The Unbearable Whiteness of Mitt Romney
Massachusetts Governor and '08 GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney showed his true colors in Iowa this weekend. Effortlessly using the racial slur "tar baby" to describe the Boston Big Dig project, Romney joined White House press secretary Tony Snow on the long list of Republicans who by design or by blunder traffic in the language and symbols of race baiting.
The gaffe suggests that the shrink-wrap may be coming off the Romney candidacy. That Mitt Romney appears to be a compelling choice for Republicans in 2008 is undeniable. His business credentials, high-profile tenure running the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games and track record bashing his own blue state of Massachusetts should endear him to GOP primary voters. Then there's the perfect hair, gleaming teeth and chiseled features that suggest his '08 campaign slogan: "Mitt Romney - he had you at hello."
But sadly, that's all there is. Romney's mild, quizzical surprise at the offense his tar baby comment caused showed the aloofness and detachment that is Mitt Romney. Romney, after all, spent his the Mormon mission of his formative years not in deepest Africa or in the rain forests of South America, but outside Paris, France. A man to whom much was given offers only platitudes and packaging in return. There's no there there.
Which makes Mitt Romney a mirage, a chimera. He can be whatever he needs to be in order to win elections. An ardent pro-life advocate in Utah, Romney emerged as a born-again moderate during his 2002 gubernatorial run. As Perrspectives reported last year, Michael Murphy, Romney's own version of Karl Rove, captured the cynicism that is Mitt, "He's been a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly."
Of course Mitt Romney, like Tony Snow before him, was surprised that his casual use of a racial epithet outraged many people. After all, he never met them.
In the spirit of full disclosure (which is at the heart of this blog's mission if I'm reading correctly), it is important to point something out that you may have overlooked.
LDS missionaries are sent to the various locations where they serve under the direction of the church's world leadership. Mr. Romney didn't "put in" for Paris, as it were.
He--like all other missionaries serving for the church--volunteered to serve the church, and was assigned based on his willingness to do so.
I think that what you are seeing here is the old truism that you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
The Republican party has a Caucasian soul, and it keeps showing.
It takes work to become diverse, and the will to do the work is lacking. I think this is us, in some ways, the real objection of the NAACP
Where acceptance and diversity become part of thought, these slips don't happen. Not because people remember to be politically correct, but because the issues no longer exist.
*sigh*
Website programming problem - embedded links did not take:
Caucasian soul
http://lushforlife.com/more.php?id=246
NAACP
http://lushforlife.com/more.php?id=260
It is important to report politicians who are participating in religious cults, since these supposed beliefs can have a great impact on our lives regardless of where we live. If there is anyone at all familiar with so called christians, it is well known and documented that they will use their religion to impose their fascist philosphy on others while they hypocritically do exactly the opposite...The so-called christians shouldn't feel slighted, they are no better than their jewish and muslim religious god-like comrades in arms.
Can we give this guy a break? Not all of us white men have had a manditory class in Black Awareness. I've never heard of the expression nor has any of my friends. Sounds like a regional expression - we all have them. If we aren't exposed to the race triggers - we don't know about them.
Does that make us bad people? Are we so intollorant? If it were me, I say Oops! Sorry. Didn't mean anything by it. Chalk one up. Next?
Learned something new today.
Now, we have national health care - somebody can get sick, loose their job, loose their insurance, then their house / car / everything else if the sickness is serious enough? Well that sounds like a serious problem.
Next, we have terrorsit devising ways to set off a dirty bomb in New York - Ok, I guess we better prevent that somehow.
Protect freedom for 300 million Americans - ok, sound like we'll be busy after lunch.
Oh...let's put that "tar baby" comment into perspective...what priority was this going to get today?
Are we getting perspective yet?
Show me a better man or woman lining up for president.
Qualities:
Vision: Too many politicians talk about vision, then rattle off the same scripted garbage as the rest of them. Mitt is different. You can see it in the sparkle in his eyes, the tone of his voice, the smile on his face. He’s expecting great things to happen.
Connection: The camera loves this guy. He’s got a presence. He can laugh about himself and has the charm and wit to be somebody special. Listen to him. I mean LISTEN to him. He has the power to inspire.
He’s got the golden touch. From broken businesses, to broken Olympics, to the broken budge facing crisis in Massachusetts, he’s got the guts and smarts to turn them around. With scary budget deficits looming – we need his golden touch as a country.
People Skills: He’s a lone Republican in a den of Democrats. He had no power unless he made friends and worked together. He is a natural leader that can find common ground. – He loves people. You can see it from his co-workers to business leaders whom are always donating him time and money. His leadership skills gravitate people towards him.
Family Man: He’s been married 37 years with five kids. He’s policies religious and family policies with regards to laws and policies are all people friendly. He practices what he preaches.
Guts and Glory. He grew up ostracized from most of society because he is Mormon. He grew up with constant ridicule. He has had to defend his religion and every decision he makes is scrutinized and he is vilified by religious bigots. This made the man tough. I don’t want a wimpy president – and this guy can take it.
This has to be the most bigoted site that I have seen in a long time. Race, religion, you name it-the posters here seem to all be 'followers'. Quit using your God given gender, color, or your chosen religion as a crutch and grow up.