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News & ArtsMonday, November 5, 2012
2012 Mitt Romney and Vietnam
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 12:28 PM
This video is making the rounds on Kos and in other places:
I think one of the most telling stories about Mitt Romney is this New York Times story about how Romney protested for the Vietnam War:
Mr. Romney, though, stayed true to his chinos and the Vietnam War, even joining a counterprotest against the occupation of the office of the university president, Wallace Sterling. Forty-six years later, some classmates remember his pro-war stand as principled and heartfelt; others say he merely championed the worldview of his father, George Romney, then Michigan’s governor, a war supporter and a future contender for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. Still others say he sailed through the most schismatic moral and political issue of that time — and perhaps of any period since in the United States — with neither much angst nor introspection.
Four years later, Romney announced that he believed the Vietnam War was a mistake. That flip-flop—from a thoughtless acceptance of the conservative status quo to a thoughtless acceptance of popular public opinion—really defines Mitt Romney for me. This flip-flop is where it all started.
1
Anyone else notice that one of the Mitt quotes used in the video is dated November 14. 2012? Zoing! Mitt Romney stole Barack Obama's time machine!
I don't want to say the quote is false, but one should not fuck up citations burns credibility.
All that said, Mitt is a hypocrit and a coward.
I don't want to say the quote is false, but one should not fuck up citations burns credibility.
All that said, Mitt is a hypocrit and a coward.
2
By 1967, George Romney had visited and no longer supported the war in Vietnam. I'd wonder if there was any friction between him and his father over these views, but I'm not sure Mitt really feels a deep conviction behind his opinions. I think the views Mitt chooses to share publicly are ones he's crafted as a means to gain acceptance within groups he favors.
3
I served during the Vietnam war. So, as a veteran of that era I want to say please don't vote for this selfish coward.
4
So Mitt supported Kennedy's war in Vietnam but wasn't called up to serve. Where's the news in that?
Oh, that’s right. Obama’s military carrier is SOOOO much more impressive
Not to mention Crazy Uncle Joe’s impressive military record:
“Biden received five student draft deferments during this period, with the first coming in late 1963 and the last in early 1968, at the peak of the Vietnam War. In April 1968, he was reclassified by the Selective Service System as not available for service due to having had asthma as a teenager. Biden was not a part of the anti-Vietnam War movement; he would later say that at the time he was preoccupied with marriage and law school, and that he "wore sports coats ... not tie-dyed".”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#E…
At least Mitt was patriotic enough to support Kennedy’s war.
Oh, that’s right. Obama’s military carrier is SOOOO much more impressive
Not to mention Crazy Uncle Joe’s impressive military record:
“Biden received five student draft deferments during this period, with the first coming in late 1963 and the last in early 1968, at the peak of the Vietnam War. In April 1968, he was reclassified by the Selective Service System as not available for service due to having had asthma as a teenager. Biden was not a part of the anti-Vietnam War movement; he would later say that at the time he was preoccupied with marriage and law school, and that he "wore sports coats ... not tie-dyed".”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#E…
At least Mitt was patriotic enough to support Kennedy’s war.
6
@5 - In that particular example I'm cynical enough to think, yeah, that's a fair statement. It's also possible, I suppose, that—like George Romney with Vietnam—he learned a little something about it and changed his mind. The two candidate's histories give me reason to give one the benefit of the doubt over than the other.
7
@4 It's easy to be for a war. It's not easy fighting one. It's even harder when you are forced to go by conscription. The young people who gave their lives are patriots. Mitt Romney is a spineless cheerleader.
8
Mitt served his nation by serving his God. Religious exemptions for missionary work, religious tax evasion, religious privilege, religious bigotry, and to think there are people who want to elect that man to office!
11
I don't understand why the video was edited that way. I've seen the video where he is sitting at the table with the vet who wants to ask him a question and what comes next is that Mitt says something like, yes I was serving in France while you were serving in Vietnam. That Mitt didn't serve, not such a big deal to me, that he thinks hanging out in France after college is the same as serving in a war is one of the most appalling things I've ever heard.
12
@4, What does supporting a war have to do with patriotism, particularly when the person doing the supporting is of age and gender to lay his own life on the line? Wouldn't the patriotic way to display one's support for a war be to volunteer to fight -- in it, not for it?
13
@4: What the hell is a "military carrier"? Is that some sort of particularly pugnacious pigeon?
Biden was a student during the Vietnam era. So what? So were thousands and thousands of others at the time. I fail to see how attending college is a mark against him. But his lack of military experience might possibly be why he and Obama didn't campaign on a platform of "elect us, and we'll keep you safe from the boogeymen." That was the two dolts they were running against, if you'll recall.
Once again, you prove yourself to be utterly irrelevant.
Biden was a student during the Vietnam era. So what? So were thousands and thousands of others at the time. I fail to see how attending college is a mark against him. But his lack of military experience might possibly be why he and Obama didn't campaign on a platform of "elect us, and we'll keep you safe from the boogeymen." That was the two dolts they were running against, if you'll recall.
Once again, you prove yourself to be utterly irrelevant.
14
"Four years later, Romney announced that he believed the Vietnam War was a mistake."
Dood, that's because he was at, or almost at, his 26th birthday, and exempt from the draft --- Ben Stein was a real peacenik right up until he hit his 26th birthday, then he suddenly morphed into SUPERHAWK !!!!.
Same for countless young preachers who suddenly left the religion biz once they hit their 26th birthday.
It's all in the numbers, my son . . .
Dood, that's because he was at, or almost at, his 26th birthday, and exempt from the draft --- Ben Stein was a real peacenik right up until he hit his 26th birthday, then he suddenly morphed into SUPERHAWK !!!!.
Same for countless young preachers who suddenly left the religion biz once they hit their 26th birthday.
It's all in the numbers, my son . . .
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