Comments

1
IOIYAR.IOIYAR.

Honestly, what's the point in being surprised anymore? Good thing the librul media is bringing this to everyone's attention, eh?
2
Don't need much imagination--you saw what happened when they didn't use the word God in their platform.

When Fox reporters were making a big deal of it--there's an interview of a Democrat by Greta what'sherface--the Democrats should have asked the reporters why they weren't wearing flag pins.
3
surely everyone in the military will vote for Obama.

'cause they hope to be in Afghanistan for the next 30 years....
4
I really want to hear what your Marine nephew thinks. The military is a different animal than the rest of us. Words are just words, I think. I suspect he wouldn't give a shit about whether there was lip service or not. He would want to know the actions behind the words. That is just a guess on my part. I hope he gives you permission to share his reaction with us.
5
As a veteran of the Vietnam era, I think Rmoney stinks. But this is a window into the Republican party and it's contempt for those they send into war. And Rmoney didn't serve. He doesn't have a clue as to what's important. The only person he gives a shit about is himself.
6
I can see what he meant here - I hate the whole laundry list thing, on par with wearing a flag pin and saying "god bless the united states of america" at the end of the speech. But even I know you don't say that about the troops in an interview, especially not implying they aren't important. What this just points out is that he can't be counted on to say the sensible thing when it's needed (just like all the mistakes on his Europe trip). A Romney Presidency would be, among other things, a series of embarrassing statements - not stupid like GWB, just clueless and socially inept.
7
Let's see...
God and Jerusalem = Important

U.S. Troops = Not Important

Got it. What's next republicans?
8
The lie banner under Romney is a perfect microcosm of the campaign he is running. When Obama pushed to rescue the auto industry, he did it over vociferous Republican objections, and Romney himself penned an op-ed arguing that Detroit should be allowed to go bankrupt ("severe" conservatism in action). Now that the bailout of the auto industry has been proven to be a great success that saved many jobs, Ryan and Romney are blaming Obama for plants that closed while Bush was president. Sweet Jesus, can we just flush these lying turds already? Why the hell is this election even close?
9
Look, folks, the best way, the Republican way to honor the troops, is to just throw them into meat grinder after meat grinder until they are utterly exhausted, and then publically mourn their untimely loss. Anything else is just lip service. Now how about that Iran, right? About time we fucked THAT shit up, isn't it?
10
This should be run on all news programs all day every day until the debates. Too bad it won't be.
11
@8,

Because most Americans are ignorant, either inherently or willfully. It's really astounding when I occasionally pop my head out of the liberal echo chamber, how much everyday Americans spout right-wing talking points. Most of the time they don't even have the slightest fucking idea what they're saying actually means.
12
The way Republicans honor the troops is to throw them into multi-country meat grinders, as Zebes said above, but then keep them alive and bring them back so horribly injured, body and mind, that they are a danger to themselves and everyone else, and then starve the VA so that they don't get treatment. That's Republican honor.
13
Did people catch that last part? "I didn't use the word troops, I used the word military. I think they refer to the same thing."

Not quite.
14
I want to hear what Mark Owen thinks about this.
15
Dan, say Hi to your nephew from me next time you guys hang out. Talking with family members is so much more gratifying than reading noise on a blog.
17
They talk about individualism, but then focus more on the well-being of abstract entities, rather than the well-being of the individuals that make up those entities: corporations instead of people, the military instead of troops, the church instead of the congregation.
18
Holy cripes. Mitt Romney is such an asshole.
19
@15: Then shouldn't you go upstairs and talk to your mom?
20
Umm 12. It's a myth that hurts a lot of veterans that we all come home all jacked up in the head and are a danger to our communities. As for thanking the troops, its nice to hear when you are in a remote corner of the world and home seems very far away
21
Troops and military spending don't refer to the same thing. He'd love to funnel more money to KBR and Blackwater, but he has no interest in the moral obligation to the troops overseas or returning home. Arrogant fucking asshole.
22
He's looking not well.
23
What exactly is he supposed to thank the troops for? Failure in Iraq? Failure in Afghanistan?

Maybe he should thank them for risking their lives, but here's the thing: as a soldier, you don't just risk your own life, you risk the life of whoever brass tells you to kill. If you think that's a good idea I'll thank you in advance for killing yourself before you kill anybody else.

Mitt Romney was right to dodge the draft and right to use every advantage he had to do it. Anybody with a shred of confidence in the value of their own life wouldn't throw themselves onto the shitheap like that. What he's missing is that no human being should ever go to war, for the exact same reasons he didn't.
24
@3, please point to anything that supports your assertion that Romney wants the war in Afghanistan.
25
@23, why don't you put your name on those statements?
26
I'd have to agree that this is a foot-in-the-mouth issue. I don't think that Romney thinks that the troops aren't important and I can get what he's saying about not mentioning every single issue in every single speech.

Let's hope its as big of a slip up as Al Gore's "I invented the Internet."
27
@19 you're right. my comments of late are showing a lack of interest in Slog. Breaking up is so hard to do! 'tears' Mommmy!
28
Dan, you're that kind of uncle?
29
@26 Which of course Al Gore never said.

What he did do was vigorously champion legislation that helped lead to the internet's creation. But you know, liberal media...
30
I think you are right that the left would get slammed, but I think the right has already made a case that they love the military more than the right. And let's be fair... they do. They love the power, the hawkish way of life.

The left likes the military to be there, as protection, and occasionally to right a wrong. But I don't think the left has the love affair the right does. The right has little to prove on this point. However, the love of the right means that more of our men and women die. Aye, there's the rub. And the repeated misuse of military power (WMD lie for example, "mission accomplished" banner), and very serious invasions, torture of opposing military which opens up torure for our guys, the poor equipment (remember the un-armored HUMVEEs?) and poor hospital care (Walter Reed anyone?) seems to have little impact on the military voting base.... which I don't get.
31
God, I love it when the mask slips and we get to see the REAL Rmoney, not just the shiny Repugobot that's running for office... Almost as good as when McKenna snarls "Get a job!" at a citizen asking a question...

Keep it up, guys, keep it up...
32
Look, Mitt Romney is an inhuman piece of shit, but can we maybe try to get past our idolatry for the armed forces? They're the sharp end of a massive imperialist machine, and you know what? I don't support them, not willingly. I want them home, and unarmed, and in gainful civilian employment. I don't want them to be troops at all! And I certainly don't support them being overseas, wrecking other people's infrastructures and killing civilians no matter how hard they try to avoid it. If I thought a candidate for public office were saying something similar, rather than in this case just spitefully refusing to mention something his opponent is clearly benefiting from, I'd get behind that.

You're not fucking un-American if you don't "support our troops." You are, however, an idiot if you're running for President on a Republican ticket and you don't say that you support our troops.
33
@26: But the thing is, that speech was written, vetted, re-written, focus grouped, edited, shot with X-Rays, run up the flag-pole and then polished and throughout that whole process no one thought that not mentioning the troops was a mistake?

Sounds to me like they thought the 15 seconds were better spent elsewhere.
34
@27:

Actually, it's pretty easy; here, I'll help:

I break with thee, I break with thee, I break with thee.

Now, please stand still whilst I throw this dog poop on your shoes...
35
Mr Romney cares about the companies that sell to the military. That is where the extra money goes, not to the troops. He cares about those on the front line of the military just the same as those on the assembly line. This is about as transparent at it gets. People are just numbers to Mitt.
36
Wowwwwww. And the man hasn't even been elected yet. We are in for hell if he wins.
37
Scrolling through his speech, let's see... he mentions church, old people, college tuition, small business owners, Neil Armstrong, his wife, his wife's parent's sofa, U-S-A, U-S-A, his dad, the Mexican revolution, his mom's dreams of being an actress, God, a bunch of Governors, more church... my God I can't keep watching. Does he know the job entitles being the Commander in Chief?
38
@37 So basically, he had a laundry list. He just didn't think our troops were worthy of being included.

Of course, if Fox News had any reporters who weren't trained Republican lapdogs... Well, Romney wouldn't have even been on to be interviewed. Sigh...
39
@25 Why, when they have the guns, the authority, the assent, popularity, even worship, not only from the people but from both mainstream political parties -- why, in that case, should I also give them my name? I'm here and I'm happy to read and respond to any serious replies.
40
His wife's parents' sofa. Higher up the laundry list than thanking the troops. The Rs have a furniture fetish.
41
As a 22 year Vet Romney disgusts me! Another chicken hawk willing to send someone elses sons and daughters off to war, when his country needed him during Vietnam he did everything in his power to avoid service.
42
@13- A friend made the same point to me on Facebook and tied it to his "corporations are people" thinking. The big entity that gets all the work done is important, the humans are just cogs in the machines.
43
To me, the Dems complaining about Romney not thanking the troops in his speech is as fainting-couch ridiculous as the GOP fanning themselves over the removal of God from the Democratic platform.

But when Romney says thanking the troops wasn't as important as the meaningless drivel he had IN there, well, that's fair game.

After all, the Democrats didn't say, "We left it God out because God isn't as important as the other stuff." No - they ate crow and backtracked on that ridiculously stupid blunder.

Here's how to behave like a candidate who has a chance of winning, Romney:

"I feel terrible for not mentioning the troops!. That was an unforgivable oversight." [Looks sincerely into the camera.] "All of you fighting for us over in Afghanistan, I just want you to know that I thank God for your brave and selfless service every day, and you are constantly in Ann's and my prayers."
44
Poorly worded, sure, but hardly Romney saying he doesn't care about the troops. And just because Fox et al are shits without a shred of integrity, that doesn't give you carte blanche to act similarly.
45
"Military" doesn't equal "troops". The former includes defense contractors, etc., who I'm sure will do very well under either candidate, but especially Romney.
46
The issue is not that Romney doesn't care about the troops. The issue is that he said something as stupid as that when he knew the question would be asked and he had over a week to prepare an answer.

I suppose you could claim this is being taken out of context, but does the GOP really want to go down that road? The GOP just built its entire convention around an out of context statement by Obama.

Now I understand why Mitt is so bad at ad libbing. Good luck in the debates Mitt, you're going to need it..
47
yo I'm ex-navy

and you know what I would like most?

if people stopped using me and my former comrades as political footballs

that would be ace

I seriously do not give two shits about the fact that a known liar and general piece of shit didn't take the time to thank the troops

you want to talk about Romney and the troops, how about this: what I give a shit about is the fact that he used every deferment he could to avoid vietnam, and counterprotested students who protested losing THEIR deferments, and then went to France on "mission," and then came home having used his unique position in society to completely avoid yet another unjust horseshit war of American aggression, and then, forty years later, is running for president on the ticket of the most hawkish party at the most hawkish time in our history

that's a man who has no problem with men being sent to their deaths as long as he's not one of them

that's a man who won't think twice about sending those men and women to die himself

and that makes me nervous as all hell
48
@39: Is something bad going to happen to you if you attach your statements to your real name? Or even to a persistent pseudonym?
50
@47 - Fuckin'-a Bubba. That said, the Republican Party has traditionally been known as the party on the side of the "military", which has always been a crock. To me things like this, and lack of acknowledgement that we're currently operating in an active theater of war during their national convention show the truth - The Republican Party has never been truly pro-military, they're pro-defense industry.
51
I should add to my previous comment - US Navy '82-'86

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.