Althouse: "Mitt Romney was not at Chappaquiddick. Mitt Romney has not been accused of rape. "

May 12, 2012

"Mitt Romney was not at Chappaquiddick. Mitt Romney has not been accused of rape. "

"Mitt Romney did not have an affair with a mob babe. He didn't have an affair with an actress who committed suicide later on. Mitt Romney did not father a child out of wedlock. Mitt Romney did not support the tapping of Martin Luther King's phone. Mitt Romney was never a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Mitt Romney did not lie about his law school grades."

That's Rush Limbaugh, pithily dramatizing the media's double standard.

108 comments:

F said...: But he COULD have done any of those things. In which case he could run as a Democrat and be protected by the legacy media.; 5/12/12, 7:55 AM
chickelit said...: The Left loathes squares. They've always bullied them.; 5/12/12, 7:58 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Mitt Romney did, however, use the "n" word at a student government confab I attended in, um, Saint Paul in around 1979, when Obama got all up in his face and they brawled for a long time until a bunch of NRA thugs came around and broke it up.; 5/12/12, 8:07 AM
yashu said...: Mitt Romney did not have domestic terrorists as friends and mentors.; 5/12/12, 8:08 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Mitt Romney never dodged the draft.

Mitt Romney never lost his law license.

Mitt Romney never cheated on his wife (at least I very much doubt it given her hotness and his religion :); 5/12/12, 8:13 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Maybe that's the problem: what didn't Mitt Romney do, and when didn't he do it?

Can we elect a POTUS who has had so little truck with real American life?

Does Mitt Romney even exist?; 5/12/12, 8:16 AM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/12/12, 8:16 AM
Wince said...: The image they want to portray is of a "mean" Mitt Romney compared to Obama.

Really?

Mitt Romney never pried open the sealed divorce records of both his primary (Democrat) and general election (Republican) opponents on the way to winning a senate seat.

David Axelrod's Pattern of Sexual Misbehavior

...the only reason Obama became a U.S. senator -- allowing him to run for president -- is that David Axelrod pulled sealed divorce records out of a hat, first, against Obama's Democratic primary opponent, and then against Obama's Republican opponent.

One month before the 2004 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, Obama was way down in the polls, about to lose to Blair Hull, a multimillionaire securities trader.

But then The Chicago Tribune -- where Axelrod used to work -- began publishing claims that Hull's second ex-wife, Brenda Sexton, had sought an order of protection against him during their 1998 divorce proceedings.

From then until Election Day, Hull was embroiled in fighting the allegation that he was a "wife beater." He and his ex-wife eventually agreed to release their sealed divorce records. His first ex-wife, daughters and nanny defended him at a press conference, swearing he was never violent. During a Democratic debate, Hull was forced to explain that his wife kicked him and he had merely kicked her back.

Hull's substantial lead just a month before the primary collapsed with the nonstop media attention to his divorce records. Obama sailed to the front of the pack and won the primary. Hull finished third with 10 percent of the vote.

Luckily for Axelrod, Obama's opponent in the general election had also been divorced.

The Republican nominee was Jack Ryan, a graduate of Dartmouth and Harvard law and business schools, who had left his lucrative partnership at Goldman Sachs to teach at an inner-city school on the South Side of Chicago.

But in a child custody dispute some years earlier, Ryan's ex-wife, Hollywood sex kitten Jeri Lynn Ryan, had alleged that, while the couple was married, Jack had taken her to swingers clubs in Paris and New York.

Jack Ryan adamantly denied the allegations. In the interest of protecting their son, he also requested that the records be put permanently under seal.

Axelrod's courthouse moles obtained the "sealed" records and, in no time, they were in the hands of every political operative in Chicago. Knowing perfectly well what was in the records, Chicago Tribune attorneys flew to California and requested that the court officially "unseal" them -- over the objections of both Jack and Jeri Ryan.

Your honor, who knows what could be in these records!

A California judge ordered them unsealed, which allowed newspapers to publish the salacious allegations, and four days later, Ryan dropped out of the race under pressure from idiot Republicans (who should be tracked down and shot).

With a last-minute replacement of Alan Keyes as Obama's Republican opponent, Obama was able to set an all-time record in an Illinois Senate election, winning with a 43 percent margin.

And that's how Obama became a senator four years after losing a congressional race to Bobby Rush. (In a disastrous turn of events, Rush was not divorced.)

Axelrod destroyed the only two men who stood between Obama and the Senate with illicitly obtained, lurid allegations from their pasts.

In 2007, long after Obama was safely ensconced in the U.S. Senate, The New York Times reported: "The Tribune reporter who wrote the original piece (on Hull's sealed divorce records) later acknowledged in print that the Obama camp had 'worked aggressively behind the scenes' to push the story."

Some had suggested, the Times article continued, that Axelrod had "an even more significant role -- that he leaked the initial story."; 5/12/12, 8:17 AM
yashu said...: We get intricately detailed accounts (or tales) of events from Romney's high school years, but we can't see the Khalidi tape?; 5/12/12, 8:18 AM
lemondog said...: Maybe that's the problem: what didn't Mitt Romney do, and when didn't he do it?

Easy to prove someone did do something but where is the PROOF he didn't do whatever.; 5/12/12, 8:21 AM
The Drill SGT said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/12/12, 8:22 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Romney's interns didn't get their knee pads.

What a yerk Romney.. taking a pass on that long executive tradition.; 5/12/12, 8:24 AM
sane_voter said...: The only good thing to come of Obama's presidency is that when he goes down in flames this November he will be remembered as the worst president in recent history and likely will keep the Dems out of the White House for a generation.

Thanks Barack!; 5/12/12, 8:28 AM
Chase said...: Obama is the slime President, more than Clinton, more than Kennedy.

In this blog - during the Bush years - Bush-hating commenters (and they were legion, just go back and read)would often snarl about Bush taking away their rights. When I would often challenge them to explain which rights exactly were they no longer able to exercise under President Bush, not once - NOT ONCE - could ANY commenter come up with even one. Because they were lemmings following their hate leaders.

Under President Obama, the Consumer Protection Agency and EPA have become unhinged, Your liberties, my liberties in this country are under assault. I don't want to believe it - but you don't have to read right-wing web sites at all, just the Main Stream New York Times, et al - to see that is enough to find what this President has done and wants to do in controlling the lives of Americans.

Romney 2012!
Wake up America. And wake up, Black America. This man is selling you and your children out!; 5/12/12, 8:31 AM
KCFleming said...: If you faithfully serve the god of Leftism, all things are permissible, all your sins are forgiven, no matter how sordid.*

If you are not Of The Party, and do not serve their lord, you are an abomination, and all your behaviors, no matter how small, will be seen as Shocking and The Gravest Sin, so that you are cast out.

*But should you fail to be elected, you're on your own. (see John Edwards); 5/12/12, 8:31 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Mitt Romney never made 10,000% profit ($1,000 became $100,000) on his first time out trading cattle futures while in the Governor's mansion.

We could play this all day, but we'd have to go beyond Dem presidential candidates eventually :); 5/12/12, 8:33 AM
Michael said...: Mitt didn't buy and use toot. He didnt smoke. He didnt own a bong. He did give a shout out to his druggie gang on his yearbook page.

You can find people who have known Romney for many years. They will describe what he was like. Romney will happily tell you his grades if you ask nicely and will provide transcripts.; 5/12/12, 8:35 AM
Calypso Facto said...: And Lem, now the Dems will try to pry open your sealed divorce records for just being an Obama opponent SUPPORTER even if you're not in politics yourself. What a shitty crew the President has working for him.; 5/12/12, 8:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Mitt Romney never made 10,000% profit ($1,000 became $100,000) on his first time out trading cattle futures while in the Governor's mansion.

Yes we could.

Mitt Romney never hired a clearly unqualified party hack to head some strange and unspecified White House job called the Office of Personnel Security, which person later improperly accessed FBI background files on dozens of former White House employees, including from former administrations.; 5/12/12, 8:50 AM
Brian Brown said...: What the hell is Rush all worked up about?! Doesn't he know that the poor girl Kennedy let drown in that care would be proud of his legislative record??!

And, Bill Clinton protected abortion rights!

So there, wingnuts!

Oh, and Obama is awesome!; 5/12/12, 8:52 AM
yashu said...: That's one reason why Obama wrote his memoirs (or had them written).

To provide the definitive narrative-- a preemptive narrative of his life so the MSM wouldn't have to dig for it. To provide the template for the MSM to follow. To offer a faux transparency, faux self-revelation, which enabled him (allowed by the MSM) to preserve his veils and opacity. A watertight embargo on documents related to him, radio silence from anyone who knew him in the past.

So the MSM can attend to more important things, like exhaustively going through all the emails of an ex-candidate for VP who holds no public office.; 5/12/12, 8:55 AM
chickelit said...: Who's to say what "the right side of history" is?; 5/12/12, 8:56 AM
chickelit said...: A watertight embargo on documents related to him, radio silence from anyone who knew him in the past.

The RMS Obamic is not unsinkable. :); 5/12/12, 8:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Mitt Romney never cheated on his wife (at least I very much doubt it given her hotness and his religion :)

But we'd be fools to believe that Obama's team is not scouring Boston right now trying to find a disaffected Mormon who would be willing to stand up and say that Mitt came on to her in a religious counseling meeting when Mitt was her lay leader.

The lies will come, folks. The bought and sold lies and souls are coming.

Axelrod is as vile a political fixer as this country's ever seen.; 5/12/12, 8:59 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Quayle said...
find a disaffected Mormon who would be willing to stand up and say that Mitt came on to her in a religious counseling meeting when Mitt was her lay leader.

ROLFMAO, I have this vision of Axelrod dragging hundred dollar bills through Mormon trailer parks in Boston :); 5/12/12, 9:03 AM
chickelit said...: Axelrod is as vile a political fixer as this country's ever seen.

Axelrod puts a face on everything wrong with Chicago politics gone national. Wisconsin people instinctively recognize this.; 5/12/12, 9:04 AM
edutcher said...: Mitt Romney never led an anti-war rally while overseas.

Mitt Romney never made a trip to Moscow that has yet to be explained.

The Drill SGT said...

Mitt Romney never dodged the draft.

The trolls will disagree because he got legitimate draft deferments which automatically make him a chickenhawk.

This, of course, does not apply to any Demos that got them.; 5/12/12, 9:04 AM
Petunia said...: Mitt Romney never refused to release his college transcripts.; 5/12/12, 9:11 AM
yashu said...: The RMS Obamic is not unsinkable.

I hope! Bring on the Romney iceberg.; 5/12/12, 9:14 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: Chase as you continue to indulge in a revisionist history I refer you this this article in the Baltimore Chronicle written in 2005 where you can read:
"For those who are willing to objectively analyze Bush's actions and policies, the truth is clearly seen: this President has systematically put in place laws, policies, and bureaucracies that can, are, and will continue to strip the American citizenry of the constitutional protections of their liberties."
Link here: http://baltimorechronicle.com/020105ChuckBaldwin.shtml; 5/12/12, 9:17 AM
The Drill SGT said...: edutcher said...
The trolls will disagree because he got legitimate draft deferments which automatically make him a chickenhawk.

He got illegitimate treatment by the draft board on multiple occasions due to pressure from Senator Fulbright.

Then later after all other dodges failed....

He lied to the draft board when:

- already a student at Oxford, he received multiple draft notices and facing an induction date he agreed to enter the Ark Law School and join ROTC.

- He wasnt eligible to join ROTC, because he wasnt already a student there. But the draft board revoked the induction notice (a week away) and issued him an ROTC deferment (1-D),

- induction having been killed, he got on the next plane back to Oxford and the process started grinding forward again...

That is draft dodging :); 5/12/12, 9:21 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: What does unexplained trip to Moscow refer to?; 5/12/12, 9:22 AM
wyo sis said...: Or, we could play the other side of it. Obama never worked for a living. Obama never produced anything. Obama never brought anything in on or under budget. Obama never rescued the Olympics. Obama was never a governor or, before his election to the presidency, held any political office where he actually accomplished anything anyone would be proud of. Obama never met a distraction from actual work that he didn't embrace. Obama never had a single doubt in his mind of his own magnificence. Obama never experienced humility.; 5/12/12, 9:24 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: Yeah, I'm with roesch on this one, Romney hasn't instituted any new government levethian Departments that can force me to take down my pants in front of everybody just for their amusement and to admire my hotness in underwear. Shut up, everybody says that so I know it's the reason they're doing it just like that guy at the hospital took my socks off when he didn't need to.; 5/12/12, 9:27 AM
Anonymous said...: This is not relevant. What is relevant is how big the defeat of Romney will be by Obama? The count from the Oval Room happy hours is about 20% across the board - ie, every-where in the US of A.

The question then is: How soon will the country include the POTUS on Mt. Rushmore? How soon will the streets and schools will be named after the POTUS? How soon will GOP split into two or more parties? Etc.

It is all over, folks! There is not a thing you can do.; 5/12/12, 9:33 AM
edutcher said...: SGT, you don't have to convince me.

I knew his story at the time.; 5/12/12, 9:43 AM
Matt Sablan said...: "The count from the Oval Room happy hours is about 20% across the board - ie, every-where in the US of A."

I kind of hope they really believe this, even though I'm sure this is fake. It would be hilarious to think they think they'll win by 20% in Texas.; 5/12/12, 9:57 AM
Chase said...: Roesch,

Not revisionist, my friend, I asked while it during the Bush years and it could not be answered.

You linked to an opinion piece that shows no documentation - again, because it can't - to prove any of the author's assertions.

What this means is that, seriously, man, - I do not say this to slander you, but out of concern after reading you here for a while - you are in deep need of mental help in relating to the world as it actually exists.; 5/12/12, 10:01 AM
willem said...: Still Romney FAILS.

Romney was not born to British father.

Romney was not born a British citizen or subject of the Crown under the British Nationality Act of 1948.

Romney cannot prove when he ceased to be a British citizen.

Therefore, under the academic principles of Hegelian reductionism as normally applied by the professional journalist arts and sciences...

Romney fails. Because we say so. That's how it's supposed to work in the world of 'better than you because.'

We can't actually say "That's how G_d planned it," but he did. We have it on expert authority, but as you know, one shouldn't inflame the little people with higher thinking they're scientifically incapable of grasping.

Yes, I know. We said "he." Indeed, that's another problem. Rest assured, it's under committee review.; 5/12/12, 10:43 AM
Methadras said...: The left loathes anyone they can't control. And even when they can and do control, they loathe them even more for being so lemmingly weak.; 5/12/12, 10:46 AM
Chip S. said...: RV is now citing the Baltimore Chronicle as some sort of reliable source?

The Chronicle&Sentinel's motto: No longer a newspaper, we try to matter

What sad clownery.; 5/12/12, 10:52 AM
damikesc said...: RV is now citing the Baltimore Chronicle as some sort of reliable source?

The Chronicle&Sentinel's motto: No longer a newspaper, we try to matter

Holy cow, I thought you were kidding. No. That is legitimately their motto.; 5/12/12, 11:02 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: "Mitt Romney was not at Chappaquiddick. Mitt Romney has not been accused of rape. Mitt Romney did not have an affair with a mob babe. He didn't have an affair with an actress who committed suicide later on. Mitt Romney did not father a child out of wedlock. Mitt Romney did not support the tapping of Martin Luther King's phone. Mitt Romney was never a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Mitt Romney did not lie about his law school grades."

All true. But Mitt Romney IS the man who has accepted a regularly convicted con man's ridiculous creed as his own, and who, as a bishop, has kept others in line according to that creed. He is the man who has fed that con with millions of his dollars and got others (who know little to next-to-nothing about it) to believe he gave that money to "charity" when, in truth, it was nothing of the kind - a deception so clever that, if Joseph Smith were alive today, he'd be laughing so hard he'd probably die all over again.

He's the man who has helped countless gay kids to think killing themselves is the only answer; caused families to split apart and shun one another, merely because someone discovered the empty core of Mitt's "beliefs," which dictated rejection instead of understanding. He's the man who made a woman cry by showing up at a hospital before her abortion, to cure a blood clot, to harangue and harass her. And, if reports are true, he's the "leader" who has shown up so often at the main Salt Lake Temple - to ask what he should do politically - they got sick of him.

No, he's not the guy who did any of that stuff we know Democrats have done, but as we contrast and compare, let's be adults and not pretend he's ever been anything more than he is:

Just another dull-witted dupe, aggressively acting as the ugly agent of a long-dead swindler's schemes,...; 5/12/12, 11:09 AM
Bender said...: On Romney and the draft, I had thought it a moot issue because he would be too young.

In my error, I didn't realize that Romney is as OLD as he is -- born in 1947, which would make him 18 years old when the war in Vietnam kicked into high-gear in 1965.

What deferments he received (if any) I don't know, or perhaps his number just never came up. But I fail to see how his 30 months as a Mormon missionary in (already Christian) France beginning in July 1966 would qualify for any kind of legitimate deferment.; 5/12/12, 11:11 AM
cubanbob said...: roesch/voltaire said...
Chase as you continue to indulge in a revisionist history I refer you this this article in the Baltimore Chronicle written in 2005 where you can read:
"For those who are willing to objectively analyze Bush's actions and policies, the truth is clearly seen: this President has systematically put in place laws, policies, and bureaucracies that can, are, and will continue to strip the American citizenry of the constitutional protections of their liberties."
Link here: http://baltimorechronicle.com/020105ChuckBaldwin.shtml

5/12/12 9:17 AM

And which of those has Obama repealed?
Apparently the actions, policies, laws and bureaucracies are inherently good, they only become bad when republicans use them.; 5/12/12, 11:13 AM
Phil 314 said...: Crack,
Didn't you get the memo, only Right-wing Christianists hate Mormons, not Black agnostics.; 5/12/12, 11:16 AM
Bender said...: You know, with all of this "Romney never did . . ." talk, you are inviting people to actually go and look at his background. You better be sure that he is as pristine and pure as you make him out to be -- and there is a contingent that would indeed have us believe that he is Messiah 3.0 (following the original and Obama as Messiah 2.0) -- else you risk exposing those flaws he does have and questions he does raise.; 5/12/12, 11:16 AM
purplepenquin said...: So ya'll are so pissed off about how the Dems overlook serious character flaws in their candidates that ya'll are gonna overlook serious character flaws in your own candidate?

Uhm...yeah. That makes PERFECT sense, if you're a party hack. Meanwhile, those of us in the middle think all of ya are nuttin' but partisan hypocrites.; 5/12/12, 12:06 PM
Alex said...: Crack - I fail to see how Mormonism is any worse then Catholicism, Islam or Judaism. They're all fucking cults.; 5/12/12, 12:12 PM
Alex said...: Uhm...yeah. That makes PERFECT sense, if you're a party hack. Meanwhile, those of us in the middle think all of ya are nuttin' but partisan hypocrites.

LOL - as if you're a moderate.; 5/12/12, 12:13 PM
Chip S. said...: purp, It's hilarious that you think equating HS pranks with leaving a woman to die in your car makes you a centrist.

Unverified HS pranks, btw.; 5/12/12, 12:15 PM
Lyssa said...: Bender said: But I fail to see how his 30 months as a Mormon missionary in (already Christian) France beginning in July 1966 would qualify for any kind of legitimate deferment.

He was probably married and had children at the time. Those would have been entirely legitimate deferments.; 5/12/12, 12:15 PM
Cedarford said...: Bender - "What deferments he received (if any) I don't know, or perhaps his number just never came up. But I fail to see how his 30 months as a Mormon missionary in (already Christian) France beginning in July 1966 would qualify for any kind of legitimate deferment."
=================
I don't think you have a clue about deferments as they were done in the Cold War, Vietnam. You have mentally lapsed into some crazy classification of legitimate, illegitimate deferments.

When an official deferment for college, sole supporter, maried with young children, a conscientious objector deferment, going from college to pro football, from HS to an officially deferment granted union mining apprenticeship meant an official signed deferment.
As well as being young and in certain critical DOD or otherwise vital civilian jobs. Or religious work. Or missionary work.

Keep in mind too, that Romney was IN college when he put in for one of the official deferments. After a year and a half at Stanford, he was on track to be Valedictorian. So if he "wanted to avoid Vietnam" all he had to do was stay in college and get grades to get into law school, which was also "deferment-worthy". As was, per agreement between the Mormon and other churches and the Selective Service - when the Christian or Mormon missionary stint was done, returnees had to get a draft number - and the Draft Boards could have drafted then before the missionaries re-enrolled.
Romney apparantly drew a high number, and returned to college. At BYU.
Where he was the Valedictorian.
And a truly gifted scholar who was a shoo-in for any medical school, law, or business school.; 5/12/12, 12:15 PM
yashu said...: pp, I don't consider teenage misbehavior (of a type is very common among groups of teenage boys) engaged in 50 years ago to constitute a "serious character flaw." (Not to mention it's apparent the misbehavior as described-- by sources which include a member of the Obama 2008 campaign-- is exaggerated, distorted, and there's doubt as to how much of it even happened.)

Forget ballpark, that teenage misbehavior is not in the same country, continent, planet as e.g. leaving a woman to drown trapped in a car. And that's one of the biggest Dem heroes of the last few decades, acting as a man not a teenager. It's not a tu quoque, it's arrant disproportion. Same goes with some of the other examples.

Please, this has nothing to do with claiming Romney is pristine and pure. It has to do with hyperpartisan MSM character assassination done in coordination with the White House/ DNC.

You don't have to believe Palin is an angel to object to Palinization.; 5/12/12, 12:28 PM
yashu said...: I.e., what Chip S said.; 5/12/12, 12:30 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Alex,

Crack - I fail to see how Mormonism is any worse then Catholicism, Islam or Judaism. They're all fucking cults.

Please. Not only is Mormonism weirder than the others, but it's the only one of those that, being such a recent phenomena, anyone can debunk without breaking a sweat. Seriously, you may be gullible or whatever to be a Christian, but you have to be a serious moron to accept Joseph Smith's word on anything:

As early as 1820, Joe Smith, at the age of about 19 years, began to assume the gift of supernatural endowments, and became the leader of a small party of shiftless men and boys like himself who engaged in nocturnal money-digging operations upon the hills in and about Palmyra.... Numbers of men and women, as was understood, were found credulous enough to believe "there might be something in it," who were induced by their confidence and cupidity to contribute privately towards the cost of carrying on the imposture, under the promise of sharing in the expected gains; and in this way the loaferly but cunning Smith, who was too lazy to work for his living, (his deluded followers did all the digging,) was enabled to obtain a scanty subsistence for himself without pursuing any useful employment.
(Pomeroy Tucker Wayne Democratic Press, May 26, 1858)

And now they're all working for Romney.

To make him president.

Really, you can't make this shit up,...; 5/12/12, 12:40 PM
purplepenquin said...: While I totally understand that Rush (and thus many folks on the right) beleives that assault, battery, rape, and other violent activities are nothing more than pranks and akin to frat-boy hazing, reasonable people (both right and left) classify those as "crimes."

What is really ironic is that the same folks who are now saying that holding a person down and shaving their head isn't an illegal act what-so-ever are also the same folks who wanted criminal charges brought against a man who poured a beer on someone's head. (And vice-versa...some folks think there was nothing wrong with that beer-pouring, but are saying that Romney's actions were a crime)

Like I said earlier, those of us in the middle can see exactly what kind of hacks ya'll are....it would actually be kinda funny if it wasn't so serious.; 5/12/12, 12:41 PM
Alex said...: pp - just because you call yourself a centrist doesn't make it so. Have you ever voted for a Republican?; 5/12/12, 12:47 PM
Chip S. said...: PurpleProse said...

the same folks who are now saying... are also the same folks who...

People like you use this ridiculous construction all the time. (See how easy that is?) It's a lazy, tiresome form of argument that persuades no one.

BTW, I did not know that Wisconsinites had southern accents. If you're gonna affect one, at least learn how to spell "y'all", y'all.; 5/12/12, 12:57 PM
kcom said...: "So ya'll are so pissed off about how the Dems overlook serious character flaws in their candidates...?"

No, we expect that. What pisses some of us off is that the media overlooks serious character flaws in Dem candidates to nitpick every last foible of Republican candidates. Someone above asked a very good (and telling) question. What justified sending legions of reporters to Alaska to troll through the emails of an EX-candidate and private citizen while virtually ignoring the sordid machinations of the campaign of the White House's current occupant? Why does the press find Dem candidates so completely uninteresting that they can go out and kill a person and no one cares? Why do they send out "keep rockin'"memos telling their reporters to ignore breaking stories about Dem candidates but beat (pseudo) stories about Republican candidates to death with day after day of page one coverage? Is it really too much to expect that the national press should apply a common standard when covering candidates and not have one set of rules for Dems and another for Republicans? The parties will do what they do, but the press should hold them BOTH to account.; 5/12/12, 12:59 PM
yashu said...: While I totally understand that Rush (and thus many folks on the right) beleives that assault, battery, rape, and other violent activities are nothing more than pranks...

Come on, now you're just trolling.

And uh, Romney battered and raped someone?

You do realize we're talking about a 16-17 year old boy, right? Doing pretty much what Top Chef Season 2 contestants (adults, professional chefs in their 20s and 30s), with cameras on them, did (or were about to do) as a prank to Marcel?

Doesn't make it right-- one of those contestants was kicked off-- but please. Enough with the hyperbole and bad faith argument. I'm not considering a 17 year old boy for POTUS, but a 65 year old man.; 5/12/12, 12:59 PM
Bender said...: He was probably married and had children at the time. Those would have been entirely legitimate deferments

Mitt did not marry Ann until after he returned from France.

As for his missionary work -- again, this was cushy, comfortable FRANCE. At best, he was trying to provide a Mormon witness in order to convert people who were already Christian (France is historically known as "the eldest daughter of the Church") to become Mormon. It is not like he volunteered to go join others who were missionaries in French Indochina, where they really did need assistance. Rather, he went on a mission to a place where people did not need to be won for Christ (they already had been) and where there were plenty of opportunities for social activity, etc. instead.

In any event, one thing we do know is that he did not voluntarily enlist, or even seek to serve in the reserves, even though at the time, he was vocally in support of the war (this was before his father George turned against the war after proclaiming he had been "brainwashed").; 5/12/12, 1:06 PM
purplepenquin said...: Have you ever voted for a Republican?

Yes, many times. And no, not as a "cross-over" but rather voting for the person I'd like to see in office.

I did not know that Wisconsinites had southern accents. If you're gonna affect one, at least learn how to spell "y'all", y'all.

You did not know that people could move around the country? I type like I talk.

And like the ol' joke says: You might be a carpetbagger if you try and correct the spelling of regional slang. ;)

And uh, Romney battered and raped someone?

Srry about the confusion...the rape reference was in regards to a different situation where Limbaugh tried to dismiss criminal acts as nothing more than frat-boy hazing.

But if the reports are true, then Romney did commit battery against that student. Are you really saying that you wouldn't consider it a criminal act if a bunch of people held you down and shaved your head?

I can't help but wonder how ballistic folks on this board would act if some high school kids did that same exact thing to our hostess....would ya'll still be saying "Well, it was just a prank" after she posted a picture of her bald head?

(For the record, I don't want to see that happen...but I can't help but wonder what the reaction would be if it did.); 5/12/12, 1:15 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Bender,

He was probably married and had children at the time. Those would have been entirely legitimate deferments.

In any event, one thing we do know is that he did not voluntarily enlist, or even seek to serve in the reserves, even though at the time, he was vocally in support of the war (this was before his father George turned against the war after proclaiming he had been "brainwashed").

This is not a diss on Lyssa (because I have no idea how she's leaning) but it's started becoming hilarious for me to see people making excuses for, or giving this man their support, when it's obvious THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HIM. The heartbreaking part is seeing they don't want to know anything, either, and thus aren't willing to vet him.

And to hear of any Mormon claiming someone other than Joseph Smith "brainwashed" them is a gift that will never stops giving.

Ahh, the sad/happy clown face.

No wonder it's the symbol for drama,...; 5/12/12, 1:23 PM
Chip S. said...: But if the reports are true

And if they're not, you've just made baseless allegations of what you consider felonious behavior. How very moderate of you.

BTW, I'm a centrist, so you can't possibly be. I vote for moderates all the time. You spout Dem talking points incessantly.; 5/12/12, 1:25 PM
Scott M said...: What is really ironic is that the same folks who are now saying that holding a person down and shaving their head isn't an illegal act what-so-ever are also the same folks who wanted criminal charges brought against a man who poured a beer on someone's head. (And vice-versa...some folks think there was nothing wrong with that beer-pouring, but are saying that Romney's actions were a crime)

Please point out the actual irony in all of that.; 5/12/12, 4:03 PM
Brian Brown said...: purplepenquin said...

So ya'll are so pissed off about how the Dems overlook serious character flaws in their candidates that ya'll are gonna overlook serious character flaws in your own candidate?

Yes!

Because letting a woman drown in a car is like totally the same as anything Romney has done!

Idiot.; 5/12/12, 4:53 PM
Brian Brown said...: roesch/voltaire said...
Chase as you continue to indulge in a revisionist history I refer you this this article in the Baltimore Chronicle written in 2005

Laugh out loud funny.

Um, an opinion piece written by a leftist hack is not "an article"

But of course as a silly, dishonest hack yourself, you wouldn't be real interested in making that distinction.

By the way, why don't you name just one of those "liberty stripping" items Obama has even talked about repealing since being elected.

Just one?

Idiot.; 5/12/12, 5:00 PM
Brian Brown said...: Hahahaha!

@iowahawkblog

"He bullies a boy, you bully a girl. He puts a dog on top of a car, you put one in the oven. That's my way - that's the CHICAGO way."; 5/12/12, 5:10 PM
ken in tx said...: I had a Mormon friend who did his missionary service in France—like Romney. Like many Americans, he made it a practice to smile and greet people on the street. This was not part of his mission work, but rather a habit of his. There was one middle-aged woman that he saw almost every day. She scowled at him when ever he greeted her. This led him to greet her more enthusiastically. Eventually, she confronted him with words like these. “Young man, stop greeting me as if you know me. I will not have you try to raise your social class by pretending that we are on the same level and that you know me.”

So much for Democracy, Equality, and Fraternity.

It is my opinion that the French are some of the world’s worse hypocrites.

And yeah, they need missionaries.; 5/12/12, 5:46 PM
rhhardin said...: Young man, stop greeting me as if you know me. I will not have you try to raise your social class by pretending that we are on the same level and that you know me.

When do you know somebody?

It's when the somebody thinks you do.

This explains the awkward situation where somebody thinks they know you and you don't think so.

The lady here though is confusing a generic strangers' greeting with that claim.; 5/12/12, 6:02 PM
Unknown said...: -----(and thus many folks on the right) beleives that assault, battery, rape, and other violent activities are nothing more than pranks and akin to frat-boy hazing

You are confusing the "right" and Occupy Wall Street.... and the Clintonian Democratic Party.; 5/12/12, 6:10 PM
Paul said...: And Romney didn't smoke cocaine or sell it (as Obama wrote about himself doing that in college.)

While I'm not bubbly about a Mormon, I still find a leftist drug pusher coke snorten chickenshit bullshit artist for president far far worse. Especially one that can't talk strait without a teleprompter.; 5/12/12, 6:39 PM
Sara (Pal2Pal) said...: Bender:

Mormon Missionaries are assigned their Mission billets, they do not choose them.

Missionary work in France is difficult at best. And, Mitt Romney's Mission was marred by the fact that a car he was driving was hit by a drunk driver, killing the passenger, the wife of the Mission President, and nearly killed Mitt.

Traditionally, young Mormon men and women spend one year in college and then go on their 2 year Mission, return and reenroll in college and are expected to get married soon after.

Mitt and Ann announced their marriage plans on the way home from the airport the day Mitt returned from France. Because Ann was now a student at BYU, Mitt chose to finish his undergrad schooling at BYU rather than return to Stanford. They lived in married housing and before he graduated, they had their first two boys.

In those years, a college deferment was standard, as the war progressed, deferments were given to those who were married, later still, you had to be married with children. Mitt met all those criteria, student, married, with children. By the time he was finished with school and eligible, he had such a high draft number, he was never required to serve. He has said that had he been called, he would have gone.

Oh, and there is nothing plush about being a Mormon Missionary. It is grueling work and the church provides very austere living conditions and expects Missionaries to abide by very stringent rules and live under near pauper conditions. They do not get paid and are expected to pay their own way, but having money doesn't really help as there are limits to the amount you can spend. Most Mormon families have both college funds and Mission funds for their children from the time they are born. All five of Romney's sons have also served as Missionaries as did Mitt's father.

Mitt has great respect for the military and if you listened to him during the Primary, you know that rebuilding our military readiness in both infrastructure and doing right by those who have served is one of his highest priorities.; 5/12/12, 6:45 PM
Sara (Pal2Pal) said...: Bender:

Mormon Missionaries are assigned their Mission billets, they do not choose them.

Missionary work in France is difficult at best. And, Mitt Romney's Mission was marred by the fact that a car he was driving was hit by a drunk driver, killing the passenger, the wife of the Mission President, and nearly killed Mitt.

Traditionally, young Mormon men and women spend one year in college and then go on their 2 year Mission, return and reenroll in college and are expected to get married soon after.

Mitt and Ann announced their marriage plans on the way home from the airport the day Mitt returned from France. Because Ann was now a student at BYU, Mitt chose to finish his undergrad schooling at BYU rather than return to Stanford. They lived in married housing and before he graduated, they had their first two boys.

In those years, a college deferment was standard, as the war progressed, deferments were given to those who were married, later still, you had to be married with children. Mitt met all those criteria, student, married, with children. By the time he was finished with school and eligible, he had such a high draft number, he was never required to serve. He has said that had he been called, he would have gone.

Oh, and there is nothing plush about being a Mormon Missionary. It is grueling work and the church provides very austere living conditions and expects Missionaries to abide by very stringent rules and live under near pauper conditions. They do not get paid and are expected to pay their own way, but having money doesn't really help as there are limits to the amount you can spend. Most Mormon families have both college funds and Mission funds for their children from the time they are born. All five of Romney's sons have also served as Missionaries as did Mitt's father.

Mitt has great respect for the military and if you listened to him during the Primary, you know that rebuilding our military readiness in both infrastructure and doing right by those who have served is one of his highest priorities.; 5/12/12, 6:45 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: I like how Sara (and others) try to make what Mormons do seem normal, and even noble - like being sent away, trying to get people into a notorious con man's cult. Don't get me wrong - I guess I would, if my parents were in a cult, but they weren't, because being in a cult is weird. But people have different ideas about what's weird. I get that. My bar is just lower than most:

I'll See Your Weird (And Raise You A Mormon Weird-O); 5/12/12, 7:24 PM
Sara (Pal2Pal) said...: Crack Emcee:

Have you ever been to an LDS church service? As normal as can be, except you won't see some guy in robes and a phony Southern accent up front shouting fire and brimstone.

Your ignorance is offensive.; 5/12/12, 7:42 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Sara (Pal2Pal),

Crack Emcee:

Have you ever been to an LDS church service? As normal as can be, except you won't see some guy in robes and a phony Southern accent up front shouting fire and brimstone.

Your ignorance is offensive.

Oh, Sara, I know how cults operate:

The service appears as normal as can be - you never know who's in the pews - the con man's occult beliefs may be madder than a box of frogs, but the service appears perfectly normal.

It's just those backwards Southerners who are weird, right? Nice. Very religious of you to say that.

And let's not start down the I'm-so-offended road unless you want to end up joining with Occupy Wall Street, huh?

Now those guys, they're weird,...; 5/12/12, 7:53 PM
Sara (Pal2Pal) said...: Crack Emcee:

Your religious bigotry is stunning. And yes, quite offensive.; 5/12/12, 8:30 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Sara (Pal2Pal),

Crack Emcee:

Your religious bigotry is stunning. And yes, quite offensive.

So says the woman who just spoke condescendingly of religious people in the South. Is that what you've learned in that "normal" church service of yours? (And Mormons wonder why Southerners don't support them. It's kind of hard to support those looking down on them, wouldn't you think?)

So where, exactly, is this "bigotry" of mine, Sara?

Do you deny Joseph Smith was a multiply-convicted "juggler" (con man) and rapist who died in jail? (I've got the evidence - from multiple sources,...) And if not, then how can you claim he's bequeathed us a religion?

Or, even worse, dare to call me a bigot for telling the truth?

Is this how "normal" people behave?

Explain yourself - clearly - or run away, which will be explanation enough,...; 5/12/12, 9:19 PM
Bender said...: Why bother going all the way to rustic France to be a missionary? Why not simply be a missionary in Massachusetts or Michigan or Utah or wherever your hometown is? And then claim a draft deferment because of it.

And what did/does such missionary activity consist of? Ken's friend spent his time passive-agressively annoying some old woman and apparently the rest of the time bugging other people on the street before coming home to uncharitably bitch about some unfriendly woman. Is that what Mitt did when he wasn't motoring around France: pestering people to gain converts?

Again, for all of the insistence that Mormons are Christian, France is already a Christian nation. Thus, a conversion-oriented mission there is more about poaching pre-existing Christians than it is about gaining souls for Christ. Or was Romney trying to convert the various Muslims who lived (and still live) in France?

Of course, true missionaries provide unconditional service to others in addition to proselytizing and seeking converts. So, in addition to motoring around France, did spend any time ministering to the poor, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, digging ditches and building houses, etc.? Did he at least pick some grapes while he was in Bordeaux (viva Cesar Chavez!)?

We know that he didn't enlist, but did he ask to go somewhere where living conditions really are dire, someplace in far east Asia or Africa or South America or India, somewhere where they don't have drunk drivers because people are too poor to have cars? Or did he simply go along with the choice assignment given to the son of the prominent governor of Michigan and presidential candidate?

All of which is a long way of saying that this sounds less than genuine missionary work and more and more like the equivilent of some recent college grad who decided to backpack around France for a couple of years.; 5/12/12, 9:23 PM
wyo sis said...: I believe Mormon missionaries go where their church sends them. I know they give service beyond proselytizing, because I've seen them putting up plywood and sandbags in hurricane stricken areas. I have a friend who's daughter went on a Mormon medical mission somewhere in South America and a former neighbor who went on an English teaching Mormon mission to China.; 5/12/12, 9:34 PM
Bender said...: I'm sure there are a lot of good people who are sent all over the place to do lots of good things.

But we are not talking about them.

We're talking about Mitt Romney.; 5/12/12, 9:41 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Bender,

What did/does such missionary activity consist of? Ken's friend spent his time passive-agressively annoying some old woman and apparently the rest of the time bugging other people on the street before coming home to uncharitably bitch about some unfriendly woman. Is that what Mitt did when he wasn't motoring around France: pestering people to gain converts?

See for yourself - also watch for how angry and snippy these men of God get when their bullshit doesn't work.

Quite educational,...; 5/12/12, 9:41 PM
Bender said...: You know, I really would not have given this a second thought. But those pro-Romney guys had to go and keep pushing the "Romney never did this, he never did that," which only opened the door to me wondering exactly what did happen that he would avoid the draft at his age (18 in 1965).

As usual, the more I learn about the guy, the more I find to distrust.

Again, before you pro-Romney folks keep promoting his character, you better be sure that he really is as pristine and pure as you make him out to be.; 5/12/12, 9:47 PM
yashu said...: Again with the "pristine and pure" strawman. We pro-Romney folks are promoting him to be POTUS instead of Obama. That's the choice before us: Romney or Obama.

If you don't want to vote for Romney then don't, that's your choice.; 5/12/12, 10:17 PM
Bender said...: If it is a strawman, then I would advise YOU pro-Romney people not to keep raising it.

I'm not the one who started this discussion pointing out his flaws -- it was the pro-Romney people who came in telling us how great he is. It was the pro-Romney people who wanted to give the impression that he is pure and pristine.

But you are right -- he's not. But if you insist on implying that he is, so as to avoid any agreement by silence, you risk others noting their objection and pointing out just exactly how flawed he is.; 5/12/12, 10:46 PM
Unknown said...: ----Again, before you pro-Romney folks keep promoting his character, you better be sure that he really is as pristine and pure as you make him out to be.

Pssstt.. Don't tell anybody but we're countering the promotion that Romney is a gay basher which was pushed in an obviously preprogrammed WAPO article after Obama evolved. We aren't going to let your media do this anymore.

Get it?

Obama's propaganda organ went for Romney's high school activity and we are pointing out with Alinsky inspired ridicule that Democrats in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Because your side promoted a genius who would stop the oceans from rising and bring a new tone to our politics. And in reality he's a dog-eating, former coke-head who exceeds Nixon by actually intimidating and punishing his enemies rather than just talking about it.; 5/12/12, 10:50 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: yashu,

We pro-Romney folks are promoting him to be POTUS instead of Obama. That's the choice before us: Romney or Obama.

That's a lie but keep it up - you'll convince yourself of something eventually. Hell, the people of Heaven's Gate convinced themselves they committed suicide as a way to be beamed into a Mothership hovering above them in space. Clearly, when it comes to "believing" nonsense, anything's possible. But then there's also reality:

We are the citizens of these United States of America. WE run this country, and that means we don't have to do any damned thing we don't want.

So, while we face reluctantly being marched into a contest between two proven idiots, it's important for every American to understand that's the least difficult choice before us, but not the only one by a long shot.

We are not lemmings.

And anyone who tells you different is either delusional or a liar.; 5/12/12, 11:15 PM
yashu said...: So it's a "lie" that the 2012 general election will result in a presidential term for either Romney or Obama? It's a "lie" that either Romney or Obama will be POTUS? There's some other 3rd alternative future you see?

We are the citizens of these United States of America. WE run this country, and that means we don't have to do any damned thing we don't want.

So what are you suggesting, then. That "we the American people" can rise up, dismissing the GOP primary results and the incumbency of the POTUS, and somehow install a POTUS other than Romney and Obama, a POTUS that "we" (a "we" that apparently excludes a majority of GOP primary voters) choose-- choose by some means other than the GOP primaries and a general election between the GOP nominee and the incumbent? How exactly do you see such a scenario happening?

You think there's still a possibility that Romney will not be the GOP nominee? Short of, like, dying?

Someone here might be in denial of reality, but I don't think it's me.; 5/12/12, 11:40 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: The Constitution of the United States

AMENDMENT XX
Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933.

Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3.

Section 3.

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

We DO NOT have to put up with this shit,...; 5/12/12, 11:41 PM
Gary Rosen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/12/12, 11:46 PM
Gary Rosen said...: " before you pro-Romney folks keep promoting his character, you better be sure that he really is as pristine and pure as you make him out to be."

I'm going to take a flyer and assume he never let a girl drown in his car, got a BJ from an intern, or had an illegitimate child while married.; 5/12/12, 11:50 PM
yashu said...: OK, so spell it out then. How do you interpret those bolded passages of the Constitution to obviate either Romney or Obama from becoming POTUS?

Are you suggesting that we can file a suit and the Supreme Court will ultimately rule that someone whose religious faith happens to be Mormon "fails to qualify" to be POTUS?

That's some funny understanding of the American Constitution, there.

But maybe you have something else in mind. How, other than through losing the election, can a POTUS "not be chosen" before the beginning of his term?

I guess I'm stupid because I'm totally in the dark as to what you're suggesting here.; 5/12/12, 11:58 PM
Bender said...: I'm going to take a flyer and assume he never let a girl drown in his car, got a BJ from an intern, or had an illegitimate child while married

I'm just saying -- don't be so flippant in opening doors that you don't know what is behind.

Unless you know for absolutely sure that that is true, I'd be careful about saying it because you invite people to go and actually confirm or deny it.

For example, Mitt Romney has, in fact, had a passenger of his killed while he was driving. Now, I'm sure others might run in here to explain that he wasn't at fault, that someone else caused the accident, but why bring it up in the first place in order to have to explain all that away?

Just stick with yashu's brilliant campaign slogan -- "At least Romney's not Obama!" -- and leave it at that.; 5/13/12, 1:40 AM
ShadowFox said...: @EDH--Ann Coulter is right. Idiot Republicans should be tracked down and shot... Unfortunately, that would leave the US without a functioning opposition (and only half of Congress).; 5/13/12, 3:34 AM
Unknown said...: Let's open some doors on the POTUS which were never opened till now.

Your side goes back fifty years to some Animal House scene to distract from the awful economy while Obama has no paper trail for major life events. What were his LSATs? Why did he give up his law license? How did he get Jack Ryans divorce records unsealed? Where did all the Anenberg money go?

It is your side that had better worry about opening doors.; 5/13/12, 7:52 AM
Conserve Liberty said...: Althouse/Meade: Thought I would drop by this morning. Same people. Same BS. straw man arguments. Same sameness.

I; 5/13/12, 8:37 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: Re: Vietnam war draft-dodging accusations (against anybody) -
Give it a rest. I was of age to be drafted during the lottery era. I found out many many years later that my father, a decorated Korean war vet and reserve fighter squadron CO, actually intended to get me to Canada if I was drafted.
Frankly, if you weren't of age during that period, you don't know how crazy it was, and I don't care what you think about draft-dodging.; 5/13/12, 12:20 PM
Bender said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/13/12, 1:55 PM
Bender said...: "Your side . . ."

How does any of what you said relate to authentic, principled conservatism, which is what "my side" is, a side that is to the right of Mitt Romney?; 5/13/12, 1:56 PM
Moneyrunner said...: Someone here has lost touch with reality.; 5/13/12, 4:19 PM
Gospace said...: The first generation of Mormons were ALL cultists, by one standard definition. That is, and established religion is something you are born into. A cult is a "religion" you convert to after you reach the age of reason. (Traditionally, somewhere around 14 or so.) If you're born into a Protestant sect, any one of them, and become a cloistered Catholic nun, you have by this defintion, joined a cult.

And "deprogrammers", at the behest of worried family members, have kidnapped (and been prosecuted for doing so) people who have done just this.

Romney was born into Mormonism. Hence, he is NOT a cult member. LDS has survived for many generations, and is one of the few religions steadily gaining adherents.

I don't think Scientolgists are too successful passing on their religion to offspring. It has been since its' inception and remains a cult. (And now for the HATE comments!); 5/13/12, 6:39 PM
wyo sis said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/13/12, 7:56 PM
Nichevo said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/14/12, 9:45 AM
Nichevo said...: Crack, Romney is a millionaire (billionaire?), and you're begging people for money or a computer, but Romney's the dullard.

Romney's got the nomination all but sewn up, and you're getting kicked off wordpress, but Romney's the misfit.

Oh, and Romney is happily married with a loyal wife and children to perpetuate his line. You are divorced, I presume, from a murderess, and are evidently the last of your line, whatever that may be. But he is the reject loser.

Do you ever even listen to what you are saying?; 5/14/12, 12:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Mr. Romney was not at Chappaquiddick in 1969. Mr. Romney was at Bazas, Aquitaine, France in 1968.

Mr. Kennedy took responsibility for his driving error the next morning. Mr. Romney claims to have been a blameless victim.

Mr. Romney got together with his friends and blamed a priest, whom they call "Albert Marie." The priest driving the Mercedes 180 was Bishop Jean-Felix-Albert-Marie Vilnet. Mr. Romney missed a turn and hit the stopped Mercedes head-on.

Mrs. Leola Anderson died because she did not have a seat belt. Six people had been crammed into a five-passenger Citroen DS.

Bishop Jean Vilnet is alive. He is 90. He lives at Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. He was not blamed for the accident and he certainly was not drunk as Romney has said so many times.

Occupy Security set a MMOG crew on the problem. Worked out, despite Romney & friends lying about almost every relevant detail. Shame on the liars.; 6/7/12, 1:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Bishop Vilnet died January 23rd 2013. He had been ill for months.

The mystery of how LDS could arrange this scheme has led to a range of mental disorder. The sociopaths. Lying comes naturally.

Confessions of a Sociopath -- and practicing Mormon with B.A. from Brigham Young
- - - - - - - - -

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a sociopath's dream. Mormons believe that everyone has the potential to be godlike—I believe this includes me. Every being is capable of salvation; my actions are what matters, not my ruthless thoughts, not my nefarious motivations. Everyone is a sinner, and I never felt that I was outside this norm.

"When I attended Brigham Young—where students were even more trusting than the average Mormon—there were myriad opportunities for scamming. I stole from the lost and found, saying I lost a book, but then I would take the "found" book to the bookstore and sell it. Or, I'd take an unlocked bike that sat in the same place for days. Finders, keepers.

"But I am functionally a good person...."
- - - - - - - - - - - -

Actions are what matter.

In practice if the person is a sociopath and gets away with a sin or a crime, that is as good as not doing it. That is not Christian. However it is clearly a mainstream Mormon doctrine despite that it leads to extreme attitudes and an estimated half of serious crimes. Support for Mitt Romney came automatically at the start due to his relationship with his father, George Romney.

Mitt Romney and the LDS missionary team in France had carried out a megalomaniacal fantasy and gotten away with it. His responsibility for the death of Mrs. Anderson was transferred to an imaginary and fantastically drunk "Monsignor Albert Marie."

During the 2012 campaign the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were provided detailed evidence showing that Mitt Romney had been at fault for that accident in 1968. The fakery that called Bishop Vilnet, the real driver of the other car, by the name "Father Albert Marie" was exposed with a dozen photos of Vilnet and with affidavits. LDS dishonesty is as clear as you can ask for an investigation that lacked subpoena powers. Of course nothing came of it.

Corporate media also went out of their way to avoid this story. The usual excuse was that Bishop Vilnet was too far gone into old age dementia to testify, so other evidence would not matter. The Crew heard a couple dozen versions of this defense. The subject was too hot to handle.

O.K., fine. The GOP sells hoaxes with help from News Corporation and the Rush Limbaugh clones. Cults sell "sainthood" in various forms. For all these RWNJ fanatics, lies do not matter. There's a political home for the 4% of the population that qualify as sociopaths.; 8/30/13, 9:37 AM