of Romney's blurry budget vision?

To further investigate this subject please click here: Romney Clear Eyes Full Hearts?

Milk of Romnesia ... or is it Bilk of Romnesia?



Here is the definition of romnesia, a new disease that threatens the lives and health of 47% of Americans, or roughly 150 million people:

rom-ne-sia noun /rom nē zha/
A state of self-induced amnesia, usually for political gain, in which a candidate conveniently forgets his/her previous positions even though they have been indelibly entered into the public record.
Example: "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard." [but] "I never really called myself pro-choice." [and] "I was a severely conservative governor." (Mitt "Myth" Romney)
Etymology: a modern coinage based on the name of its exemplar nonpareil, the Mormon Bishop, CEO of Bane Kapital and American political figure Willard Mitt Romney, who elevated self-induced amnesia into a political art form during his campaigns for elected office.
Synonyms: balderdash, baloney, blather, bull, bunk, bunkum, hooey, hogwash, poppycock, selling ice to Eskimos, selling swampland
Antonyms: truthfulness, honesty, candor



For a more detailed account of the history and etymology of the word, please click here: Romnesia History and Etymology.



Tricky Dick Redux

The more I learn about Willard Mitt Romney, the more he reminds me of Richard Milhous Nixon ... Tricky Dick, meet Wily Willy!



Mr. Transformer

Mitt Romney seems to be running for shape-shifter-in-chief of the United States. If he was a superhero, he would be an incredibly flexible Plastic Man, with extra-long arms, hands and fingers suitable for lifting people's wallets, extracting their money, and handing it over to the owners of Chinese sweatshops. If he appeared in the Twilight movies, he would be a cross between the Cold Ones and the Werewolves, with the worst characteristics of each, and none of their redeeming values. If he was a character on a children's show, he would be either a very sketchy Etch-a-Sketch or a human eraser like Gumby, only with a nastier disposition. If he starred in a comic book, he would be Stuporman, able to induce a state of shock in the presidents of world superpowers, by making $8 trillion disappear in the blink of an eye.

Mitt and Ann Romney: War on Moms is a "Gift" to their Political Campaign

During a closed-door fundraiser in Florida, Ann Romney told the audience that Hilary Rosen's remark that she had never worked was a boon to her and her husband's political campaign: "It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother, and that was really a defining moment, and I loved it." Mitt Romney obviously agreed because, speaking after his wife, he called the ensuing "war on moms" a "gift."

I find it hard to understand why a man running for president of the United States, and his potential first lady, would consider a war on mothers to be a "gift." But that was not Rosen's intention. Rather, she had criticized the Mormonator for turning to his wife for advice on women's economic concerns, when she had never entered the job market and has long lived a life of incredible luxury because Willard Billhard is one of the world's wealthiest men. Most American mothers these days have to work for pay and be their children's primary caregivers. While Rosen's choice of words may have been unfortunate, her point seems valid. Especially when Ann Romney has made statements such as: "My horse has more style and more class in its hoof than they [presumably less affluent people] do in their whole deal!"

Also, the Romneys have made it clear that only rich stay-at-home moms should get credit for working.



Like her husband, Ann Romney comes across as a rich boor ... so perhaps Hilary Rosen was more right than she was wrong.

Mormon Tribune: Too Many Mitts

The Salt Lake Tribune, originally created as the Mormon Tribune and currently the largest-circulation newspaper in the state of Utah, has endorsed President Obama for reelection, in an editorial highly critical of Republican challenger Mitt Romney. How did the American Borat go from being a "favorite son" candidate from Utah, the historic and cultural center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to an object of scorn and ridicule?



The article begins on a positive note: "Nowhere has Mitt Romney’s pursuit of the presidency been more warmly welcomed or closely followed than here in Utah. The Republican nominee’s political and religious pedigrees, his adeptly bipartisan governorship of a Democratic state, and his head for business and the bottom line all inspire admiration and hope in our largely Mormon, Republican, business-friendly state." The article also praises Romney lavishly for his rescue of the 2002 Winter Olympics and described him as "the Beehive State’s favorite adopted son."

But the Tribune sharply and severely criticized Romney’s "servile courtship of the Tea Party," called him "shameless" in his pandering to right-wing radicals, and labeled him the GOP’s "shape-shifting nominee" for his constant and outrageous flip-flopping.



"Who is this guy, really, and what in the world does he truly believe?’" the editorial asks, then opines: "The evidence suggests no clear answer, or at least one that would survive Romney’s next speech or sound bite. Politicians routinely tailor their words to suit an audience. Romney, though, is shameless, lavishing vastly diverse audiences with words, any words, they would trade their votes to hear. More troubling, Romney has repeatedly refused to share specifics of his radical plan to simultaneously reduce the debt, get rid of Obamacare (or, as he now says, only part of it), make a voucher program of Medicare, slash taxes and spending, and thereby create millions of new jobs. To claim, as Romney does, that he would offset his tax and spending cuts (except for billions more for the military) by doing away with tax deductions and exemptions is utterly meaningless without identifying which and how many would get the ax. Absent those specifics, his promise of a balanced budget simply does not pencil out. If this portrait of a Romney willing to say anything to get elected seems harsh, we need only revisit his branding of 47 percent of Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, yet feel victimized and entitled to government assistance. His job, he told a group of wealthy donors, 'is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.' Where, we ask, is the pragmatic, inclusive Romney, the Massachusetts governor who left the state with a model health care plan in place, the Romney who led Utah to Olympic glory? That Romney skedaddled and is nowhere to be found."

There are, it seems, simply "too many Mitts" to believe in any of them.

The article goes on to list President Obama's leadership and accomplishments, such as the auto bailout and Obamacare, then concludes: "In considering which candidate to endorse, The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board had hoped that Romney would exhibit the same talents for organization, pragmatic problem solving and inspired leadership that he displayed here more than a decade ago. Instead, we have watched him morph into a friend of the far right, then tack toward the center with breathtaking aplomb. Through a pair of presidential debates, Romney’s domestic agenda remains bereft of detail and worthy of mistrust. Therefore, our endorsement must go to the incumbent, a competent leader who, against tough odds, has guided the country through catastrophe and set a course that, while rocky, is pointing toward a brighter day. The president has earned a second term. Romney, in whatever guise, does not deserve a first."

Fact Free Dressing

Some restaurants serve fat-free dressing. It seems the presidential debates are fact-free window dressing for Mitt Romney. He reserves the truth for the jet-set elite. How can we tell? Well, if you gave $50,000 to reserve a spot at Mitt Rotney's swanky retreat for donors in New York this week, you would have received this confidence letter: "All events are closed to the public and you should treat all statements, whether made during formal presentation or informal conversations, as off the record. Please be mindful of the security and confidentiality of your meeting notes and materials. Please do not post updates or information about the meeting on blogs, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, or in traditional media." Why so secretive? Perhaps Mitt the Ripper wants to be able to level with his wealthy donors about his $5 trillion "rescue plan" for the super-rich. Experts say it will cost the average family with kids $2,000 per year in order to give multi-millionaires more humongous tax cuts. Or perhaps Pink Slip Mitt wants to be able to talk freely and disdainfully about how 150 million Americans are lazy, irresponsible freeloaders ... even the ones fighting and dying in Afghanistan. Or maybe Rombo just wants to brag about how he bought a Chinese sweatshop complete with guard towers, barbed wire and thousands of young girls providing virtual slave labor so that Bain Capital could profit even more from the closing of American factories and outsourcing of  American jobs. One thing is certain, though. Re-money's finance chairman gave the donors a firm goal: raise $2 million in 45 minutes!

Myth Romney: Candidate or Con?

Candidate contains the word "candid." I think most American presidential candidates since Richard Nixon have been reasonably candid, at least about their primary beliefs and intentions. We knew, for example, that Ronald Reagan saw communism as a threat to the free world and wanted to cut taxes for the rich in the hope that some of the money would "trickle down" to ordinary Janes and Joes. So certain things he did as president, such as beefing up the military, taking a hard line with the USSR until its leaders were ready to negotiate peace, and cutting taxes (although he eventually compromised and raised them), made perfect sense, whether we agreed with him or not. We also knew that Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were liberal-to-moderate Democrats who stood for equality for minorities and women. And we know that Barack Obama is also a liberal-to-moderate Democrat in the FDR-Kennedy-Carter-Clinton mold, despite the wild and false claims of right-wing nuts that he is a "communist," a "totalitarian socialist," etc. And we know that George W. Bush was a brash, vain, reckless, not-so-intelligent Texas cowboy, which helps to explain why Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were able to so easily dupe him into invading Iraq on false premises. Still, Bush Junior was never disingenuous; he was just in way over his head. 

But Mitt Romney seems more like a con-didate than a candid-ate to me. Even people in his own party have called him out in public repeatedly: not only for constantly flip-flopping on major issues, but also for flat-out lying. Flip Flopney lies even when the truth would serve much better. He is not only out of touch with most Americans, but also with basic reality. For instance, the Mighty Mormon Power Ranger claims to have lived a hardscrabble existence without running water or refrigerators in France as a 19-year-old "missionary," while other young Americans fought and died in Vietnam. But Rook Romney's fellow missionaries say that he lived in a multi-million-dollar French palace owned by the Mormon church, and that it had not only running water and refrigeration, but chandeliers, stained glass windows and servants. Phony Bologna claims to be a "self-made" man who "bootstrapped" himself to wealth and success without help from other people, but his wife Ann once admitted publicly that they never had to work while her husband earned three degrees (including two from ultra-expensive Harvard) because whenever they needed spending money they would sell some of the stock his millionaire father had given them as gifts. The only deprivation Ann Romney mentioned was very mild indeed: they chose to forego entertaining guests until Mitt graduated. But how many college students put on the Ritz? The fact that she even thought to complain about not being able to host soirees suggests a deep sense of privilege and entitlement, in my opinion.

Why would Fancy Cheesebag (his nickname at prep school) lie about such things? My educated guess is that he lies for the same reason he bullied gay classmates, co-workers, employees, the Colorado schoolteacher he told to shut up because he hadn't asked her a question (even though they were engaged in a roundtable discussion), the elderly moderator Jim Lehrer at the first debate, and the female moderator Candy Crowley at the second debate (kudos to her for standing her ground). Hell, he even tried to bully President Obama, who's hardly a milquetoast. So what gives? I think Bain in the Ass (as David Letterman calls him) bullies people and lies because he's a narcissist who longs for the approval of other people, and because he's deeply insecure about himself. He also seems to lack empathy for other people's suffering, so he doesn't know when to let up. Children often lie and show off to get attention. Bullies think making other people look bad somehow makes them look good. Romneycon seems like the ultimate illusionist to me: a spoiled, bullying brat masquerading as a man fit to be president of the United States, when he lacks the empathy and self-confidence to be a decent dogcatcher. I certainly wouldn't trust him with our six puppies, much less 300 million Americans.

Sheltergate

Paul Ryan recently stopped at a Youngstown, Ohio soup kitchen to demonstrate his empathy for the downtrodden ... by washing dishes specifically set aside for staged campaign snapshots of him "selflessly" washing them, during a contrived, hasty 15-minute photo op. According to one shelter volunteer, the dishes were already clean and the homeless people had already left before Ryan performed his Good Samaritan act. There is a conflicting report that some dirty dishes were deliberately saved in an unwashed state specifically for Ryan to clean them. In either case, as Jon Stewart implored, "Please for the love of God, make it stop!"

Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, told the Washington Post that Ryan and his people "ramrodded their way" into the soup kitchen in what seemed to be a cheap, cheesy publicity stunt, saying: "They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors." According to the Washington Post, "Ryan stopped by the soup kitchen for about 15 minutes on his way to the airport after his Saturday morning town hall in Youngstown. By the time he arrived, the food had already been served, the patrons had left, and the hall had been cleaned. Upon entering the soup kitchen, Ryan, his wife and three young children greeted and thanked several volunteers, then donned white aprons and offered to clean some dishes. Photographers snapped photos and TV cameras shot footage of Ryan and his family washing pots and pans that did not appear to be dirty." Antal said that he "can’t fault my volunteers" for letting the campaign in because the publicity-seekers "didn’t go through the proper channels." He noted that the soup kitchen relies on funding from private individuals who might reconsider their support if it appears that the charity is favoring one political candidate over another. "I can’t afford to lose funding from these private individuals," he said. "If this was the Democrats, I’d have the same exact problem." He added that the incident had caused him "all kinds of grief" and that regardless of whether Ryan had intended to serve food to patrons or wash dishes, he would not have allowed the visit to take place. "Had they asked for permission, it wouldn’t have been granted ... I certainly wouldn’t have let him wash clean pans, and then take a picture."

Multiple Choice Mitt

For me the central issue is that people who are here illegally should be able to apply for citizenship; that should not be prohibited.
[Immigrants] should not be allowed to stay in this country and be given permanent residency or citizenship.

I believe abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since my mom took that position when she ran [for Senate] in 1970.
I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard.
I was an avidly pro-life governor; I am a pro-life individual. I never really called myself pro-choice.

It's not worth moving heaven and earth, spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.
Of course I would have ordered taking out Osama bin Laden.

I believe the world is getting warmer ... I believe humans contribute to that.
My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet.

I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there.
It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam. [He avoided Vietnam by living in a French palace as a 19-year-old Mormon "missionary."]

I believe the tax on capital gains should be zero.
It’s a tax cut for fat cats.

I’m going to take burdens off the back of the auto industry. [Romney later wrote an essay titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."]

I'm a big believer in getting money where the money is, and the money's in Washington.
If our goal is jobs, we have to stop spending over a trillion dollars [more] than we take in every year.

I like [compulsory health insurance] mandates. The mandates work.
Being called the "grandfather of Obamacare" is a "compliment."
I would repeal Obamacare ... because it's a "costly disaster."

As the quotes above indicate, Mitt Romney is either lying through his teeth in order to get elected president, or he is so deeply conflicted that he doesn't know what he believes himself. In either case, he is unfit to be president.

Mitt Romney in his own Words

We should double Guantanamo!
Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that!
Let Detroit go bankrupt!
I'll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry's come back! (Referring to the auto industry he wanted to go bankrupt.)
I would repeal Obamacare! (Even though Obamacare is modeled after his claim to fame, Romneycare.)
Corporations are people, my friend ... of course they are ... human beings, my friend!
Now, the banks aren't bad people. They're just overwhelmed right now. They're overwhelmed with a lot of things. One is a lot of homes coming in, that are in foreclosure or in trouble ... (Romney wants us to have compassion for banks because they are overwhelmed from repossessing so many homes!)
Let it [the home foreclosure crisis] run its course and hit the bottom!
Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom!

If we properly parse and interpret Romney's remarks above, it seems he has more compassion for heartless banks and corporations than he does for human beings. He opposed temporary loans for cash-strapped American automakers and the millions of workers and subcontractors they employ. He opposed any financial aid for millions of Americans facing home foreclosures. But he favored much larger bailouts of his fellow Wall Street tycoons and the big banks that created the foreclosure crisis with their greed and irresponsibility. What does that tell us about his priorities and values?

We have a president who I think is a nice guy, but he spent too much time at Harvard, perhaps. (Mitt Romney has two Harvard degrees.)

I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks. (Romney insulting NASCAR fans for wearing plastic rain ponchos at the Daytona 500.)

I'm in this race because I care about Americans [but] I'm not concerned about the very poor [and] he dismissed 47% of Americans, or roughly 150 million people, as lazy, irresponsible freeloaders who only think they are entitled to food, housing and healthcare, implying that they are not really entitled to live, in his opinion, since a decent human life requires food, housing and healthcare.

Atta girl! (Taunting a closeted gay high school student, Gary Hummel.)

He can't look like that! That's wrong! Just look at him! (Before tackling a gay classmate, John Lauber, pinning him to the ground and cutting off his long, bleached-blonde hair.)

One of Romney's former classmates compared him to the Lord of the Flies, because of incidents like those above.

I didn’t ask you a question! (This was Romney's insulting comment to Cheryl Arnett, a first grade teacher from Craig, Colorado, when she tried to suggest a solution to an educational problem during a roundtable discussion.)

Mitt Romney explains why he is not qualified to become president:

If I had paid more [federal income taxes] than are legally due, I don’t think I’d be qualified to become president. (But Romney chose not to claim all his charitable contributions on his 2011 tax return, in order to keep his tax rate from falling below the13% he said he never fell below when he disclosed his 2010 taxes.)

Creepy Romney

Joe Conason reported in The National Memo that Mitt Romney routinely impersonated police officers by donning a cop uniform that was apparently a gift from his father. One of Romney’s friends, Robin Madden, claims he "told us that he was using it to pull over drivers on the road. He also had a red flashing light that he would attach to the top of his white Rambler." Madden’s wife added, "We thought it was all pretty weird. We all thought, 'Wow, that’s pretty creepy.'" According to Boston Globe reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman in their article "The Real Romney," other sources said that Romney schemed with friends to prank two girls. Romney "put a siren on top of his car and chased two of his friends who were driving around with their dates." Romney pulled them over and "discovered" beer in the truck. Romney and his friends then got into Romney’s car and left the girls behind.

The Romney Economy

Before anyone buys the complete and utter malarkey that Mitt Romney is a "job creator" who is "tough on China," they should read How Freeport Became Bainport.

Shit Mitt Emits

To get to know Mitt Romney in his own words, please click here: Shit Mitt Emits.

Mitt Malarkey

I think Vice President Joe Biden found the perfect term to describe the fountain of irrational nonsense that constantly bubbles up from the overheated cores of Myth Romney and Lyin' Ryan, like a political Old Unfaithful: "malarkey." Biden set the Internet a-twitter with a flurry of tweets after he accused Myth Romney and Lyin' Ryan of dishonesty so pervasive their assertions are pure hogwash.

ma·lar·key noun /mə lär kē/ also malarky, mullarky
Meaningless, idle, insincere, phony, pretentious or foolish talk, usually intended to deceive.
Example: "snookered by a lot of malarkey" (New Republic)
Synonyms: balderdash, blather, bunk, bunkum, claptrap, drivel, garbage, hogwash, idiocy, nonsense, piffle, poppycock, rigmarole, rubbish, tomfoolery, trash, twaddle, tommyrot, (slang) applesauce, baloney, bilge, bull, bunk, crap, hooey

The hashtag #malarkey became instantaneously popular and "malarkey" was a top four Google search term during the debate. Here's what Biden said: "With all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey—because not a single thing he [Ryan] said was accurate." Later, Biden hit Ryan with, "This is a lot of stuff," by which he obviously meant "shit." Biden also accused Romney and Ryan of "loose talk" for political gain that endangers American diplomats and soldiers.

During the debate, @PiersMorgan said, "Biden's smirk is infectious. I'm starting to laugh too. Maybe this is a deliberate cunning strategy." @KrystalBall said, "People are complaining about Biden smiling/laughing. I like it. Paul Ryan is saying absurd things."

Bishop Romney

Willard Mitt Romney is a High Priest of the Mormon Church, and once served as a Bishop over a diocese (called a "stake"). While I would not normally be concerned about a presidential candidate's religious beliefs, I would if he was a brainwashed Moonie, for obvious reasons. I think we should all be concerned about the High Priest of a bizarre cult running for president. Here are just a few of the many strange teachings of the Mormon church:

• God the Father is a polygamist who lives on the planet Kolob, where he has sex with his harem of wives.
• God the Father had physical sex with Mary.
• Jesus was and is a polygamist.
• Mormon men will become Gods.
• Mormon wives can only enter heaven if their husbands consent; in heaven they will remain eternally pregnant, bearing innumerable spirit children.
• Human beings are not saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but by participating in the secret sacraments of the Mormon temple.
• Because salvation depends on temple sacraments, Mormon priests can sentence people to hell, by excommunicating them.
• This, of course, gives the Mormon church and its priests tremendous power over church members.

There are many credible reports of the Mormon church using that power to brainwash and control its members. And it turns out that Bishop Romney has been accused of using ruthless, cold-blooded and high-handed tactics himself, especially against women (which is not surprising in a cult whose most famous—or infamous—teaching is polygamy). For instance, Peggy Hayes, who once babysat Romney's children, said that when she was single and expecting, he showed up at her house one day, demanding that she surrender her baby to the church, via adoption. When she indignantly refused, Romney "somewhat casually" threatened her with excommunication, which was, in effect, to threaten her with hell. It seems Bishop Romney had appointed himself a God, here on earth, with the power to save women or condemn them to hell. Today, Peggy Hayes says, "My son was a gift to me" and "I'm so glad that I didn't listen to Mitt's advice." She thinks Romney is unfit to be president because "He follows the doctrines [of the Mormon church] so closely that he can't waver from it much."

Park Romney

Park Romney is a former Mormon high priest. He is also Mitt Romney’s second cousin and bears a striking resemblance to his famous relative. He calls Mormonism "an insidious contemporary fraud" and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints "an American cult." Bishop Romney, he claims, would be conflicted in office because "obedience to the leadership of the Mormon Church is part of the covenant of the temple ordinances to which Mitt Romney is absolutely a party."

Mitt Romney was a Mormon missionary to France in the 1960s, studied at the almost-exclusively Mormon Brigham Young University, and rose to become a Bishop and a Stake President (diocesan leader). He led Sunday services, ran Bible classes for children, and presided over a 4,000-strong congregation in Boston for five years in the 1980s. Like all Mormons, he is expected to give 10% of his annual income to the Church and not drink tea, coffee or alcohol. Committed Mormons wear magical underpants, and Romney is believed to follow this tenet of his faith too.

Park Romney questions founder Joseph Smith's prophecies: for example, his alleged "translation" of an Egyptian scroll, part of the Mormon book of Abraham, which Egyptologists say is a fraud. Mormons believe Smith found golden scripture plates buried by an angel, but according to Park Romney, "There's compelling evidence that the Mormon Church leaders knowingly and willfully misrepresent the historical truth of their origins and of the Church for the purpose of deceiving their members into a state of mind that renders them exploitable." According to Park Romney the Mormon leadership are "masters of mendacity" who brainwash their followers in order to take their money and control their lives. If he's right, Mitt Romney is either hopelessly gullible, or one of the cynical manipulators. In either case, he is not fit to be president.

A Concerned Mother Explains Why Mitt Romney Cannot Be Trusted

"My two-year-old daughter, Zoe, was born with half a heart. For her, that is and will forever be a 'pre-existing condition'—she required two open heart surgeries already, and she'll need one more within the next year. At the [first] debate, Mitt Romney told you, me, and everyone else in America that repealing Obamacare would be his first priority as president, including the part of Obamacare that says insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage or charge more based on pre-existing conditions. He said his repeal plan will take care of people with pre-existing conditions, but then his top campaign aide 'clarified' after the debate that all he means is he would go back to the inadequate system that existed before Obamacare, which allowed insurance companies to deny coverage and resulted in bankruptcies and broken families. In other words, despite what he said in the debate, his campaign says he has no intention to do anything to help people like my daughter, Zoe, if she ever loses coverage. I don't say this stuff because I'm a political junkie. I'm not. I pay attention to this because I have to ... The stakes couldn't be higher in this election."—Stacey Lihn

The American Taliban

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have designated themselves "America's Comeback Team" but they seem more like the Taliban to me, with their chauvinistic attitudes towards women and non-heterosexuals, and their autocratic alpha male machismo. They both have advocated prayer in schools. Romney has endorsed "religious ornamentation and celebration" in the public square. They sealed their political nuptials by running down to the podium from a battleship, laughing and waving, even though neither of them ever served in the US military. Paul Ryan looks and dresses like a Cold War spook. Mitt Romney blinks ten thousand times per second, has the most artificial smile I have ever seen, and seems to have absolutely no regard for the truth, or any empathy for ordinary Americans. Do we really want Ayatollah Romney and Imam Ryan to preside over the erstwhile Land of the Free?

Romney and the Romulans Restart the Cold War

In his recent speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Mitt Romney said, "I’ll implement effective missile defenses to protect against [unspecified] threats. And on this, there will be no flexibility with Vladimir Putin." The Cold War finally ended when Ronald Reagan formed a friendship with Mikhail Gorbachev that was based on mutual respect and a willingness on both sides to compromise for the sake of peace. Now Romney and his bellicose neocon advisers want to junk detente and return to the days of nuclear brinksmanship. But the US already has its hands full in the Middle East and with China. Do we really want to bully Russia and risk another Deep Freeze?

As Joe Biden pointed out recently, Romney and the neocons "see the world through a cold war prism that is totally out of touch with the realities of the twenty-first century." Christopher Preble said, "Romney’s likely to be in the mold of George W. Bush when it comes to foreign policy ... I can’t name a single Romney foreign policy adviser who believes the Iraq War was a mistake." When Romney called Russia "without question our number one geopolitical foe," he was immediately rebuked by everybody with a brain. David C. Speedie called Romney's statement "palpably ridiculous." Colin Powell said, "Well, c’mon, Mitt; think! That isn’t the case." John Kerry called the comment "naive." Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Romney's remark "smacked of Hollywood" and reminded him of the Cold War. Lawrence J. Korb agreed with Medvedev, saying: "Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has not faced an existential threat, nor does it have any 'number one' geopolitical or nation state foes ... The rhetoric of geopolitical foes should be retired as a relic of the Cold War." In a poll of foreign policy experts taken by the L. A. Times, not one named Russia as our "number one geopolitical foe." Two named Iran, two said "nobody" and two suggested that the US may be its own worst enemy (perhaps because of politicians like Romney?). If he surrounds himself with hawks still intent on fighting the Cold War, we could miss out of the dividends of peace and go bankrupt fighting needless, unwinnable battles.

Mitt Romney’s Sick Joke

Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, hammered Mitt Romney for his factual inaccuracies and outright lies during the first presidential debate, saying: "OK, so Obama did a terrible job in the debate, and Romney did well. But in the end, this isn’t or shouldn’t be about theater criticism, it should be about substance. And the fact is that everything Obama said was basically true, while much of what Romney said was either outright false or so misleading as to be the moral equivalent of a lie. Above all, there’s this: "Number one, pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan." No, they aren’t. Romney’s advisers have conceded as much in the past; last night they did it again. I guess you could say that Romney’s claim wasn’t exactly a lie, since some people with preexisting conditions would retain coverage. But as I said, it’s the moral equivalent of a lie; if you think he promised something real, you’re the butt of a sick joke. And we’re talking about a lot of people left out in the cold: 89 million, to be precise. Furthermore, all of this should be taken in the context of Romney’s plan not just to repeal Obamacare but to drastically cut Medicaid. So enough with the theater criticism; Romney needs to be held accountable for dishonesty on a huge scale."

Mythical Conservatism

Krugman had previously pointed out that Paul Ryan's budget plan would leave "tens of millions" of people without health insurance and take money from the poor to give it to the rich, while increasing the budget deficit. "How can [Ryan] get away with this?" he asked incredulously, wondering how Americans can fall for this "flimflam." He also skewered the belief that Ryan is serious about balancing the budget, calling him a "mythical" conservative: "Paul Ryan understood that a lot of people in the media [and] a lot of people in the beltway establishment wanted there to be such a person, and so he played into that desire. He became the figure of their dreams. In reality, he is nothing like that."

Mr. One Percent

Peter Gloor of FairShareTaxes.org explains how Mitt Romney would reduce taxes for the 1% to 1% or less: "Warren Buffett, billionaire, pays a total tax rate (federal, state & local; personal & corporate) of 11% of his income and investment gains. A single person earning a minimum wage pays taxes amounting to 37% of her wages, double Mr. Buffett’s rate [and Romney's]. Mr Obama wants to end this inequity; Romney wants to expand it. Romney has applauded his running-mate's budget, which coincidentally, would reduce his own federal tax rate to 1% [.0082, to be exact]. He has said he would sign that budget bill. The top 1% in the US have gone from owning 22% to 40% of the nation's wealth in the last thirty years. This is largely due to the tax cuts for the wealthy investor class, started under Reagan. They were supposed to encourage investment and strengthen the economy. Since then, the average annual GDP growth dropped by one-quarter. Twice in our history the wealth held by the top 1% reached 40%. Once before the Great Depression and right before our current Great Recession. Coincidence? [Hardly!]" Gloor concludes that unless we implement a fairer system of taxation soon, "All but the wealthiest are at risk of losing their jobs, homes, retirement savings."

Comedians Complain: "Mitt Romney is beyond satire, and yet he keeps beating us to the punch!"

One would think that a presidential candidate who seems to be a cross between Beaver Cleaver and the android Data, with a bit of Lurch and Herman Munster thrown in for good (or bad) measure, would be a comedian's dream come true. But the Romneybot's uber-Mormon-cleanliness, alienness, stiffness, and utter lack of human warmth, charm and personality ... well, it leaves comedians with the problem of trying to make fun of a vacuum cleaner. Human beings are funny because they are human. Robots are not funny unless they have human foibles, like C-3PO. Will Tracy, editor of the satirical news site The Onion explains: "We have had quite a bit of fun with Mitt Romney, but my sense is that we are fighting against a certain amount of disinterest in him as a human being, which seems to be the exact thing Mitt Romney himself is fighting against. Nevertheless, anyone who sleeps upon a massive pile of crisp $100 bills every night, as I’ve been assured he does, is bound to yield a few interesting stories."

Bishop Romney Expresses Compassion for Corporations and Banks, but not Average Americans

One of the strangest things about Mitt Romney is that he seems to care more about banks and other corporations than human beings. He actually said:

Corporations are people, my friend ... of course they are ... human beings, my friend.
Banks aren't bad people. They're just overwhelmed right now ... scared to death ... feeling the same thing that you're feeling.

Romney opposed bailouts for Detroit autoworkers and homeowners, but supported much larger bailouts for the bankers and Wall Street tycoons who helped create the debt crisis. One of the oddest things I have ever heard a politician say is this statement by the Romneybot:

Now, the banks aren't bad people. They're just overwhelmed right now. They're overwhelmed with a lot of things. One is a lot of homes coming in, that are in foreclosure or in trouble ...

In other words, we should have compassion for banks, because they are foreclosing on so many houses that they're having trouble keeping up! Romney also said:

The banks are scared to death, of course. They're feeling the same thing that you're feeling. And so they just want to pretend that all this is just going to get paid some day.

But banks don't have babies and children to feed. They don't have elderly parents and grandparents who face health and financial problems as they age. Yes, banks can have problems. But how can anyone equate a bank's problems with those of families that confront suffering and possibly death if family members become homeless or can't obtain proper medical care?

The statements above were made by Mitt Romney during campaign speeches in Florida, as he asked people to have compassion for banks because they were being overwhelmed with foreclosed houses. Speaking in shirtsleeves beneath a blazing sun, Romney reinforced earlier statements he had made about the need to let the foreclosures continue:

Let it [the foreclosure crisis] run its course and hit the bottom.

His comments echoed his sentiments expressed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board:

Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom.

Romney then took a swipe at Newt Gingrich, who at that time led him by four points in Gallup's rolling Florida polls. Recycling a line from his recent debate in Tampa, he said Gingrich was "peddling influence" as a consultant to Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant that Romney said was one of the biggest causes of the housing crisis, built on a pile of government-guaranteed debt. "We can't have an influence peddler leading our party," said Romney, standing on a makeshift stage in front of a one-story house that was in the process of foreclosure.

Gingrich in his response pointed out that Romney made millions of dollars from his investments in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Goldman Sachs: "So maybe Governor Romney in the spirit of openness should tell us how much money he’s made off of how many households that have been foreclosed by his investments?"

Romney's Healthcare Solution: Wait until the Uninsured are on Death's Door, then let them go to Emergency Rooms!

CBS News: Does the government have a responsibility to provide health care to the 50 million Americans who don’t have it today?

Mitt Romney: Well, we do provide care for people who don’t have insurance, people—we—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.

But should we wait until people are on death's door before we think about ways to help them? Doesn't waiting until they need ambulances and emergency rooms drive up the cost of healthcare? When people don't have bread to eat, should we echo Marie Antoinette and say, "Let them eat [nonexistent] cake!" When they have chronic health conditions, should we let their health deteriorate until their conditions become acute, then cavalierly say, "Let them go to emergency rooms!"

Romney loves to talk about American exceptionalism. During his recent visits to England, Israel and Poland, he praised each nation's culture and economy. But all three nations have universal healthcare, as do all the more advanced free world democracies. How can Americans be exceptional if they can't do what so many other nations have done successfully? And Romney himself helped establish universal healthcare for Massachusetts, when he was governor there. So why does he attack President Obama for trying to help all Americans have access to quality healthcare, before they need ambulances and emergency rooms?

What Romney's Conservative Allies Say about Him

Here is what his Republican allies have to say about "Multiple Choice" Mitt Romney's serial flip-flopping, lack of honesty, various other deficiencies, and general money-grubbing madness ...

Republican senator and former presidential nominee John McCain: "Gov. Romney has taken two positions on every issue."

Another widely respected Republican presidential candidate, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, said: "We just call him a serial flip-flopper."

Former New York mayor and hero of 911, Rudy Giuliani: "I have run a lot of elections, supported a lot of people, [and] I have never seen a guy change his position on so many things, so fast, on a dime."

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum: "This is someone who doesn’t have a core. He’s been on both sides of every single issue in the past ten years. This is someone who will say anything to get elected. People want the genuine article. If Romney is an economic heavyweight, we’re in trouble, because he was 47th out of 50 in job creation in his state of Massachusetts when he was governor."

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told CNN: "I think he's certainly being dishonest about his own record. When he said that he had the endorsement of the NRA, he did not. When he says that he didn't raise taxes, in fact there were $500 million in fees that were raised during his time [as governor of Massachusetts] ... He's making up stuff ... It's just incredible ... It's not true ... "

Another Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, in a campaign ad said: "Mitt Romney will do and say anything to become President. Anything."

Asked directly by CBS News chief White House correspondent Norah O’Donnell if he thought Romney was a liar, Gingrich said bluntly, "Yes."

Brit Hume on FOX News Sunday: "You're only allowed a certain number of flips before people start to doubt your character. And I think Romney exhausted his quota sometime back. And these fresh ones, I think are over the limit, and I think they hurt, and I don't think the fact that he's flipping in the direct that the Republicans would like will help very much because I think they don't trust him."

Another Republican presidential candidate, Jon Huntsman, told CNN: "You can’t be a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the important issues of the day, whether it’s Libya, whether it’s the debt ceiling, whether it’s the discussion around the Kasich bill in Ohio, where Gov. Romney has been missing in action in terms of showing any kind of leadership."

Rand Paul told National Review: "I do not yet know if I will find a Romney presidency more acceptable on foreign policy. But I do know that I must oppose the most recent statements made by Mitt Romney in which he says he, as president, could take us to war unilaterally with Iran, without any approval from Congress."

Please click here to read more Republican and Conservative criticism of Mitt Romney.

Multiple Choice Mitt is America's First Ultra-liberal Conservative!

Mitt Romney told NARAL Pro Choice, "I’m a strong believer in stating your position and not wavering." But as we will see, Romney changes his positions more frequently than even the most adventurous porn stars. Here are examples of why Romney has earned nicknames like Flip Flopney, Mitt the Flopple and Multiple Choice Mitt ...

Romney has accused President Obama and even his Republican presidential rivals of being Washington insiders guilty of pork barrel spending. But here is what Romney told people about himself, when he wanted to impress them with his ability to get money out of the federal government:

• "I am a big believer in getting money where the money is. The money is in Washington."
• "We actually received over $410 million from the federal government for the Olympic games. That is a huge increase over anything ever done before and we did that by going after every agency of government ... That kind of creativity I want to bring to everything we do."

Romney has also flip-flopped repeatedly on women's reproductive rights:

• "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country."
• "I sustain and support that law [Roe v. Wade] and the right of a woman to make that choice [abortion]."
• "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard."
• "I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it." ... [but] ... "Roe v. Wade has gone too far."
• His position was clear and he gave his word to NARAL Pro Choice ... [but] ... "I never really called myself pro-choice."

Here are more about-faces by Flip Flopney:

• "It's not worth moving heaven and earth ... trying to catch one person." ... [but] ... "Of course I would have ordered taking out Osama bin Laden."
• "I like [compulsory health insurance] mandates. The mandates work." ... [but] ... "I think it's unconstitutional on the 10th Amendment front."
• "I saw my father march with Martin Luther King." ... [but] ... "I did not see it with my own eyes." [Because they never marched together.]
• "I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there." ... [but] ... "It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam."
• "I will work and fight for stem cell research." ... [but] ... "The stem-cell debate was grounded in a false premise."
• "I don’t line up with the NRA." ... [but] ... "I’m a member of the NRA."
• "I believe the tax on capital gains should be zero." ... [but] ... "It’s a tax cut for fat cats."
• "I’m going to take burdens off the back of the auto industry." ... [but] ... He wrote an essay titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."
• In a 1994 letter to the Log Cabin Republicans, Romney wrote that he was in favor of "gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly" in the military. But during the 2007 presidential debates, he insisted that they should continue to serve secretly and dishonestly, under "Don't Ask Don't Tell," which he wanted to keep.
• "Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts." ... [but] ... "I don’t support any gun control legislation, the effort for a new assault weapons ban, with a ban on semi-automatic weapons, is something I would oppose."
• "I believe the world’s getting warmer ... I believe that humans contribute to that." ... [but] ... "My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change."
• "I’m not in favor of privatizing Social Security or making cuts." ... [but] ... "Social Security’s the easiest and that’s because you can give people a personal account."

Please click here to read more Mitt Romney Flip Flops.

Rebooting the Romneybot

Maureen Dowd recently called the Romney campaign "a moveable feast of missteps." Even arch-conservative Republicans have pretty much thrown their hands up in the air, asking, in effect, "How can he and his wife keep alienating millions of Americans by sounding like rich, elitist pricks?" But perhaps that's what they really are, and they just can't help themselves. If so, "rebooting the Romneybot" won't do any good, because only a change of heart and mind would result in decent behavior. People who are programmed to value wealth, style and "class" over equality and fair play will always seem distant and out of touch to ordinary Americans ... simply because they are.

13.9 and 14.1 Percent of What, Exactly?

Mitt and Ann Romney claim they paid 13.9 percent in federal income taxes in 2010, and 14.1 percent in 2011, and I believe them. Why? Because I think they realized that if Mitt Moneybags was going to have a shot at becoming president, he was going to have to disclose his more current tax returns. So it seems that in 2010 they decided to pay taxes on a good chunk of their earnings. But a valid question is whether they sheltered most of their earnings from federal taxes prior to 2010. This seems to be the case because there are some rather obvious clues: (1) If there were no major problems with the returns prior to 2010, why risk the presidency by not disclosing them? Even died-in-the-wool conservatives have pointed out that choosing not to disclose the returns indicates that there must be major problems with them. (2) The fact that the Romneys are willing to reveal the percentages paid in the past, but not the income those percentages apply to, suggests that the income reported may be far less than the $21 million reported in 2010. (3) The Romneys have been careful to say that they paid at least 13 percent in "taxes" every year, but they have avoided using the words "federal income taxes." (4) Cayman Island "IRAs" worth up to $100 million suggest that the Romney's fortune has been growing with a lot of help by talented tax attorneys (or perhaps unethical ones).

It seems obvious to me that the Romneys avoided paying federal income taxes on much or most of their income prior to 2010. If they paid 10 percent in federal income taxes on 10 percent of their total income, their effective federal income tax rate on their gross income would be a stunning 1 percent. Of course no one knows what their real effective rate was, but all they have to do to prove naysayers like me wrong is disclose all their tax returns for 12 years, as Mitt's father did when he ran for president. As George Romney pointed out, releasing returns for just one or two years can be deceptive if the returns are not representative. Why is Bishop Romney afraid to follow his father's good example?

Ugh, You People!

According to Ann Romney, roughly half of all Americans are utterly lacking in class or style ... at least compared to her Olympic dressage horse, Rafalca. The Romneys took a $70,000 tax deduction for Rafalca Romney, which is more than the median annual American household income. Has Ann Romney, perhaps, confused wealth with class and style? Here's what she said about Democrats recently, so you be the judge:

My horse has more style and more class in its hoof than they do in their whole deal!

The comment above was reported by Jason Horowitz of the Washington Post as having been made by Georgette Mosbacher — "cosmetics impresario and eccentric grande dame of GOP fundraising" — to her younger sister Lyn Paulsin, who once dated Rush Limbaugh. These are loyal Romney supporters, not enemy infiltrators. Horowitz describes them thusly: "Both sisters wear gold Eagle pins on their lapels, identifying them as Romney mega-donors, and a stack of VIP credentials around their necks." Horowitz informed his readers that the sisters discussed Ann Romney's comment "giddily," as if they were impressed or awed by what she said.

This seems like yet more confirmation that the Romneys and many of their super-rich supporters are the ones who lack not only class and style, but basic human decency and common sense. Here is what Ann Romney recently told Robin Roberts: "We have given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life." She sounded like a feudal queen talking down to a bunch of serfs. Like her imperious husband, she seems to think the America public doesn't deserve full disclosure. Who the hell are we to question someone rich enough to have Swiss bank accounts, Bermuda trusts, Cayman Island IRAs, and horses in the Olympics?

More Ann Romney Quotes

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Hypocrite Mitt

After Bishop Romney refused to disclose more than two years of his tax returns and his wife Ann imperiously told the American public that "you people" have no right to question how the Regal Romneys live so affluently, it turns out that Mitt Romney required the people on his short list of potential VP candidates to provide him with ten years of their tax returns! Once again he declines to lead by example. In response to questions about the ten-year requirement for potential VPs, Romney campaign press secretary Andrea Saul declined comment. "We do not discuss the VP selection process," she wrote in an email. It seems Hypocrite Mitt intends to keep the game rigged, by having one set of rules for himself and his super-rich patrons, and a more "taxing" set of rules for everyone else. Mitt's modus operandi is "Do as I command, not as I do myself."

Last August, Obama campaign chief Jim Messina suggested a compromise: If Romney agreed to release five years of tax returns, Team Obama would declare a cease-fire and stop calling for more years of returns. Romney rejected the offer. Thus, it seems clear that he was doing something prior to 2010 that he doesn't want the American public to know about. Even staunch conservatives like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and William Kristol have castigated Romney for failing to disclose more tax returns.

Top Ten Mitticisms

A "mitticism" is like a witticism, minus the intelligence. These things were actually said by the Romneybot in its attempts to communicate with warm-blooded earthlings ...

We should double Guantanamo!
Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that!
Let Detroit go bankrupt!
I'll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry's come back. (Referring to the auto industry he wanted to go bankrupt and did nothing to help.)
I would repeal Obamacare! (Even though Obamacare is modeled after his claim to fame, Romneycare?)
Corporations are people, my friend ... of course they are ... human beings, my friend.
Banks aren't bad people. They're just overwhelmed right now ... scared to death ... feeling the same thing that you're feeling.
I am a big believer in getting money where the money is. The money is in Washington.
Atta girl! (Taunting a closeted gay high school student, Gary Hummel.)
He can't look like that! That's wrong! Just look at him! (Before tackling a gay classmate, John Lauber, and cutting off his long, bleached-blonde hair.)

Mr. Roboto

I bathe in statistics.
Who let the dogs out? Who, who? (During an awkward photo op with a group of African American kids.)
PETA is not happy that my dog likes fresh air. (After having strapped his dog to the roof of his vehicle for an 11-hour road trip.)

The quotes above seem like the output of a badly-engineered android, one that could not possibly be mistaken for an actual human being. And what about these statements, made by the Romneybot to ingratiate itself with potential voters? ...

I love this state. The trees are the right height. The streets are just right.
I had catfish for the second time. It was delicious, just like the first time.
I am learning to say y'all and I like grits, and ... strange things are happening to me.
Morning, ya'll. I got started this morning right with a biscuit and some cheesy grits. (No one calls them "cheesy" grits.)
I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce and hubcaps. Because there's no plates like chrome for the hollandaise.
These pancakes are about as large as my win in Puerto Rico last night, I must admit. The margin is just about as good.
Look at us in here! We are all nice together, all nice and wet, you know, like a can of sardines. ("Nice"?)
That's a big lava lamp, congratulations!
Davy, Davy Crockett. King of the wild frontier!
I'm an unofficial southerner.
Please give us a big hug, that's the girls. I've been getting hugs from the Southern girls ... from 12, to well, a lot more than 12.
I never imagined I'd be up here like Larry the Cable guy!
I love the hymns of America, by the way.

When asked at the Daytona 500 whether he followed NASCAR, the Romneybot replied, "Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans, but I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners."

I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed.—Mitt Romney (one of the earth's wealthiest men)
I get speaker's fees from time to time, but not very much. —Mitt Romney (in a single year he earned $374,000 in speaker's fees)

When talking about money, as Gary Kamiya put it in a Salon article, Romney comes across "not only as an obscenely rich person, but as an obscenely rich person from another planet."

As Charles P. Pierce wrote in an article for Esquire: "People have been trying to humanize the Romneybot since he first stepped into politics against Ted Kennedy almost 20 years ago. They tried for two years when he was governor and, to most of the people around the State House, he went out as pretty much the same ice sculpture they'd sworn in. They tried for two years during the run-up to the 2008 campaign and, according to the one worthwhile anecdote in Game Change, by the end of the primary process, everybody wanted to spit on him. Did it look to any of you that his rivals this time around wanted to do anything else, either? No matter what they're saying now, they all thought he was a slick bond salesman who was buying the nomination. Newt Gingrich looked sincerely like he wanted to eat Romney's heart in the marketplace throughout almost all of the debates. Here is the simple fact: Unless you are a member of his family, you simply cannot like Mitt Romney."

The Romneybot has a cold, calculating CPU, but its output is wildly inconsistent. For instance, in 2004 the Romneybot said: "The people of America recognize that the slowdown in jobs that occurred during the early years of the Bush administration were the result of a perfect storm. And an effort by one candidate to somehow say, 'Oh, this recession and the slowdown in jobs was the result of somehow this president magically being elected,' people in America just dismiss that as being poppycock. ... Every indication is that the economic policies adopted and pursued by this president are creating jobs at a very high pace. And so the people of America have to ask, 'Do I stay with the president, who is rebuilding the economy, who is creating jobs, or do you want to stop mid-stream and find someone new?'"

But of course when the president in question is Barack Obama, the Romneybot immediately spits out pure poppycock.

And here is what the Romneybot said about its record of sluggish job growth after four years as governor of Massachusetts, in 2006: "You guys are bright enough to look at the numbers. I came in and the jobs had been just falling off a cliff ... And then we turned around and we're coming back. And that's progress. And if you're going to suggest to me that somehow the day I got elected somehow jobs should immediately [have] turned around, why that would be silly. It takes a while to get things turned around. We were in a recession; we were losing jobs every month. We've turned it around ... That's progress."

But when the person with the record of job growth progress that is not immediate is Barack Obama, the Romneybot immediately spits out sheer silliness.

In November 2006, shortly before the Romneybot retired as governor of Massachusetts, its approval rating was a dismal 34%, ranking it 48th of 50 U.S. governors.

Why was the Romneybot so unpopular? Well, for all its talk about creating jobs, Massachusetts was 47th out of 50 states in putting people to work when Romney was governor. And while Romney loves to brag about smaller government and cutting spending, according to research by PolitiFact, spending actually rose by 24 percent during his governorship, making such claims false. As his replacement, Gov. Deval Patrick told the DNC, "He cut education deeper than anywhere else in America. Roads and bridges were crumbling. Business taxes were up and business confidence was down." Also, according to Ellen Story, "He was aloof; he was not approachable. He was very much an outsider, the whole time he was here. The Republican reps would grumble that he didn't even know their names."

The Crown Princes of Entitlements

I am a big believer in getting money where the money is. The money is in Washington.—Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan claim to be "fiscal conservatives" who abhor government spending and can fix America's economic problems with quick waves of their magical wands. But the truth is that Romney and Ryan both supported huge federal bailouts, as long as their rich patrons, cronies and constituents got most of the loot. Paul Ryan effusively praised George W. Bush's 2002 federal stimulus package, which mostly benefitted wealthy Americans by lowering their taxes. And even as he was damning President Obama's much fairer 2009 stimulus package, Ryan was lobbying for millions of stimulus funds for his constituents. Mitt Romney accepted a huge federal bailout of the Olympics, bragging that he knew how to get money from the federal government, then claimed that he "saved" the Olympics when it was really "we the people" who did the saving with our tax dollars. The only thing Romney's and Ryan's magic wands will accomplish, if we are foolish enough to elect them, is to reduce taxes on the richest 1% of Americans to below 1%, leaving the rest of us to pay thousands more in taxes even as we get smaller Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits when we are no longer able to work. That ain't magic, it's highway robbery.

I've learned from my Olympic experience [that] if you have people that really understand how Washington works and have personal associations there you can get money to help build economic development opportunities ... We actually received over $410 million from the federal government for the Olympic games. That is a huge increase over anything ever done before and we did that by going after every agency of government.—Mitt Romney

Romney cited more than $1 million that one his colleagues managed to get for the Olympics from the Department of Education, concluding:

That kind of creativity I want to bring to everything we do.—Mitt Romney

Bishop Romney invests in Chinese Slave Labor Camp, complete with barbed wire and guard towers

One of the most disturbing things I have heard about Mitt Romney from his own lips is his confession that he toured a Chinese slave labor camp/factory, then invested in it, with never a word of protest about the terrible conditions he saw there. Instead of protesting the existence of such gulags, the Romneybot became a pioneer of outsourcing American jobs to them, through his vulture capital outfit, Bain Capital. Here is how Romney described what he saw, in private during a high-dollar fundraiser attended by his rich cronies, not knowing that he was being filmed by a whistleblower: "When I was back in my private equity days, we went to China to buy a factory there. It employed about 20,000 people. And they were almost all young women between the ages of about 18 and 22 or 23. They were saving for potentially becoming married. And they work in these huge factories; they made various uh, small appliances. And uh, as we were walking through this facility, seeing them work, the number of hours they worked per day, the pittance they earned, living in dormitories with uh, with little bathrooms at the end of maybe 10 rooms. And the rooms they have 12 girls per room. Three bunk beds on top of each other. You’ve seen, you’ve seen them? And, and, and around this factory was a fence, a huge fence with barbed wire and guard towers. And, and, we said gosh! I can’t believe that you, you know, keep these girls in! They said, no, no, no. This is to keep other people from coming in …"

The account above has been reported by major news services such as the Boston Globe. Because the factory made small appliances, we can safely assume that it belonged to Global Tech Appliances, a company that takes over manufacturing from American companies like Sunbeam and Mr. Coffee. According to SEC documents first reported by Mother Jones magazine, a Bain Capital affiliate called Brookside initially acquired about 6 percent of GTA on April 17, 1998 and later increased its ownership to more than 9 percent. Romney was listed as the "sole shareholder, sole director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookside Inc." So it seems clear that Romney alone was responsible for deciding what to do about the 20,000 young girls he saw living in what sounds like a Nazi concentration camp complete with barbed wire fences and guard towers. Did he go public and protest what he saw? No, he invested in the slave labor facility, then helped American companies save money by firing American workers and outsourcing their jobs to such sweat shops.

What would you have done, knowing that at best the girls were being used like pack mules, and that at worst a fire might kill them all? Wouldn't you have said something to someone, to try to help the girls, and others like them in other Chinese factories? Why did Mitt Romney, a child of wealth and privilege and one of the world's wealthiest men, became a business partner of their enslavers, then send them more American businesses as customers?

What sort of man is Mitt Romney, really? Here's a rather blunt appraisal. China’s Xinhua news agency criticized Romney in a strongly-worded editorial, noting the profits Romney has made from investments in China: "It is rather ironic that a considerable portion of this China-battering politician’s wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics."

If Romney wants to get involved in manufacturing, he should stick to his particular area of expertise: flip-flops.

And speaking of flip-flops, here's a real doozy, straight from the lips of Mitt the Flopple himself. At the end of his spiel above, Romney concluded: "The Bain Partner I was with turned to me and said, 'You know, 95% of life is settled if you are born in America. This is uh, this is an amazing land and what we have is unique and fortunately it is so special we are sharing it with the world.'" But this agrees with what President Obama and the Democrats have been saying, which is that Americans built the infrastructure of America together and no one can claim to be completely self-made. Why does Mitt Romney attack President Obama in public as if he is the "enemy" of American values, only to agree with him in private? Is that good character or duplicity?

Related Page: Romney Cayman Island IRA Part 2

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