Hello my friends!
Today's post will actually be a four part series on the Presidential Candidates (Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and just for fun, let's throw in Ron Paul). I will be posting about when they first came on the Political Scene, what they were doing previously, what their campaign does or does not endorse, and, my favorite, the skeletons in the closet. Most of what I'm going to write about is out there to read, I'm just amalgamating everything so you don't have to hunt down the articles.I do so love to make things easier for my readers!
Should I tease you and leave Mitt Romney for last? No, I wouldn't do that to you. So, today's posting will be all about Mitt Romney. Here's a couple of links to get us started:
So, let's start at the beginning: Willard Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947 to George and Lenore Romney. George Romney was the president of American Motors, Governor of Michigan and a Republican Presidential Candidate. Surprisingly, his mother, Lenore, was an advocate of women being more involved in business and politics. In 1970, she was actually asked to run in politics. She didn't win, largely because she found it difficult to separate herself and her reputation from her husband. I actually find Romney's mother's history to be fascinating. As a young woman, she fell in love with acting, performing mostly Shakespeare - against George Romney's being against it. She eventually left acting, claiming at the time that it was because she found Hollywood life to be disturbing; later, she admitted that she quit because she would have possibly upstaged her husband, and he couldn't stand that. Yet another example of someone who allowed themselves to be controlled. BUT, underneath the control, there was a feminist. She was a vocal supporter of women, and was known to support rebellion, as long as the rebellion was for a good cause. She was anti-war, protesting the Vietnam War. For years, she was ambivalent about Pro-life, but in the 1970's changed her mind and asserted that she was, indeed pro-life.
George Romney, Mitt's father, as far as I've been able to find out, attended several different Colleges, but never officially graduated from any of them. He grew up in Mexico, but his family fled Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. Once in the U.S., he and his family were poor; accepting Government relief. Eventually, they settled in Utah, where George started working at the age of 11 in the fields. They struggled through the Great Depression. In 1926, he traveled to Britain and Scotland as a Mormon Missionary. After he married Lenore, he moved to Washington, and became involved as a Lobbyist. George was obsessed with his Religion, sharing that his religion was more important to him than anything else in the world. He passed that along to his children.
Ironically enough, when George Romney campaigned to be President, the validity of his campaign was questioned, due to his birth in Mexico. It was claimed that he was ineligible, as he wasn't a "natural born citizen". Romney withdrew before the matter was resolved, leading people to believe that the claim was true.
After Nixon became President, Romney was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Nixon had a strong dislike of George, and apparently only gave him the position to appease the Republicans and make it harder for him to challenge for the 1972 Republican President Nomination. Eventually, Nixon tried to force George to resign. He finally resigned after Nixon was placed back in Office.
On to Mitt. Mitt was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is a fifth-generation Mormon. Until 7th grade, he attended public schools, then went on to attend Cranbrook School, a privileged preparatory school, where he was bullied for being the only Mormon on campus. At the age of 17, Mitt interned for his father in the Governor's Office.
Mitt attended Stanford University for one year, where he remained traditional, even with the era being "Radical". He even counter-protested a sit-in while at the school.
In 1966, he left to go do Missionary work in France, where he was met with hostility. During his time there, he was involved in an accident that claimed the life of The Mission President's wife.
Upon returning to the U.S., Mitt married Ann. He went back to school, stating that he wanted to pursue business, but his father convinced him to get his law degree. He first went to work for the Boston Consulting Group, and in 1977, went to work for Bain & Co. Bain & Co. is the subject of controversy, due to their business practices, and tendencies for people to lose their jobs at the companies bought and leveraged through them. As a result of his career with Bain, Mitt's net worth was estimated at between $190 and $250 million dollars.
In 1993, Mitt Romney switched from being an Independent to being Republican, and chose to run against Ted Kennedy. Romney's campaign had trouble with consistency, as well as with Mitt's tendencies to change his views of everything, from abortion, to what had happened with Ampad. Needless to say, Mitt lost the election.
In 2002, the Republicans weren't happy with the acting Governor, Jane Swift. They asked Romney to run for the Governor position. Democratic Officials contested Mitt's eligibility to run for Massachussetts' Governor, due to his living in Utah. Eventually, it was ruled that he WAS, in fact, eligible. Mitt supported raising fees, cutting spending, closing tax loopholes, and in 2006, he signed the Massachussetts Health Reform Law, which penalized anyone who did not have health insurance coverage.
Mitt Romney was a vocal opponent against same-sex marriage, but reluctantly endorsed civil unions, seeing it as a way to keep gays from being "married". BUT, in 2005, along with the Coalition for Marriage and Family, he endorsed a petition for banning same-sex marriage and civil unions.
Also, in 2005, Mitt changed his position on Abortion, going from pro-choice, which he claimed in 2002, to being pro-life. He opposed Roe vs. Wade. He even tried to veto a bill that would provide women with emergency contraception in hospitals and pharmacies.
His presidential bid in 2008 was a disaster. Due to his changing positions on issues, Mitt was nicknamed the "Flip Flopper". Needless to say, he didn't win.
I won't even bother getting into his 2012 campaign, as that's been publicised enough, I think. Now, onward, the dirt on Mitt Romney. Here are your links:
Now, some of his skeletons are obviously out of the closet. (Excuse the pun, hehe). Such tidbits like Seamus, the Roof Riding Dog, so I won't get into those ones.
It's also a well-known fact that Romney's a notorious liar. One of his bigger lies was that he and his father marched with Martin Luther King jr. That couldn't have been further from the truth.
Another one of his bigger lies was the following: ""When [during their debate] Kennedy called him 'multiple choice,' Romney demanded an extra rebuttal. He revealed that a close relative died of an illegal abortion years ago and said, 'Since that time, my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter, and you will not see my wavering on that.' "
- Boston Globe, 3/2/2006"
(source ref: http://massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/record/)
I hesitate to use the word "fraud", as that can be inflammatory and libelous..however, research has proved that Mitt Romney has at least been "associated" with fraud. Through Bain & Co., and Medicare.
There is a lot in Mitt's closet, if you read the above links. More than I have time to write about today. But I'll close with the one thing that disturbs me the most about Mitt Romney: He'll say ANYTHING, do ANYTHING, regardless of who gets hurt, to get what he wants. He's changed his position on issues to connect with whatever he's supporting or endorsing at that particular moment, and I doubt he'll ever stop.
So, my friends, that is Mitt Romney. Next up will be Barack Obama. Stay tuned.
And, as usual, thank you, you educate me, you give me the courage to blog and advocate for truth, fairness and equality.
Please feel free to comment, as to be informed, you must have information. As usual, debate is welcome, however, trolls, abusers and violence will be dealt with swiftly.
With the highest of Regards,
An Ordinary Woman
April 30, 2012
*this letter can be shared, however I do not authorize any alterations.
