Ken Walsh's Washington

Mitt Romney: Mr. Tough Guy

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August 12, 2011 RSS Feed Print
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Mitt Romney had a big moment when he confronted hecklers at the Iowa State Fair yesterday. This morning, the Romney rumble is still getting lots of attention on YouTube, in the news media, and on the political circuit. Democrats and the Romney team disagree about whether the incident was a boon or a blunder but it continues to generate buzz.

Romney was making remarks when opponents in the crowd began loudly challenging him about his position on Social Security cuts and his support for lower taxes on corporations. At one point, an unusually animated and aggressive Romney said, "Corporations are people, my friend," prompting an outraged response from an angry heckler. The two talked over each other, and then Romney let the man speak. Romney, former CEO of investment firm Bain & Co., had the last word. "I'm not going to raise taxes—that's my answer," he said. "And if you want someone who can raise taxes, you can vote for Barack Obama. You don't agree with that? That's your right. You may disagree with it—but that's my view." Reporters at the scene said most of the people in the crowd cheered Romney. [See a collection of political cartoons on the 2012 GOP hopefuls.]

Strategists for the Democratic National Committee pounced, arguing that Romney had made a major gaffe that showed him to be awkward, out of touch, and too cozy with corporate interests. Romney aides said the opposite—that the moment showed the firm, cheerful, down-to-earth side of a candidate who has been criticized for being aloof and bloodless.

Karl Rove, a Fox News commentator and former political strategist for President George W. Bush, said the incident reminded him of a breakout moment for Ronald Reagan in the 1980 campaign. That's when Reagan took control of a candidates' debate by admonishing the moderator, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green."

Tags:
politics,
2012 presidential election,
Mitt Romney

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P of UT:

What surprises me most is that you are from Utah--the state of Utah where UTAH college students (human citizens), and Robert Redford, a human citizen of Utah, demanded to know why President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney allowed the leasing of U.S. Government Land for lumbering, drilling, and mining corporations, and granted them the right to lease the land without the due process that leasing Wilderness Land is to be accorded? Where was Democracy represented in this scenario? It was represented by concerned human citizens of Utah. Who voted on this President's and this Vice-President's decision to disregard this due process? By the tone of your comment, I am going to guess that Democracy is not on your list of the kind of government you want to represent you.

Are you saying, then, that because corporations employ millions of people, it is a corporate right (now that corporations are citizens of the U.S.) to dissolve the rights of the human voters of this nation, and leave the "democratic process" solely to the corporations and those government representatives and ex-representatives who accept publicly-undisclosed money via tax-free foundations)?

I am reminded of the movie, Seven Days in May, made in 1964, and fictional, but completely realistic in theme (now even more realistic, after reading your comment) when the military decided it was in the interests of the American public to take over the U.S. Government. The problem, as pointed out in this movie, however, was that the military was NOT elected to represent the people of this country. You are dismantling a representative, Democratic government; and demanding, an Oligarchy.

Shall the American HUMAN people just accept that an Oligarchy is what corporations intend us to be, and we should just "let go" of any democracy and democratic principles that we have left? Why don't corporations and those American Government Representatives who now pledge allegiance to corporate policy, announce they will "branch out" into forming "model legislation" for the Federal Government, and just let us know "right up front" that human beings, although still citizens of the U.S.A., are unnecessary in a Ruling U.S. Oligarchy?

ann keenan of MI 4:21AM August 26, 2011

J of OK;

"A corporation is not a person." I am trying to get my head around this statement. Are you serious? On January 21, 2010, corporations became American citizens. As American "citizens," corporations DO have the right to vote, and to their even greater advantage, they have the right (and the money) to donate an unlimited amount of money to any candidate that a corporation chooses.

Why do corporations want political candidates who are willing to end the EPA? Do you think that corporations want fair taxing of the billions made by corporations? The U.S. gave corporations the freedom to thrive in this country, why would we ever think corporations are grateful for the opportunities we afforded them? Will a corporation donate money to a candidate who also recognizes voters who are human citizens, and have the best interests of we human citizens, in mind? Would a corporation encourage you to read the Hirsch Report? Would a corporation advise you to read about the global climate change and pollution reports repressed/concealed during the G.W. Bush Administration?

Are you thinking that corporations are now buying the world's water supplies for the benefit of you, the human, American citizens? If you think your town, city, state, country provides you with their own water supply, you may not know about the "Water Wars." Are you aware of the corporations, oil industrialists, and politically-savvy national leaders who are now buying up the world's water supplies?

We will run out of oil in the next 20 years, but now the oil corporations and oil industrialists have time to "switch" from oil profits to water profits, while all of us wonder how it happened.

Are you aware of the influence of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on your vote? If you are NOT a Senator, Representative, Governor, Corporate CEO, on a Corporate Board of Directors, a Corporate Owner, a Lobbyist and/or an ex-Senator, ex-Representative, ex-Governor, but a working, wage-earning human citizen, you do NOT have any say or any vote on the legislation that the American Legislate Exchange Council offers and puts through at the state level. What Mitt Romney announced the other day is completely true: corporations ARE people, "my friends." There is a problem here, though. We, the HUMAN citizens of the United States, my friends, do NOT have a vote in ALEC's agenda. This is NOT a Democracy when human citizens have no vote in our own destiny.

By the way, for the person who wrote me that they never heard of ALEC; there are over one million "hits" on the Internet about ALEC. If you never heard of it, you do not WANT to hear of it--it is another instance of one more frightening example of the loss of Democracy in the United States of America, and it is something too difficult to contemplate. Corporate greed, as warned by Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson, will destroy this country.

ann keenan of MI 5:19PM August 24, 2011

They cannot vote in an election. They cannot hold office. They cannot spend time in jail. They cannot get married. Until recently, they could not spend money on political campaigns. Corporations are made of people, but they are not people.

J of OK 5:53PM August 14, 2011

Ken Walsh's Washington

A longtime chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, Kenneth T. Walsh has covered five presidents beginning with Ronald Reagan. Along with other U.S. News writers, he continues to provide insight into the White House of Barack Obama and the world of presidential campaigns.

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