The Romneys like the antiques, but not the Dems

Romney also commented that his five sons are supporting the troops and serving their country by working on his campaign.

Mitt Romney on his sons Support for Our Military and Nation:

Mitt Romney started his "Ask Mitt Anything" tour in Bettendorf Iowa this morning.

An AP repoter was there and said this:

Romney spoke about a list of concerns that faced this nation:
The first thing on the list was The Jihad, the threat to this country from terrorists.

At one point during his opening speech he publicly thanked an Iraq War veteran that was in the room. We all stood on our feet and applauded. Gov. Romney thanked him for his sacrifice and service and thanked all military.

The "Ask Mitt" segment of the event had come.
I raised my hand and was allowed to ask the first question.

My preface:
"Thank you for being here to answer our questions and thank you for recognizing the Iraq war veteran in the room."

My question:

"Are any of your five sons currently serving in the United States military and if not are any of them planning to support the war on terror by enlisting in the United States Military."

Hisses came from the room, I am sure my face turned red... ....the cameras where on Mitt to record his answer.

Romney’s response, (this is not close to verbatim; I was having trouble concentrating feeling some daggers coming at me. I figured there was enough media in the room to record his answer. )

In a nut shell his answer was:
"We have a voluntary army in this country."
"There are a variety of ways you can show your support for our soldiers. My sons are showing support by trying to get me elected as the President of the United States."

Then he went into a story about his niece(it was hard to follow what he was saying here. I had not idea where he was going with it or how it related to my question) and something about a new house and laying down sod within the first year...well one morning his niece woke up and a group of people were out in for not her house laying down this sod for her yard.........

......then he said again......

"There are a variety of ways we can show support for our military and our nation. My son Josh bought a Winnebago and is driving across the State of Iowa to get me elected."

I left shortly after that...... other reporters followed me to the hall. Another reporter asked me if I was satisfied with his answers to my questions...my response

"of course not, showing support for our military and nation means his son driving a Winnebago across Iowa to get him elected President? (scoff)."

I'm surprised ol' Mitty didn't sick his secret police force on this poor guy.

It's just that second tier panic. He knows that even if he wins the GOP nomination, the real threat will be the frontrunner democrat candidate. Besides, except for Ron Paul, the rest of the GOP candidates are just 4 more years of Bush.
No Thanks.

Mitt Romney has five sons. Neither Mitt nor any of his sons finds the wars they support worth fighting for themselves.

Como se dice, "Chickenhawks?"

Like father like son.During Vietnam he hid in France with Bill O'Really and Rush Limprod.

This is Trickle up war.His kids will join after all the working class kids are killed and maimed.

(CNN) – At a campaign stop in Bettendorf, Iowa Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was asked whether any of his sons were enlisted in the military and what they were doing to “support the war on terror.”

“The good news is, we have a volunteer army, and we’re going to keep it that way,” the former Massachusetts governor responded. “My sons are all adults…. They’ve made their decisions about their careers and chosen not to serve in the military and I respect that decision.”

The question came from a reputed war protester while Romney was discussing Iraq. The presidential hopeful continued his answer by calling for a “surge of support” for those enlisted and their families.

Ah more maniacal rantings from the worst mankind has to offer: the Loony Left.
Curious, since when does one have to serve in order to not be a chickenhawk. Most of those in the military are Republicans, come from Republican families and come from "red" states.

Funny, if we invade Pakistan like Obama wants and you lefties want to, will we see Doug Zook, John E and the rest of the kook bunch suddenly volunteer to join the military? Speaking of which, John E., acoording to you, you're suppose to be in Iraq with your son. What's up with that?

"If we were to elect a Hillary Clinton, a Barack Obama or John Edwards, I think this country would take a sharp left turn, the same direction Europe took some time ago," he said in one of several critiques of the Democratic field. "Big government, big brother and big taxes have not served them well."

And big business has served us well right mitty?! That's why we work longer hours per week than Europe, have one third of the vacation as Europe, have lower quality food than Europe, have more pollution than Europe, have lower quality of life than Europe, have more homeless bums and filth on the streets than Europe, and have a larger percentage of our population incarcerated than any other "free" country in the world. Right Mitty?!?! I'd go rather have big government, big brother, and big taxes than big business dictating my way of life thank you. At least big government, in theory, is not only concerned about profits at the expense of everything else. I hope your campaign goes down in flames!

Ron Paul is the only worthy republican candidate in my opinion. When I first heard interviews with him some years back he seemed pretty smart, but as a president??? I think not.

As the competitions between presidential candidates increase and tense up, the candidates need to be reminded of the critical issues that still trouble our society today. Issue such as global poverty needs to be address by our candidates to each and to the general public. As one of the nation that has pledge to fulfill the goals of Millennium Development Project, whose goal is the elimination of world hunger and poverty, the Bush Administration has not shown any substantial action to bring this fundamental problem to a stop. According to the Borgen Project, dedicated to fighting and ending Poverty around the world, only $19 billion dollars are needed annually to stop world wide poverty, hunger and malnutrition. However, more than $340 billion dollars has been poured into this “war on terror.” And each year, our country has a military budge of $522 billion dollars. It's time for a new leader who will be addressing an issue that affects 1.2 billion people everyday worldwide.

Captn. Willard;

Just keep looking past the current fight. Don't concentrate on the matter at hand, the other Republics. Stay unfocused on the current subject. Keep looking past the immediate threat to your viability.
LOOK OUT, IT"S KURTZ !!(Rudy)

'Ehhh,,,what a maroon'.
(BB)

John D.,

I was uploading nukes on B-52s 30 years ago when you were popping pimples.

Your turn. Go get 'em tough guy.

Romney said he was impressed by all of the antique shops he saw coming into this town, which is the center of the Amana Colonies. "Has this always been such a center for antiquity?" he asked his audience.

Posted by John McCormick on August 8, 2007 4:22 PM | Permalink

Speaking of archaic...

I just can't picture this man as a strong effective president.

Doug,

Good one.
It's obvious Crazy John D[evola] never even went through basic.

""Has this always been such a center for antiquity?"

I guess if you think the universe is only 6k years old, Iowa represents 'antiquity'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u09CgZ3m5_A&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edailykos%2Ecom%2Fstory%2F2007%2F8%2F8%2F2315%2F38575

Most of those in the military are Republicans, come from Republican families and come from "red" states.
Posted by: John D | August 8, 2007 5:04 PM

John D....I see you write this all the time. Please provide link to your proof. Is it like ...I know the easter bunny is real because he left a basket.

" . . . I'd go rather have big government, big brother, and big taxes than big business dictating my way of life thank you. At least big government, in theory, is not only concerned about profits at the expense of everything else. . . . ."

Posted by: The Decider | August 8, 2007 5:20 PM

Then I suggest you move to Europe. Many, if not most, of the rest of us don't care to be corralled like a bunch of cattle, branded and then milked for the so-called “common-good.” You have a slave mentality if you can accept big brother as easily as you say you can. This means you never had the American spirit or a realistic grasp of what it means to be “free” – either that, or you lost it all somewhere along the way. In any event, it is exactly this kind of thinking that makes this country weak and stupid. So, really, go away and good riddance. We’re better off without you.

In the meantime, please stop lying to yourself and everyone else when you lay all the ills of society at the doorstep of big business. Big business doesn’t dictate your way of life. You don’t have to have anything to do with big business it if you don’t want to. Open up your own business or go to work for a small business.

Despite the bad rep and the all the bad press big business gets, you should never forget that privately run industries employ most of the people in this country; and they benefit you by seeing to it that you don’t have to pay higher taxes for unemployment and welfare benefits for the people they keep employed. You might also be well advised to consider that private industries and businesses are mostly responsible for the creation of newer and better jobs – and not the government. Democrats’ claims, in the past, that they “created” jobs through government control is a bunch of hogwash. They did no such thing, unless they were speaking of hiring new federal employees.

You have been brainwashed into believing all the crap put out by the DNC and radical left organizations who want to destroy us. The sad part is that, for whatever reason, you have admittedly made yourself willing to accept chains and a bit, and to lick the boots of the tyrant stepping on your neck. That is the essence of being un-American.

C. Morris,

The chickenhawks who post on The Swamp are a bunch of wannabe tough guy cry babies.

So full of bravado but not about to put themselves on the line.

Your a tough guy, eh, John D. Your all about Bush Cheney and Iraq. Why don't you take a leave from your job as an editor, gear up, and hit the streets of Baghdad. Go get those terrorists.
Also your statement regarding red states and Republicans and military families is untrue. Sounds like something Fox Lies or Rush Limpbaugh would spew out. My cousin lives in a 'blue' state and he has done 2 tours in Iraq. My college friend also resides in a 'blue' state and he's been to Iraq 3 times.
Stop your lying.

John W.,

I don't know what "...all the crap put out by the DNC and radical left organizations who want to destroy us" you're refering to is?

But this former union rep told his members that they better support the company or their job could end up in the non-union south, Mexico or China.

"That's why we work longer hours per week than Europe, have one third of the vacation as Europe..."

You're shitting me? You want to be more like France?

You do know France is part of Europe, right?

It is so F'd up over there they had to elect a conservative to fix the mess.

John D wrote --Most of those in the military are Republicans, come from Republican families and come from "red" states.

Utterly ridiculous John D. And irresponsible as usual. Dirsrespectful to those that serve and represent all 50 states. Interesting comment in the face of how many additional veterans were elected to national office as Dems this year.

If the Republican party is so loaded with soldiers, its odd that the last 8 years they've had so much trouble digging more than one real one (McCain) up to run for president or be a part of the current Adminsitration. Colin Powell was left hanging and walked away, which tells you something. Keep living your big boy dreams, talking tough and pretending that you are taking names. Its sad there in your parent's basement, typing in the dark, isn't it lil' man?

You have been brainwashed into believing all the crap put out by the DNC and radical left organizations who want to destroy us. The sad part is that, for whatever reason, you have admittedly made yourself willing to accept chains and a bit, and to lick the boots of the tyrant stepping on your neck. That is the essence of being un-American.

Posted by: John W. | August 9, 2007 8:28 AM

This coming from a guy (John W) who voted for Prez Chimpy?.....hahahahohoh...ahahaha...you're killing me....hahah..ahah..hohiohhaha!

John D wrote --Most of those in the military are Republicans, come from Republican families and come from "red" states.

Utterly ridiculous John D. And irresponsible as usual. Dirsrespectful to those that serve and represent all 50 states. Interesting comment in the face of how many additional veterans were elected to national office as Dems this year.

If the Republican party is so loaded with soldiers, its odd that the last 8 years they've had so much trouble digging more than one real one (McCain) up to run for president or be a part of the current Adminsitration. Colin Powell was left hanging and walked away, which tells you something. Keep living your big boy dreams, talking tough and pretending that you are taking names. Its sad there in your parent's basement, typing in the dark, isn't it lil' man?

Looking for antiquities in Iowa? Actually, there are eight of them, all with the letter "D" behind their names.

John E:

That's good, John: you can't attack the argument, so you attack the person.

As for my support for Duh'bya, that ended in his first term after I saw what he really was. I learned my lesson, and I will never repeat it if I can help it.

Have you learned your lesson? I don't think so. You know what Hillary and Edwards, and a number of other Democ-rat candidates are all about, and the kind of government they want. Yet you vehemently deny what is plainly the truth. You, of all people, have no place talking about unjustified or misplaced loyalty.

"brainwashed into believing all the crap put out by the DNC and radical left organizations who want to destroy us"?

Not exactly your most well-reasoned post, although the rant about cattle, big brother, freedom, and the "America: love it or leave it" spirit was certainly...um... interesting.

Your passionate defense of big business was impressive, but I still prefer elected officials who aren't a wholly owned subsidiary of their corporate campaign contributors. Government regulation is not always such a bad thing.

Of course, businessmen aren't all greedy and unscroupulous like the execs at Enron or Worldcom or Tyco or Halliburton or PG&E. But my enthusiasm for their accomplishments and the jobs they so benevolently provided is tempered by the knowledge that they also brought us such modern marvels as Superfund sites, the saving and loan scandal, acid rain, Thalidomide, Agent Orange, etc.

I'll happily graze in my government regulated pasture, thanks. The toxic gardens of unregulated corporate interests just don't appeal to me.

RNC Bruce

Iowa has went "D" in every presidential election since '84.

Tom O:

This is really all very simple. A free man, standing equal with all other men in society, has the unrestricted freedom to think or do anything he chooses – limited only by duty to refrain from harming the life, liberty, property or reputation of his neighbors. It is precisely this kind of free and equal playing field the founders sought to create and preserve when they united the colonies into the United States. The writings and speeches of Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and James Madison consistently express these ideas.

And why? Because they firmly believed that a free man, without hindrance from his fellow citizens or government, was well motivated and able to adapt to his environment, make his own living – in voluntary cooperation with the rest of his community - and bring the greatest measure of creative energy to bear for his own benefit and for that of everyone else. In this, they firmly believed, man would find his greatest happiness. They had reason to believe this because the history of Western Civilization, and Europe in particular, furnished graphic examples of how free people flourished as well as how those enslaved by their rulers languished and stagnated.

And, to be sure, they did not believe that government had a role in society beyond protecting the playing field as constituted. In his first inaugural address in 1894, Thomas Jefferson stated:

“Still one thing more, fellow-citizens – a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.”

(Emphasis added.)

In contrast, anyone who chooses slavery from “big brother” in exchange for the benefits of a “nanny state” as Rudy Giuliani calls it, has no appreciation for the freedom that is their birthright as an American Citizen, or the price that was paid to preserve it. For those who choose “Big Brother” over freedom, my views are the same as Samuel Adams:

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”

So, you see, you may not think my “rant” – as you called it - was well reasoned. If it was not well reasoned, it is only because I did not spell out the reasons for the rant. I had reasons for what I said, as stated above .

Furthermore, if you look carefully, you will see that I did not defend Big Business against all criticism. I merely pointed out that Big Businesses, and privately operated industries in general, furnish more public good than bad because they keep America employed. I would never excuse their predations against the public, nor their torts against the environment. Preventing such wrongs is exactly what Jefferson was talking about when he said that a governments ought to “restrain men from injuring one another . . .” So, I am happily with you in enjoying a “government regulated pasture” if, by that, you mean one in which the predations you complained of are restrained.

Is that enough reasoning for you?

John W, interesting argument.

I suggest you direct your comments to Anon so that the 2 most pompous and boring posters can have at it. That way we can skim right past the 2 'moderate' repigs' and move on to interesting comments. Prosit

John E:

That's good, John: you can't attack the argument, so you attack the person.

You know what Hillary and Edwards, and a number of other Democ-rat candidates are all about, and the kind of government they want.

Posted by: John W. | August 9, 2007 3:21 PM

John W it sounds to me like your doing the exact thing your accusing John E of doing. Further more to all the posters who roll out this military people are all republicans bunk. I come from a family of socially liberal, fiscally moderate military men who lean democratic when voting. Not all the time. But most. No party has a lock on patriotism.

John W, Much better. But really now, wasn't the "DNC and radical left organizations who want to destroy us" stuff a bit over the top?

I'm obviously not a fan of the RNC, but I won't claim they're out to destroy America on purpose. They may bankrupt us with tax cuts and deficit spending, but only because (like all our politicians) they want to keep their phony baloney jobs. "Tax cuts" is the message that their supporters have responded to at the ballot box, so that's what they want to deliver.

weinerdog43:

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

I was responding to another poster who asked me a question, if you don't mind. I would never bother addressing those comments to you, because I already know you have your mind made up and are simply uninterested in anything that remotely resembles a government that promotes individual acheivement and freedom.

So, go right ahead and stay out of our discussion.

Logic Prisoner:

I wasn't doing the same thing as my ol' pal John E. In effect, he said it was humerous that he should listen to me because I had the bad discretion to vote for Bush. That was an attack against me - even though I have long been a critic of Duh'bya since I mistakenly voted for him in 2000 (but not in '04).

What John E. has done, in the meantime - in places you may not have seen - is insist that Billary, Edwards and the rest of the Democrats aren't out to bring more socialism to the federal government. He has called me a liar for insisting that this is true.

But any fair minded person would realize that this is exactly what they are after. Hillary, in particular, has made speech after speech in which she describes her "fixes" as involving a collectivization of the population - for which she uses the euphamisms "shared prosperity" and "shared responsibility." Looking beyond the labels, however, the mechanism of socialism is precisely what she says she wants to do. Likewise, when Edwards proposes a large, federally run and funded health care system - with mandatory participation - one cannot describe that as anything short of "collective" in a socialist sense.

As I've mentioned before, the only Democrat candidate that hasn't explicitly backed a socialist plan is Barak Obama - and I am at a loss to explain why.

If we all stopped using labels, and looked at the substance of what these people are really all about, then we can better choose our candidates. Even as a Republican, I would like the Democrats to nominate the best candidate they can. I mean it. I am sick and tired of presidential elections in which the choice comes down to voting against the candidate you want the least.

So no - I wasn't doing the same thing. He was attacking me, and I was twitting him for failing to face reality. Is that the same?

Tom O:

You asked if the "DNC and radical left organizations who want to destroy us" stuff a bit over the top?

I don't think so. The DNC, along with groups like MoveOn.org, tend to favor the Socialist states in Europe for some reason. In the meantime, I think they have been preaching the kind of "lets all be sheep and suck up to the government" kind of rhetoric that spawned "The Decider's" whining over the fact we don't have a cool socialist state with lots of freebees like France does. That to me is destructive; and I think they know that it is too. So, honestly, no I don't think my comment was over the top.