Daddy Issues II
This is absolutely not a valid reason for rejecting Mitt, but after listening to the left prattle on about George W.'s "Daddy Issues" for eight years, are we only asking for more of the same?
"Oh, the son is only trying to live the father's unfulfilled ambitions..."
Or the sequel to Dreams of My Father?
I can't say I am fond of the hereditary politician.
The interesting thing about the elder Romney's campaign in 1968 is that some openly questioned his eligibility to be president. George was born July 8, 1907 in Galeana, Chihuahua, Mexico. His grandfather moved to a Mormon colony there and the Romney's claimed they never relinquished US citizenship. Sounds familiar, eh?
George flipped on his stance about the Viet Nam War (he was for it before he was against it) and told a Detroit reporter he felt the US military brass had "brainwashed him." It was a poor choice of words and it cost him the nomination.
His fellow governor, Jim Rhodes of Ohio famously said, "Watching George Romney run for the presidency was like watching a duck try to [make love to] a football."
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Jul '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
One wonders how much of what motivates Mitt is to be the First Mormon President.
Aug '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
Wow. I'd forgotten. Not good. But at least now, by studying senior, we'll have a wealth of clues about junior and how he's likely to do.
May '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
Comments moved to above.
Edited on May 18, 2011 at 12:04pmJun '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
So Mitt inherited the flip-flop tendency from his dad, I see.
Nov '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
Gee, should we be wondering how much JFK was motivated by being the first Catholic president?
Or perhaps one could view G.W. Bush (Jeb, too) and Mitt Romney as motivated by a family tradition of service to one's country. Both family backgrounds provide an impeccable case for this argument.
May '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
It was never a question of Jack's motivation. It was old man Joe. Had Joe, Jr. survived the war it would have been him pushed to the White House, not Jack.
Wasn't talking about how we should view it. It's how one's political enemies spin it. That's part of the "electability" equation. Think like your enemy. Learn your own weaknesses. Then do battle.
Re: Daddy Issues II
At the time George Romney made that comment, some wit retorted that, if the military brainwashed him over Vietnam, he must have taken a light load to the laundry. I think the same charge could be lodged against the son. Mitt Romney is -- as Matt Latimer argues at The Daily Beast -- robotic. He has the money, and he has the organization, but he doesn't have a clue. Witness his defense of Romneycare. God help us if he is nominated! The last thing that we need is for the Republican Party to offer an echo and not a choice.
Edited on May 18, 2011 at 4:11pmJan '11
Re: Daddy Issues II
To this day I cannot understand why saying "I was brainwashed" (about the Vietnam war) was political suicide. His dad was a competent executive (of American Motors) and governor (of Michigan). Apparently he ran afoul of the elite crowd and lost out to Nixon. Some of my incomprehension has come back in listening to comments against the son.
May '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
The idea behind the primaries is to beat the bejeebers out of each other, expose the weakest and thin the herd. The problem is that, in the past, flawed candidates have sewn up the nomination before that process was complete.
When we here at Ricochet expose this weakness or that weakness, it's not personal, it's not hatred, but part of the process. When we don't do it, the Dems do it big time in the general election. And Mitt is a weak, flawed candidate.
Apr '11
Re: Daddy Issues II
The Romney candidacy should be decided on the merits (or demerits) of the man and not the merits (or demerits) of the father.
Mitt Romney has a sufficient record that we can make an evaluation without resort to Freud.
(And I say this as someone who thinks he would be an awful nominee.)
May '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
Support for the war was still pretty high in 1968. It wouldn't really turn for another couple of years. Was George Romney right? In hindsight.
In March 1969 polls indicate that 19% of Americans want the war to end as soon as possible, 26% want South Vietnam to take over responsibility for the war from the U.S., 19% favor the current policy and 33% want total military victory. That's 52% that either wanted to go on or win.
Edited on May 18, 2011 at 4:33pmAug '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
Last I checked Mitt Romney isn't responsible for the words or actions of his father (unless he's saying the exact same things). If we let the Left dictate to us how to assess our own candidates we've lost before we start. We're going to have to put up with whatever the Left does to tarnish a conservative candidate so we might as well pick one that is good on the merits.
Electability is important, but I'd rather not play by their rules of what constitutes electability. When we do that we get candidates like Sen. McCain.
Re: Daddy Issues II
I'm sorry, but the last sentence, combined with that graphic, ...I can't quit laughing. I may have something coherent to say later. Gotta dry my eyes first.
Nov '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
A little blurb from a presidential primary brochure in 1968. I was a resident of Michigan at the time and a child of politically active Republican parents, so I remember this campaign:
Governor George Romney brought Michigan back from financial ruin. The state was over $100 million in the red; state employees were experiencing "payless paydays." George Romney cleaned up this Democratic mess. He applied business efficiency to state agencies. He reversed the business and industrial exodus from Michigan. He restored his state's reputation for fiscal responsibility. George Romney put Michigan in the black and expanded state services without raising taxes. Today, he's continuing his fight for tax reform and financial integrity in his state and nation.
As for the unfortunate remark regarding Viet Nam- the entire country, including the POTUS- was "brain-washed" by Robert McNamara's manipulation of data.
Edited on May 18, 2011 at 4:42pmJun '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
Yuh, the company that gave us the Rambler, the Gremlin and the Pacer. I can recall long trips by car before the interstate system was complete. Whenever we ran into a traffic jam, dad always swore, "it's probably a broken down Rambler." The funny part is that frequently it was! As for the Gremlin, it took a lot of engineering expertise to chop off the back half of a vehicle and move the rear axel forward. AMC's answer to Japanese competition. The Pacer was the first American vehicle with a dragnet to catch the parts that flew off the car when you put it in drive. Aside from that and looking like a fishbowl on wheels, there was nothing wrong with it. Glad you reminded me. BTW, anyone seen one of these vehicles on the road . . . in the past 25 years or so?
Edited on May 18, 2011 at 4:35pmJul '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
Because he wasn't brainwashed. Perhaps he was given bad info. Maybe he was even mislead. He most certainly was not brainwashed. What's more, if he had been, that would have disqualified him.
May '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
That's not true. The left masks our candidate's flaws in the primaries by telling us they'd vote for them. Then the general election comes around and the slaughter comes.
Nov '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
EJHill
It was never a question of Jack's motivation. It was old man Joe. Had Joe, Jr. survived the war it would have been him pushed to the White House, not Jack.
Wasn't talking about how we should view it. It's how one's political enemies spin it. That's part of the "electability" equation. Think like your enemy. Learn your own weaknesses. Then do battle. · May 18 at 4:05pm
Valid point, Mr. EJ Hill, but I am finding it more and more unpalatable to allow the enemies to direct the debate.
May '10
Re: Daddy Issues II
We're still cowed by Goldwater's debacle. Sure, Goldwater was the conservative icon, but four years later LBJ couldn't been elected dog catcher.
Since Reagan, well articulated conservatism wins. Wishy-washy-I'll-manage-the-welfare-state-efficiently does not.
Feb '11
Re: Daddy Issues II
Mitt needs a better slogan, something with the rhyming punch of George's "Great for '68." How about, "Shelve for '12?"