| "I was given what kind of award?" |
It was a lie told in the critical state of Ohio in the final days of a close campaign -- that Jeep was moving its U.S. production to China. It originated with a conservative blogger, who twisted an accurate news story into a falsehood. Then it picked up steam when the Drudge Report ran with it. Even though Jeep's parent company gave a quick and clear denial, Mitt Romney repeated it and his campaign turned it into a TV ad.
And they stood by the claim, even as the media and the public expressed collective outrage against something so obviously false.
People often say that politicians don’t pay a price for deception, but this time was different: A flood of negative press coverage rained down on the Romney campaign, and he failed to turn the tide in Ohio, the most important state in the presidential election.
PolitiFact has selected Romney's claim that Barack Obama "sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China" at the cost of American jobs as the 2012 Lie of the Year.
I have to say I pity PolitiFact for having to dig through ALL of Mitt Romney's avalanche of lies in order to pick the ONE that they feel deserves this "honor."
In fact on the list of runners up there are three other Romney contenders as well. Including:
'You didn't build that': President Obama was saying success "is the result of government," not "hard-working people," when he said, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." -- Mitt Romney on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 in an introduction to a web video False
Welfare: "Under Obama’s plan (for welfare), you wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job. They just send you your welfare check." -- Mitt Romney on Monday, August 6th, 2012 in a campaign ad Pant on Fire
Apology: Barack Obama began his presidency "with an apology tour." -- Mitt Romney on Thursday, August 30th, 2012 in remarks at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Pants on Fire
It seems that PolitiFact also included some remarks by the President as well, but I don't think that ANY of them rise to the level of the things that Mitt Romney said.
(As I am sure many of you remember Sarah Palin received the 2009 Lie of the Year award for her "Death Panel" remarks.
I know of at least three voters here in my town who switched their vote based ENTIRELY on this quote!
ReplyDeleteWhew, we dodged another bullet. The thought of that guy being president of these United States, gives me shivers, still, even after the election is over, and he lost.
ReplyDeleteRomney is a sociopath, and so is Ryan.
These old politicians - think: McCain, etc. - are running into a new thing:
ReplyDeleteimmediate access to fact-checking.
It's possible now for folks to pull out their smart phone and fact-check what you say - immediately.
It used to be you could say something, anything, no matter how outrageous - and you could be pretty sure that most people wouldn't go to the trouble of fact-checking it.
Not anymore.
And that will be the death of old-style, lie-as-you-go politics.
...and one more prediction, if you don't mind?
It's going to take a few more election cycles before the Republican Party realizes this.
They can't seem to remember that what they said in the past is still on record somewhere and accessible almost instantaneously. The internet rules!
DeleteThey can't seem to remember that what they said in the past is still on record somewhere and accessible almost instantaneously. The internet rules!
DeleteOr they simply die off so people who do check things out for themselves are pretty much the only ones left.
DeleteObama 2012 Campaign Spending Buried Romney On Airwaves And With Staff
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/12/obama-2012-campaign-spending_n_2287978.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
And by far most of the Obama campaign money came from ordinary people like me who contributed whenever we could because we knew it was a good cause. Mitt Romney may have had rich people writing checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars but that doesn't translate into votes or supporters.
DeleteBeaglemom
But what Mitt did was, in my view, far more repugnant than Sarah. Raised by intelligent and enlightened parents, Mitt had great role models. He had been a respected businessman, well-educated, a devoted family man, devout Mormon who became a cruel liar.
ReplyDeleteShe, on the other hand, was a person of little or no real accomplishment who gained attention first for her (relative) good looks and (fabricated) leadership skills. We can only imagine how carelessly she was raised by the Heath's. Her education was minimal even if she claims she is a college graduate. She is ignorant and crude on so many levels. Her parenting skills are non-existent and her claims of being a fervent Christian are negated each and every day by her dishonestly, greed and selfishness.
Bottom line: Mitt never learned from example and became an empty suit. He knew better. Sarah never has had any self-awareness and never will. She is a fool raised by fools who lives among fools and works for fools. She never was taught ethical behavior but Mitt was. That's the difference.
So, she wasn't taught. That's no excuse, even if it's fact. She's never going to get one ounce of sympathy from me nor the majority of the world. Only well deserved RIDICULE.
DeleteHear-hear!
DeleteAnd that she legitimized this crappy behavior for the ignorant half of America to applaud and follow.
Golden Globes 2013 Nominations:
ReplyDeleteBest Miniseries or Television Movie: “Game Change”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/golden-globes-2013-nominations_n_2268046.html#19_a-list-of-nominees
I personally think that "The Newsroom" was much better and Jeff Daniels was just superb. I'd like to see him on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow et al.
DeleteBeaglemom
Believe me, she gets not one iota of sympathy from me. What I was saying is that decency is not inborn. Mitt's parents were, seemingly, kind and decent and he is not. The country saw that and soundly rejected him.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't much of a comparison between Sarah and Mitt. Yes, as politicians each of them allowed themselves to be the empty vessel for the right wing talking points. They both lied. So do a lot of other people, including other politicians.
ReplyDeleteMitt actually did run a couple of large ventures-- Bain Capital, the Salt Lake City Olympics, the State of Massachusetts. Sarah was the mayor of a town of 6,000 people. My kid goes to a high school that has that many people, including students, faculty and staff. The high school principal has as much experience running things as Mayor Palin. As for being governor of a state of a half million people, Sarah fed her own publicity machine, and seemed to have followed Alaska's corrupt tradition (Ted Stevens School of I've Got Mine). Both Mitt and Sarah used their governorship as a stepping stone to high office. Sarah quit; Mitt finished his term.
Sarah would love to be as rich as Romney. She dreams of multiple mansions, drinking her Bailey's in First Class, while Mitt is actually stingy, shopping at Costco. If we have to compare the two as far as actual knowledge goes, I think that Harvard Law and Business beats out a dubious University of Idaho Journalism.
Well, you've got me there, when it comes to their speaking style. Sarah does connect with a certain group of people while Mitt really is awkward around common folk (Sarah's base). They both lack a certain amount of self-awareness. The greatest contrast is that Romney appears too rich and aloof, making fun of the 47% while Sarah's common roots are always showing and no matter how hard she tries, she really is a hick, out of her element in the big city.
There's another comparison that's kind of fun. Each has a child who wants to take a poke at another politician or a reporter. At least Romney's kids did get married and then they had kids. Parading around an unwed pregnant teen, and then having her speak about abstinence is sad. Sarah's ultimate dream is the TV reality show. I think that Romney is smart enough to realize that a TV reality show is trashy.
Sorry, but that is not the face of a totally sane man.
ReplyDeleteTrue. Few, if any, of his photos don't show the dead looking, cold eyes.
DeleteThis lie was the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of people, but what can't be overlooked was the brilliance of Obama's campaign people in masterfully turning his own lies against him.
ReplyDeleteWe really dodged a bullet twice these past two elections. One senile horndog vigilante with a vengeance wish and a vapid, out of touch, robotic entitled millionaire.