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Former president George W. Bush endorses Mitt Romney for president. Um, that’s either the kiss of death or a smart move, depending on where you stand on the U.S. economy. Bush told ABC News as he got on an elevator following a speech he delivered on human rights in Washington Tuesday, saying, “I’m for Romney.”
Mitt Romney Classmate Phillip Maxwell Confirms 1965 Bullying Incident Against John Lauber at Cranbrook (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Mitt Romney 1965 bullying incident at Cranbrook where he assaulted John Lauber and cut off chunks of his hair because he appeared to be a homosexual lives for another day. This time, CNN spoke with a fellow classmate, Phillip Maxwell, who remembers the incident quite clearly and called it an assault. Maxwell told CNN he is ”still haunted by what he witnessed on the campus of the elite Cranbrook School in 1965.” He said, ”It was not an event you take a lot of pride in. And it was that way for all of us. I’m a lawyer. I know what an assault is. This kid was scared. He was terrified. That’s an assault.” Um, here’s my question: what did Phillip Maxwell do when he witnessed the assault on John Lauber?
I have always felt Mitt Romney isn’t all that he seems to be, but which politician is? As much as I consider this incident from 1965 to be a distraction, had it involved a black student, his presidential aspirations would have been “Swift-boated.” The right wing can dish it, but they can’t take it. I don’t understand why Mitt Romney apologized yesterday if he can’t remember the incident. That was another lie emanating from his lips. Nothing new coming from Mr. Etch-A-Sketch. For me, Mitt Romney scripted his narrative, just like then-candidate Barack Obama, who said he “compressed” his girlfriends into one in his memoir. That’s problematic because we don’t know who the true Mitt Romney really is. As far as I can tell, he comes across as a rich kid who got his way by being a bully and turning his nose up at the poor. But that’s not the message we are hearing. It’s no surprise. Here’s an interesting excerpt from First Read and the Cranbrook bullying incident:
“But this story exposed a bigger problem for Romney. The first thing anyone running for office has to do is own their own narrative; they need to define themselves before the other side does it for them. And the bigger issue here is that the story brings to light how Romney – despite running for president for five years – is still not completely defined; his narrative is still being formed. The question of, ‘Who is Mitt Romney,’ is still out there. Just because you have high name ID, doesn’t mean people know who you are. It’s the great mistake that John Kerry made in 2004. When you first start running as a presidential candidate, you’re usually a two-dimensional figure. By the general election, you’re 3D; you’re fully formed. Romney’s STILL not yet fully formed despite fact that he’s run for president for so long. The story’s a reminder of how easily others are trying to fill in the blanks. Which begs the question: why is Romney still not fully-formed in the minds of the public?”
It will be interesting to see what nuggets a Mitt Romney biographer will uncover. I will say, what happened at Cranbrook in 1965 might be the tip of the iceberg.
Mitt Romney Apologizes for Bullying John Lauber at Cranbrook School in 1965
“I did some dumb things and if anybody was hurt by that or offended … obviously I apologize,” Romney said on Kilmeade & Friends, a radio show. He also told Kilmeade that he wasn’t ”going to be too concerned” about the article. Um, really? Then why bother apologizing?
“I don’t remember that incident and I’ll tell you I certainly don’t believe that I … thought the fellow was homosexual,” Romney said. “That was the furthest thing from my mind back in the 1960s, so that was not the case,” he added.
The Washington Post ran the story, which quotes five of Romney’s classmates from Cranbook, which is located in a Detroit suburb, as saying he led a group of boys who pinned down John Lauber while Romney himself cut the boy”s “bleached blonde hair that draped over one eye.” John Joseph Lauber, who was expelled from Cranbrook for smoking, died from liver cancer in 2004. I’m sure he would remember what Mitt Romney and his posse did to him. The timing on the Washington Post article is interesting — just one day after President Obama endorsed gay marriage and a few days after Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan also endorsed gay marriage.
UPDATE#1: It seems that there’s yet another student Mitt Romney displayed anti-gay sentiments towards — Gary Hummel, a closeted gay, who he disrupted in English class at Cranbrook, shouting, “Atta girl.” He also behaved in a “sour fashion” towards scholarship recipient Lou Vierling because he was from a poor area of Detroit, the Washington Post reports. Um, elitist behavior? This is going to be one nasty election campaign.
Here’s the reaction on Twitter:
Unlike Romney, I doubt John Lauber, the student bullied & assaulted by Romney & his “posse”, ever forgot the incident. He died in 2004. Sad.
— Lynn (@wavingcrosser) May 10, 2012
BREAKING: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspends Mitt Romney (R-MA) six games for initiating a “bounty” on classmate John Lauber.
— Jake Parrott (@jakehparrott) May 10, 2012
You know who should be in the front row of every presidential debate this fall? John Lauber’s sisters. nymag.com/daily/intel/20…
— Russell Schaffer (@RussOnPolitics) May 10, 2012
@MittRomney Do you not remember assaulting John Lauber because you often pinned boys down with a gang of your friends and cut their hair?
— Aunty Entity (@vudugrrrrl) May 10, 2012
Mitt Romney now says he has “no memory” of violently bullying his gay classmate, John Lauber. Something tells me Lauber wouldn’t forget it.
— Patrick Strudwick (@PatrickStrud) May 10, 2012
Mitt Romney accepted the school’s 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award. A year earlier, John Joseph Lauber died at a Seattle hospital.
— Brad Woodhouse (@woodhouseb) May 10, 2012
John Lauber. Get used to that name. He’s Mitt Romney’s new Seamus. Instead of tying him to the roof, he cut his hair. washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-…
— Russell Schaffer (@RussOnPolitics) May 10, 2012
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We are going to beat you like a drum in November. But don’t take it personally. I like you. You seem like a nice guy. But you’re going down bro.”
– Charles Barkley to Mitt Romney during the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks play-off game in Boston Sunday.
Um, Ted Nugent trash-talks President Obama and we don’t hear peep out the Republicans like Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Reince Priebus, Rep. Allen West, and so on, but Charles Barkley trash talks Mitt Romney and the Drudge Report, Michelle Malkin (via Twitchy) and other Republicans go crazy. Two wrongs don’t make it right. Here’s the reaction Barkley’s comments on Twitter (some tweets also include a dig against Barkley being caught engaging in oral sex):
Watch out that racist!RT @Drudge_Report Charles Barkley To Romney: ‘We’re Going To Beat You Like A Drum’… drudge.tw/JWXZLc
— LARRY HENSLEY (@DONUTMAN54) May 7, 2012
Two people I never thought I’d agree with on anything: Charles Barkley and Geraldo Rivera. This week is off to a weird start.
— erin s. (@erinidle) May 7, 2012
Charles Barkley goes to show you don’t have to be smart to get somewhere in life , just talented
— Jon pate (@jonpateIII) May 7, 2012
#What2ChainzWouldSay Blunt of loud yellin Spark Me, she tell me stick it in, Car Key, when we done she give that shiny head, Charles Barkley
— Jake Kidwell(@J_Kid304) May 7, 2012
Charles Barkley To Romney: ‘We’re Going To Beat You Like A Drum’… drudge.tw/JWXZLc
— Drudge Report (@Drudge_Report) May 7, 2012
Charles Barkley should stick to basketball.Stay out of politics on a sports show. @NBAonTNTrealclearpolitics.com/video/2012/05/…
— R. Robertson (@texas1214) May 7, 2012
@NBATNT I’m assuming you will be suspending Charles Barkley for those rude remarks he made about Mitt Romney
— Jess Nunez (@jess_nnz) May 7, 2012
WATCH: Charles Barkley: Democrats going to beat Romney ‘like a drum’: Charles Barkley weighed in on the presiden… bit.ly/KNEu98
— 94.1 ZBQ (@941zbq) May 7, 2012
From a guy who never had to find a job…”@CO2HOG: Charles Barkley To Romney: “We’re Going To Beat You Like A Drum” bit.ly/JKMpkh“
— sowen12 (@sowen12) May 7, 2012
@Obama_Ointment: Sir Charles Barkley to “beat Romney like a drum”. Justice for Trayvon? drudge.tw/JWXZLc
— Obamaroid Ointment (@Obama_Ointment) May 7, 2012
Charles Barkley: We‘re Going to Beat Romney ’Like a Drum’ theblaze.com/stories/charle… Don’t like Barkley or basketball. No loss here.
— Joshua Woods (@joshuawoodz) May 7, 2012
@stefcutter You do know, don’t you, Steph, that Sir Charles has zero rings?
— Tully Chickpea (@Schwabcycler) May 7, 2012
Charles Barkley: Romney is ‘going down’: Basketball star Charles Barkley, a supporter of President Obama, trash … usat.ly/KNE96d
— Sally K Witt (@sallykwitt) May 7, 2012
Watch Charles Barkley trash-talk Mitt Romney on TNT:
Bill Kristol: Mitt Romney's Attack on Obama Over Handling of Chinese Dissident are "Foolish" (Reuters)
Mitt Romney attacked President Obama on Thursday over the administration’s handling of blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, saying that was “a dark day for freedom and it’s a day of shame for the Obama administration.” We all know Mitt Romney was just talking out of his ass because Hillary Clinton was able to strike a deal with the Chinese government to allow the dissident to come to America on a fellowship at New York University. Bill Kristol during an appearance on Fox News, called Romney’s attack on Obama on the Chen case, “foolish:”
KRISTOL: I’m happy to be critical of the Obama administration as anyone is, but I think this is fast moving story. And if I were advising Governor Romney, I’d say you don’t need to get in the middle of this story. If this turns out badly, and it would be a terrible thing, it will turn out badly. People will know. … To inject yourself into the middle of this way with a fast moving target I think is foolish. [...]
There is no need to butt into a fast moving story when the secretary of state is in Beijing with delicate negotiations and say it’s a day of shame for the Obama administration. Hillary Clinton is waking up right now. Let’s see if she can pull this off in the next 12 hours or so. Source: Think Progress
This is a prime example of why Mitt Romney is like Seamus on the top of his station wagon or like a deer caught between two headlights — no clue on the gravity of the situation the American government faced with China on this dissident. President Obama and Hillary Clinton couldn’t just swoop in and remove this man and his family for China. There are laws to follow and it’s just not right, considering how indebted we are to the Chinese. Mitt Romney seems to think if he is elected our next president he can call the shots with China. Um, no, we owe them trillions. The lender is slave master over the borrower. You know, like he was at Bain Capital to all those people who lost their jobs under his watch.
Here’s the clip:
GOP ATTACKS ON OBAMA: I am amazed at how quickly Republicans forgot how the Bush 2004 reelection campaign blanketed the airwaves with the events of 9/11, so much so that people were literally hoodwinked into voting for George W. Bush. They saw nothing wrong with that tactic but now that President Obama is milking the Osama bin Laden assassination, they are screaming “off with his head.” Politics is just a dirty game and voters like you and I are used as pawns.
While I found the campaign video playing up the Osama bin Laden assassination somewhat distasteful, it is nonetheless politics and if the shoe were on the other foot, the Republicans would do the same as they did in 2004. GOP attacks on Obama will only help him at the polls and continue to prove that Mitt Romney is like a deer caught between two headlights on foreign policy. A little like his dog Seamus on the top of the family station wagon with all that wind smacking him in the face.
Mark McKinnon: “Just as it would have been absurd for the Bush campaign not to mention 9/11 in our 2004 reelection launch. In fact, all we did in our ads was say we faced some unexpected challenges and showed some images of 9/11. And we were crucified by the Democrats… And now, how dare Obama exploit OBL for political purposes, say Republicans today.”
“When Democrats went crazy about our 9/11 ad in 2004, all they did was bring more attention to the message we were trying to communicate. Which is precisely the trap Republicans are falling into today.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Mitt Romney, quoted by Politico on whether he would have given the order to go after Osama bin Laden in Pakistan: ”Of course, even Jimmy Carter would have given that order.”
Um, really Mitt? Another Etch-a-Sketch moment. Didn’t he say back in 2008, the he would get permission from Pakistan first and it wasn’t worth the money to kill just one man? This speaks to his poor grasp on foreign policy and his lack of political integrity — flip flops depending on how the breeze blows. Don’t hate on Obama for doing what George W. Bush didn’t bother doing.
Former president Jimmy Carter tells MSNBC that though he believes President Obama will likely win re-election, he would be “comfortable” with Mitt Romney as president. Um, Jimmy, how many Democrats would openly admit they are “comfortable” with a Mitt Romney presidency? Isn’t that like endorsing his candidacy at the expense of their candidate?
Jimmy Carter on MSNBC: “I’d rather have a Democrat but I would be comfortable — I think Romney has shown in the past, in his previous years as a moderate or progressive… that he was fairly competent as a governor and also running the Olympics as you know. He’s a good solid family man and so forth, he’s gone to the extreme right wing positions on some very important issues in order to get the nomination. What he’ll do in the general election, what he’ll do as president I think is different.”
I won’t endorse Mitt Romney, but I don’t think he would be any different as president as he was as governor of Massachusetts. He would be more moderate than conservative, though he has had some Etch-A-Sketch moments on the campaign trail where he has tried to paint himself as “severely conservative.” That’s why I don’t take him serious. Mitt Romney was a decent governor and I have no doubt he would be a decent president if he governs from the middle as a centrist. With that said, let’s see how this election campaign plays out. Um, Jimmy, please pick a side to support and stick with it. Just saying….
ETCH-A-SKETCH ALERT: GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney had another Etch-A-Sketch moment — he backs President Obama’s student loan proposal, irking many conservatives. In other words, Mitt Romney just threw House Republicans, who are railing against Obama’s proposal, under a bus and he undermines his own argument that he is SERIOUS about controlling “reckless spending.” In other words, what we have is the typical flip-flopping Mitt Romney, right?
“Particularly with the number of college graduates that can’t find work or can only find work well beneath their skill level, I fully support the effort to extend the low interest rate on student loans,” he said at a joint appearance with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in Philadelphia. “There was some concern that would expire halfway through the year, and I support extending the temporary relief on interest rates for students … in part because of the extraordinarily poor conditions in the job market.” Source
Of course, Romney is being shrewd by appealing to under-30 voters who are most affected by student loan rates. Student loan debt now stands at over $1 trillion and counting. Obama is making a play for this group, who turned out in large numbers for him in 2008, Romney is trying to minimize the damage for his own party, which has a problem connecting with young voters. Okay, so maybe this is an Etch-A-Sketch moment for Romney, but do you honestly think it would go over well with the under-30 age group to hear that student loan rates are going up? I think not.
The critics against Romney came out in droves on Twitter. The conservatives are going nuts over his flip-flop. Here are some of the tweets:
Etch-A-Sketch Alert, Mitt Romney Backs President Obama's Student Loan Proposal to Extend Lower Interest Rates
Boston Globe: Mitt Romney ”he insisted as recently as January that women on welfare need to get jobs, even if they have young children.” This is the same person who last week declared that “all moms are working moms.”
Mitt Romney on Welfare Moms: “Even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work. And people said, ‘Well that’s heartless,’ and I said ‘No, no, I’m willing to spend more giving daycare to allow those parents to go back to work. It’ll cost the state more providing that daycare, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.’”
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