Aa
Democrats use Kennedy ‘tribute’ video to attack Romney
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/democrats-kennedy-tribute-video-attack-romney-001630607--election.html
CHARLOTTE—Democrats offered a not-so-subtle attack on Mitt Romney's policy shifts over the years, playing a video of Romney embracing more moderate views on issues like abortion when he was running for Senate in 1994 against the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
The clips were featured in a "tribute" video to Kennedy aired at the Democratic National Convention and featured footage of debates between Romney and Kennedy during the 1994 race.
CLICK LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO!!....
CHARLOTTE—Democrats offered a not-so-subtle attack on Mitt Romney's policy shifts over the years, playing a video of Romney embracing more moderate views on issues like abortion when he was running for Senate in 1994 against the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
The clips were featured in a "tribute" video to Kennedy aired at the Democratic National Convention and featured footage of debates between Romney and Kennedy during the 1994 race.
CLICK LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO!!....
6. Letting Sudan off the hook for the Darfur genocide
In 2004, Senator Obama was a prominent supporter of a “humanitarian intervention” to halt state-sponsored mass killing in Darfur, declaring in a speech that “we cannot, in good conscience, stand by and let the genocide continue.” He advocated tough UN sanctions against the brutal regime of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, which “should freeze the assets of the Sudanese government, its leaders and business affiliates; outlaw arms sales and transfers to Sudan; and prohibit the purchase of Chinese oil.”
However, as president, Obama dramatically changed his tune, extending the hand of friendship to Bashir, despite the fact the Sudanese government and its proxy Janjaweed Arab militias had butchered hundreds of thousands of people. As Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Major General J. Scott Gration put it, describing the new strategy of appeasement:
“We’ve got to think about giving out cookies. Kids, countries — they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement.”
7. Backing a federal Europe after defending national sovereignty
In July 2009 the president made a striking defence of the principle of national sovereignty in a speech he gave at the New Economic School in Moscow. President Obama spoke in eloquent terms of:
“America’s interest in an international system that advances cooperation while respecting the sovereignty of all nations. State sovereignty must be a cornerstone of international order. Just as all states should have the right to choose their leaders, states must have the right to borders that are secure, and to their own foreign policies. That is true for Russia, just as it is true for the United States. Any system that cedes those rights will lead to anarchy.”
His administration, however, has done all it can to advance the pooling of national sovereignty in Europe, and the rise of a European superstate. In her meeting with EU Foreign Policy chief Baroness Ashton in January, Hillary Clinton described the Lisbon Treaty, a blueprint for a European federal superstate, as “a major milestone in our world’s history”, and Obama's Ambassador to London, Louis Susman, told a group of MEPs in Brussels that “all key issues must run through Europe.”
8. Pledging to restore America’s standing in the world but lowering it instead
A key foreign policy theme of the Obama presidential election campaign was the notion that President Bush had damaged America’s image on the world stage, with his supposedly ‘cowboy’ policies. In the words of a campaign document, “Barack Obama and Joe Biden will restore America’s standing in the world by providing a new American leadership to meet the challenges of a new century”.
As president, however, Obama has done exactly the opposite, insulting key allies such as Great Britain, Israel and Poland, projecting weak leadership, and undermining the standing of the United States as the world’s only superpower. As I’ve noted before:
No American president in modern times has invested less effort in maintaining US alliances than Barack Obama. Whether it is siding with Marxists in Honduras against pro-American forces, condemning Israel, throwing the Poles and Czechs under the bus, or trashing the Anglo-American Special Relationship, the Obama administration has gone out of its way to kick its allies in the teeth while kowtowing to America’s enemies. For a president who boasted in his election campaign of restoring America’s “standing” in the world, Obama has done a spectacularly bad job of preserving friendships with Washington’s closest friends.
9. Dumping Mubarak in Egypt after calling him a "stalwart ally"
Big picture foreign policy strategy has not been a forté of this administration, as demonstrated by its inconsistent policy on Egypt and the Middle East. In an interview with the BBC’s Justin Webb in June 2009, when asked if he viewed President Mubarak as an authoritarian ruler, President Obama declared:
No, I tend not to use labels for folks. I haven't met him; I've spoken to him on the phone. He has been a stalwart ally, in many respects, to the United States. He has sustained peace with Israel, which is a very difficult thing to do in that region, but he has never resorted to unnecessary demagoguing of the issue and has tried to maintain that relationship. So I think he has been a force for stability and good in the region.
20 months later, the White House emphatically called for Mubarak to go.
10. Killing the NASA manned space programme
In August 2008, Senator Obama announced, as The Washington Post noted, “a detailed comprehensive space plan that includes $2 billion in new funding to reinvigorate NASA”. In the president’s words:
"As president, I'll make our space program a priority again by devoting the attention and resources needed to not only inspire the world with feats of exploration but also improve life here on Earth."
But, as The Washington Post reported in March 2010, President Obama later shattered the dreams of the NASA community with a decision “to kill NASA's Constellation program, crafted during the Bush administration with an ambitious goal of putting astronauts back on the moon by 2020.” In the words of Harrison Schmitt, a former US senator and Apollo 17 astronaut: “It’s bad for the country. This administration really doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism.”
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100083104/the-u-turn-president-barack-obama-top-ten-flip-flops/
In 2004, Senator Obama was a prominent supporter of a “humanitarian intervention” to halt state-sponsored mass killing in Darfur, declaring in a speech that “we cannot, in good conscience, stand by and let the genocide continue.” He advocated tough UN sanctions against the brutal regime of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, which “should freeze the assets of the Sudanese government, its leaders and business affiliates; outlaw arms sales and transfers to Sudan; and prohibit the purchase of Chinese oil.”
However, as president, Obama dramatically changed his tune, extending the hand of friendship to Bashir, despite the fact the Sudanese government and its proxy Janjaweed Arab militias had butchered hundreds of thousands of people. As Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Major General J. Scott Gration put it, describing the new strategy of appeasement:
“We’ve got to think about giving out cookies. Kids, countries — they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement.”
7. Backing a federal Europe after defending national sovereignty
In July 2009 the president made a striking defence of the principle of national sovereignty in a speech he gave at the New Economic School in Moscow. President Obama spoke in eloquent terms of:
“America’s interest in an international system that advances cooperation while respecting the sovereignty of all nations. State sovereignty must be a cornerstone of international order. Just as all states should have the right to choose their leaders, states must have the right to borders that are secure, and to their own foreign policies. That is true for Russia, just as it is true for the United States. Any system that cedes those rights will lead to anarchy.”
His administration, however, has done all it can to advance the pooling of national sovereignty in Europe, and the rise of a European superstate. In her meeting with EU Foreign Policy chief Baroness Ashton in January, Hillary Clinton described the Lisbon Treaty, a blueprint for a European federal superstate, as “a major milestone in our world’s history”, and Obama's Ambassador to London, Louis Susman, told a group of MEPs in Brussels that “all key issues must run through Europe.”
8. Pledging to restore America’s standing in the world but lowering it instead
A key foreign policy theme of the Obama presidential election campaign was the notion that President Bush had damaged America’s image on the world stage, with his supposedly ‘cowboy’ policies. In the words of a campaign document, “Barack Obama and Joe Biden will restore America’s standing in the world by providing a new American leadership to meet the challenges of a new century”.
As president, however, Obama has done exactly the opposite, insulting key allies such as Great Britain, Israel and Poland, projecting weak leadership, and undermining the standing of the United States as the world’s only superpower. As I’ve noted before:
No American president in modern times has invested less effort in maintaining US alliances than Barack Obama. Whether it is siding with Marxists in Honduras against pro-American forces, condemning Israel, throwing the Poles and Czechs under the bus, or trashing the Anglo-American Special Relationship, the Obama administration has gone out of its way to kick its allies in the teeth while kowtowing to America’s enemies. For a president who boasted in his election campaign of restoring America’s “standing” in the world, Obama has done a spectacularly bad job of preserving friendships with Washington’s closest friends.
9. Dumping Mubarak in Egypt after calling him a "stalwart ally"
Big picture foreign policy strategy has not been a forté of this administration, as demonstrated by its inconsistent policy on Egypt and the Middle East. In an interview with the BBC’s Justin Webb in June 2009, when asked if he viewed President Mubarak as an authoritarian ruler, President Obama declared:
No, I tend not to use labels for folks. I haven't met him; I've spoken to him on the phone. He has been a stalwart ally, in many respects, to the United States. He has sustained peace with Israel, which is a very difficult thing to do in that region, but he has never resorted to unnecessary demagoguing of the issue and has tried to maintain that relationship. So I think he has been a force for stability and good in the region.
20 months later, the White House emphatically called for Mubarak to go.
10. Killing the NASA manned space programme
In August 2008, Senator Obama announced, as The Washington Post noted, “a detailed comprehensive space plan that includes $2 billion in new funding to reinvigorate NASA”. In the president’s words:
"As president, I'll make our space program a priority again by devoting the attention and resources needed to not only inspire the world with feats of exploration but also improve life here on Earth."
But, as The Washington Post reported in March 2010, President Obama later shattered the dreams of the NASA community with a decision “to kill NASA's Constellation program, crafted during the Bush administration with an ambitious goal of putting astronauts back on the moon by 2020.” In the words of Harrison Schmitt, a former US senator and Apollo 17 astronaut: “It’s bad for the country. This administration really doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism.”
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100083104/the-u-turn-president-barack-obama-top-ten-flip-flops/
Don't really have the time to go thought all of these but how are they flip flops? Just because it worked against Kerry doesn't mean it will work again.
Anyway here is for your leader...
1. Keeping Guantanamo open
Undoubtedly Obama’s biggest flip-flop, his decision to keep the Guantanamo detention facility in operation has outraged his liberal supporters and ‘shocked’ European governments, who, needless to say, had overwhelmingly declined to take large numbers of dangerous terror suspects off the hands of the US government.
As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama had condemned President Bush for supposedly “running prisons which lock people away without telling them why they’re there or what they’re charged with”, and signed an executive order shutting the facility down immediately upon taking office. Two years later Guantanamo still holds 172 detainees, and plays a vital role in the long war against Islamist terrorism.
2. Bringing back military tribunals for terror suspects
As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama was a firm opponent of the Bush administration’s military tribunals, which he said “failed to establish a legitimate legal framework and undermined our capacity to ensure swift and certain justice.” But, as The New York Times reported last week, “President Obama on Monday reversed his two-year-old order halting new military charges against detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, permitting military trials to resume with revamped procedures but implicitly admitting the failure of his pledge to close the prison camp”, paving the way for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-conspirators to face trial at Guantanamo.
3. Continuing renditions of terror suspects
In a 2007 Foreign Affairs article, Senator Obama gave a strong indication that he would end the Bush administration practice of rendition of terror suspects:
“To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people… This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.”
But, as The New York Times reported in August 2009, the Obama administration’s Interrogation and Transfer Task Force announced that it would retain renditions, but with what The Times referred to as “more oversight”.
4. Ordering military action in Libya without seeking Congressional authorisation
President Obama has shown a striking lack of consistency with regard to the question of Congressional authorisation and the use of force. In a 2007 interview with The Boston Globe, then Senator Obama declared:
“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.”
However, as president in March 2011, Barack Obama authorised military action against the Libyan regime without consulting Congress, a decision which drew heavy fire on Capitol Hill.
5. Dropping Third Site missile defences in order to appease the Russians
In his Prague speech in April 2009, President Obama pledged to move forward with the Bush-era plans for Third Site missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic:
So let me be clear: Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran's neighbors and our allies. The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defense against these missiles. As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with a missile defense system that is cost-effective and proven.
Just six months later however, the Obama administration surrendered to Russian demands, and dramatically dropped plans for Third Site. As I noted at the time, "this was a shameful abandonment of America’s friends in eastern and central Europe, and a slap in the face for those who actually believed a key agreement with Washington was worth the paper it was written on."
Anyway here is for your leader...
1. Keeping Guantanamo open
Undoubtedly Obama’s biggest flip-flop, his decision to keep the Guantanamo detention facility in operation has outraged his liberal supporters and ‘shocked’ European governments, who, needless to say, had overwhelmingly declined to take large numbers of dangerous terror suspects off the hands of the US government.
As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama had condemned President Bush for supposedly “running prisons which lock people away without telling them why they’re there or what they’re charged with”, and signed an executive order shutting the facility down immediately upon taking office. Two years later Guantanamo still holds 172 detainees, and plays a vital role in the long war against Islamist terrorism.
2. Bringing back military tribunals for terror suspects
As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama was a firm opponent of the Bush administration’s military tribunals, which he said “failed to establish a legitimate legal framework and undermined our capacity to ensure swift and certain justice.” But, as The New York Times reported last week, “President Obama on Monday reversed his two-year-old order halting new military charges against detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, permitting military trials to resume with revamped procedures but implicitly admitting the failure of his pledge to close the prison camp”, paving the way for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-conspirators to face trial at Guantanamo.
3. Continuing renditions of terror suspects
In a 2007 Foreign Affairs article, Senator Obama gave a strong indication that he would end the Bush administration practice of rendition of terror suspects:
“To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people… This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.”
But, as The New York Times reported in August 2009, the Obama administration’s Interrogation and Transfer Task Force announced that it would retain renditions, but with what The Times referred to as “more oversight”.
4. Ordering military action in Libya without seeking Congressional authorisation
President Obama has shown a striking lack of consistency with regard to the question of Congressional authorisation and the use of force. In a 2007 interview with The Boston Globe, then Senator Obama declared:
“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.”
However, as president in March 2011, Barack Obama authorised military action against the Libyan regime without consulting Congress, a decision which drew heavy fire on Capitol Hill.
5. Dropping Third Site missile defences in order to appease the Russians
In his Prague speech in April 2009, President Obama pledged to move forward with the Bush-era plans for Third Site missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic:
So let me be clear: Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran's neighbors and our allies. The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defense against these missiles. As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with a missile defense system that is cost-effective and proven.
Just six months later however, the Obama administration surrendered to Russian demands, and dramatically dropped plans for Third Site. As I noted at the time, "this was a shameful abandonment of America’s friends in eastern and central Europe, and a slap in the face for those who actually believed a key agreement with Washington was worth the paper it was written on."
ABORTION
Flip
"I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it. I sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice." — Debate with Sen. Edward Kennedy, 1994
"I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard." — Massachusetts Gubernatorial Debate, 2002
Flop
"Look, I was pro-choice. I am pro-life. You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said in 1994. I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I changed my position." — Iowa Straw poll debate, 2007
"What I would like to see happen would be for the Supreme Court to say, look, we’re going to overturn Roe v. Wade and return to the states the authority to decide whether they want to have abortion or not, state by state. That’s the way it was before Roe v. Wade. So I am firmly pro-life." — Town hall meeting, Hopkinton, NH, 2011
HUNTING
Flip
"I purchased a gun when I was a young man. I've been a hunter pretty much all my life." — On the campaign trail in Keene, N.H., 2007
Flop
"Any description of my being a hunter is an overstatement of capability." — Comment to a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman, 2007
RONALD REAGAN
Flip
"I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush." — Debate with Sen. Edward Kennedy, 1994
Flop
"When I was running for office for the first time in 1994, I was trying to define who I was…. I’ve said since, and continue to reiterate, that one of my heroes is Ronald Reagan." — Q&A with Human Events, 2006
DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL
Flip
Romney once said he was in favor of "gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly" in the military. — Letter to Log Cabin Republicans, 1994
Flop
"[Don't Ask Don't Tell has] been the policy now in the military for, what, 10, 15 years – and it seems to have worked. This is not the time to put in major change, a social experiment, in the middle of a war going on." — Presidential primary debate, 2007
VIETNAM
Flip
"I was not planning on signing up for the military. It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam." — Quoted by the Boston Herald, 1994
Flop
"I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam." — Quoted by the Boston Globe, 2007
GUN CONTROL
Flip
"We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts. I support them. I won't chip away at them." — Gubernatorial debate, 2002
"Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts." — Signing ceremony for bill banning assault weapons, 2004
Flop
"I don’t support any gun control legislation, the effort for a new assault weapons ban, with a ban on semi-automatic weapons, is something I would oppose." — Interview with conservative bloggers, 2008
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Flip
"I like mandates. Mandates work." — Presidential primary debate, 2008
"I'm proud of what we've done. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing [Romneycare], then that will be a model for the nation." — Speech in Baltimore, 2007
Flop
"At the time I crafted the plan in the last campaign I was asked is [Romneycare] something that you would have the whole nation do, and I said no. This is something that was crafted for Massachusetts. It would be wrong to adopt this as a nation." — Presidential primary debate, 2011
Bret Baier: "Governor, you did say on camera and in other places, at times you thought [Romneycare] would be a model for the nation."
Mitt Romney: "You're wrong, Bret." — Fox News interview, 2011
CLIMATE CHANGE
Flip
"I believe the world’s getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that. ... And so I think it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you're seeing." — Town hall meeting, Manchester, NH, June 2011
Flop
"My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us." — Q&A session, Pittsburg, PA, October 2011
BUSH TAX CUTS
Flip
"[R]omney spoke at the 10th annual legislative conference organized by U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Lowell) and met with the Massachusetts delegation. ... Congressional sources said that a point of contention arose when Romney refused to take a position on Bush’s massive, 10-year tax cut plan.” — Boston Herald, 2003
Flop
"McCain opposed President Bush’s tax cuts, Romney noted. 'I supported them,' the former governor said." — Quoted in The State (SC), 2007
TAX PLEDGES
Flip
"I'm not intending to, at this stage, sign a document which would prevent me from being able to look specifically at the revenue needs of the commonwealth. " — Quoted in Union-News, Springfield, MA, 2002
"Signing the pledge now sends a very clear message to those in Washington who have voted against tax relief and for tax hikes that such actions will never grow our regional and national economies." — Romney spokesman quoted in the Boston Globe, 2007
FLIP-FLOPPING
Flip
"I’m a strong believer in stating your position and not wavering." — Comments to NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts, 2002
Flop
"I changed my position." — Iowa straw poll debate, 2007
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/mitt-romneys-biggest-flip-flops-20120801#ixzz25bd6IeEG
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/mitt-romneys-biggest-flip-flops-20120801
Flip
"I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it. I sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice." — Debate with Sen. Edward Kennedy, 1994
"I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard." — Massachusetts Gubernatorial Debate, 2002
Flop
"Look, I was pro-choice. I am pro-life. You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said in 1994. I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I changed my position." — Iowa Straw poll debate, 2007
"What I would like to see happen would be for the Supreme Court to say, look, we’re going to overturn Roe v. Wade and return to the states the authority to decide whether they want to have abortion or not, state by state. That’s the way it was before Roe v. Wade. So I am firmly pro-life." — Town hall meeting, Hopkinton, NH, 2011
HUNTING
Flip
"I purchased a gun when I was a young man. I've been a hunter pretty much all my life." — On the campaign trail in Keene, N.H., 2007
Flop
"Any description of my being a hunter is an overstatement of capability." — Comment to a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman, 2007
RONALD REAGAN
Flip
"I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush." — Debate with Sen. Edward Kennedy, 1994
Flop
"When I was running for office for the first time in 1994, I was trying to define who I was…. I’ve said since, and continue to reiterate, that one of my heroes is Ronald Reagan." — Q&A with Human Events, 2006
DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL
Flip
Romney once said he was in favor of "gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly" in the military. — Letter to Log Cabin Republicans, 1994
Flop
"[Don't Ask Don't Tell has] been the policy now in the military for, what, 10, 15 years – and it seems to have worked. This is not the time to put in major change, a social experiment, in the middle of a war going on." — Presidential primary debate, 2007
VIETNAM
Flip
"I was not planning on signing up for the military. It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam." — Quoted by the Boston Herald, 1994
Flop
"I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam." — Quoted by the Boston Globe, 2007
GUN CONTROL
Flip
"We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts. I support them. I won't chip away at them." — Gubernatorial debate, 2002
"Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts." — Signing ceremony for bill banning assault weapons, 2004
Flop
"I don’t support any gun control legislation, the effort for a new assault weapons ban, with a ban on semi-automatic weapons, is something I would oppose." — Interview with conservative bloggers, 2008
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Flip
"I like mandates. Mandates work." — Presidential primary debate, 2008
"I'm proud of what we've done. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing [Romneycare], then that will be a model for the nation." — Speech in Baltimore, 2007
Flop
"At the time I crafted the plan in the last campaign I was asked is [Romneycare] something that you would have the whole nation do, and I said no. This is something that was crafted for Massachusetts. It would be wrong to adopt this as a nation." — Presidential primary debate, 2011
Bret Baier: "Governor, you did say on camera and in other places, at times you thought [Romneycare] would be a model for the nation."
Mitt Romney: "You're wrong, Bret." — Fox News interview, 2011
CLIMATE CHANGE
Flip
"I believe the world’s getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that. ... And so I think it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you're seeing." — Town hall meeting, Manchester, NH, June 2011
Flop
"My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us." — Q&A session, Pittsburg, PA, October 2011
BUSH TAX CUTS
Flip
"[R]omney spoke at the 10th annual legislative conference organized by U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Lowell) and met with the Massachusetts delegation. ... Congressional sources said that a point of contention arose when Romney refused to take a position on Bush’s massive, 10-year tax cut plan.” — Boston Herald, 2003
Flop
"McCain opposed President Bush’s tax cuts, Romney noted. 'I supported them,' the former governor said." — Quoted in The State (SC), 2007
TAX PLEDGES
Flip
"I'm not intending to, at this stage, sign a document which would prevent me from being able to look specifically at the revenue needs of the commonwealth. " — Quoted in Union-News, Springfield, MA, 2002
"Signing the pledge now sends a very clear message to those in Washington who have voted against tax relief and for tax hikes that such actions will never grow our regional and national economies." — Romney spokesman quoted in the Boston Globe, 2007
FLIP-FLOPPING
Flip
"I’m a strong believer in stating your position and not wavering." — Comments to NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts, 2002
Flop
"I changed my position." — Iowa straw poll debate, 2007
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/mitt-romneys-biggest-flip-flops-20120801#ixzz25bd6IeEG
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/mitt-romneys-biggest-flip-flops-20120801
Exampls of that?
He's probably not even the same guy as he was last night.
He's a flip-flopper - just much more practiced and a lot more flipped-flopped.
Mike
He's a flip-flopper - just much more practiced and a lot more flipped-flopped.
Mike
Ok Mike it was back in 1994, yeah nothing changes the person is still the same right? Give me a break.
Politicians have "evolution" in thought, to get votes... period.
Ones stance on abortion. One's stance on gay marriage. One's stance on taxation ideology. One's stance on illegal immigration.
Those are CORE beliefs, and once you develop your thoughts or your own personal 'stance' on a particular item or topic, it's ingrained in you.
The only reason any politician would decide that they're FOR abortion one day, and AGAINST it the next day, is because the political climate dictates that their view should "evolve".
Both Mitt & Barack have had evolution's in their views... because it'll help get them elected (because their handler's have told them so).
Ones stance on abortion. One's stance on gay marriage. One's stance on taxation ideology. One's stance on illegal immigration.
Those are CORE beliefs, and once you develop your thoughts or your own personal 'stance' on a particular item or topic, it's ingrained in you.
The only reason any politician would decide that they're FOR abortion one day, and AGAINST it the next day, is because the political climate dictates that their view should "evolve".
Both Mitt & Barack have had evolution's in their views... because it'll help get them elected (because their handler's have told them so).
The only thing about the Kennedy/Romney video that was pathetic was Romney. He looked so out-gunned by Kennedy that I almost felt sorry for him - almost. Kennedy made minced meat out of him. I loved his line about Mitt changing his positions so much that maybe in 2 weeks Mitt would end up voting for Ted.
It's obvious why a Romney supporter wouldn't like that video - Romney got clobbered.
Mike
It's obvious why a Romney supporter wouldn't like that video - Romney got clobbered.
Mike
Video was pathetic to use him and that Senate race, because if you research it more you will find out that he was encouraged to move more middle on some issues to get elected, like a lot of candidates do and like Obama did.
Well I have not evolved. I too think marriage should be between a man and a woman. That is MY personal view. With that said, I also believe that these people have just as many rights as I do,regardless of my personal view. I feel the same about abortion. I am not pro abortion, I am pro choice and while I cannot think about ever having an abortion or even consider that thought for one of my daughters I still believe in their right to make that decision regardless of my personal views.
The Kennedy tribute was AWESOME!
The Kennedy tribute was AWESOME!
Ok, I have to be fair here. When Obama took office he did in fact state that his personal belief was that marriage was between a man and a women. Now he says he firmly believes gay people should be allowed to get married. He say's he has evolved. I truly believe that happens to lots of people and accept that. So I have to believe the same as Romney - that his feeling on issues have changed. And I have to respect his belief and accept that that happens to all of us.
Now, do I believe deep down that both of their "change of hearts" probably has more to do with votes then a true belief in what they say? Yeah, but we can't really say it's ok for one persons feelings to change without accepting the others may have as well. Know what I mean?
Now, do I believe deep down that both of their "change of hearts" probably has more to do with votes then a true belief in what they say? Yeah, but we can't really say it's ok for one persons feelings to change without accepting the others may have as well. Know what I mean?
WOW Teddy had Romney stumped!
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