Shock: Romney Press Secretary Praises Universal Health Care

Losing the thread

PoliticsAugust 2012 • Views: 22,411

Your campaign-in-utter-disarray moment of the day, as Romney press secretary Andrea Saul responds to an ad from Super PAC Priorities USA by … praising universal health care: Romney Spokesperson Cites Massachusetts Health Law.

A Mitt Romney spokesperson offered an unusual counterattack Tuesday to an ad in which a laid-off steelworker blames the presumptive GOP nominee for his family losing health care: If that family had lived in Massachusetts, it would have been covered by the former governor’s universal health care law.

“To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care,” Andrea Saul, Romney’s campaign press secretary, said during an appearance on Fox News. “There are a lot of people losing their jobs and losing their health care in President [Barack] Obama’s economy.” …

Bill Burton, a strategist for Priorities USA, said he’s as “stunned as anyone that [Saul] would invoke Romney’s support for individual mandates, particularly in a state that wasn’t Massachusetts.”

“They’re clearly sputtering in response to very painful stories from workers who lost their jobs, their health care and their pension benefits,” Burton said.

Here’s the ad that has the Romney campaign in a tail-spin:

YouTube Video

Jump to bottom

119 comments

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:38:34am

Upon hearing this, Romney responded "Abort, retry, fail? Abort, retry, fail?"

erik_t Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:38:41am

It's becoming legitimately uncomfortable to watch this campaign flail around. It's like senility writ large.

I cannot fathom putting such a hapless crew in charge of anything so important as a small state, never mind a country.

mr.fusion Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:38:41am

Haha

I was just reading the comments over at HA on this story. Let's just say they aren't exactly thrilled with their candidate or campaign right now

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:39:33am

Finally, someone in the Romney campaign tells the truth...

AK-47% Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:41:00am

Again: Mitt Romney did not suffocate that steelworker's wife while she was lying in the hospital! We deny those unfounded charges!

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:42:39am

re: #3 mr.fusion

Haha

I was just reading the comments over at HA on this story. Let's just say they aren't exactly thrilled with their candidate or campaign right now

Youtube Video

AK-47% Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:42:46am

In Mitt's deal economy, we would all be lined up outside the Home Depot every morning, waiting for an executive to show up and announce: "I need six accountants, two key-account managers and two IT people, eight bucks an hour, no benefits!"

Bulworth Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:43:38am

“To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care,” Andrea Saul, Romney’s campaign press secretary, said during an appearance on Fox News. And then President Romney will repeal Obamacare, which is just like the healthcare people would have had if they lived in Massachusetts but won't have now because President Romney will repeal it. Freedom!"

Interesting Times Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:44:30am

If idiot hacks like Mark Halperin are calling the ad "despicable", that means it's effective. More please!

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:45:31am

re: #9 Interesting Times

yeah, sorry but Mark Halperin can go take a long walk off a short pier.

iossarian Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:46:55am

re: #9 Interesting Times

If idiot hacks like Mark Halperin are calling the ad "despicable", that means it's effective. More please!

It is despicable to point out that under Republicans, lots of people die of preventable diseases while a select few bosses get very, very rich.

SanFranciscoZionist Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:47:08am

re: #5 Expand Your Ground

Again: Mitt Romney did not suffocate that steelworker's wife while she was lying in the hospital! We deny those unfounded charges!

I guess I'll vote for him then. I have low standards, but I draw the line at suffocation.

Lidane Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:47:39am

re: #3 mr.fusion

Haha

I was just reading the comments over at HA on this story. Let's just say they aren't exactly thrilled with their candidate or campaign right now

If someone is brave enough to go look at Freep's reaction to this, I'll be grateful. I'd do it myself, but I'm too busy trolling through LinkedIn for work.

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:48:12am

Mitt Romney's campaign is simply horrible. Bob Shrum has summed it up in an article in the Daily Beast. He pegs Romney as an "uncaring and disconnected candidate from and for the privileged" and just "another airhead son of a famous father." I am looking for Romney to loose by huge margins in November.

efuseakay Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:49:41am

re: #14 S'latch

Mitt Romney's campaign is simply horrible. Bob Shrum has summed it up in an article in the Daily Beast. He pegs Romney as an "uncaring and disconnected candidate from and for the privileged" and just "another airhead son of a famous father." I am looking for Romney to loose by huge margins in November.

Not if he tights, first!

Targetpractice Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:49:51am

re: #13 Lidane

If someone is brave enough to go look at Freep's reaction to this, I'll be grateful. I'd do it myself, but I'm too busy trolling through LinkedIn for work.

Give me a sec to don my hazmat suit.

Lidane Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:50:38am

re: #14 S'latch

Mitt Romney's campaign is simply horrible.

His campaign is seriously making Pat Paulsen's fake campaigns from the 80's look like genius political work in comparison.

I don't think I've seen a presidential campaign this unfocused and lame in ages. Even Ross Perot had enough discipline to torture all of us with 30-minute ad buys and pie charts.

SanFranciscoZionist Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:51:41am

re: #14 S'latch

Mitt Romney's campaign is simply horrible. Bob Shrum has summed it up in an article in the Daily Beast. He pegs Romney as an "uncaring and disconnected candidate from and for the privileged" and just "another airhead son of a famous father." I am looking for Romney to loose by huge margins in November.

Can he just not afford any better than this? I know he's personally richer than God, but he's raised a lot less money than Obama.

It's just a bad campaign.

SanFranciscoZionist Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:52:44am

re: #17 Lidane

His campaign is seriously making Pat Paulsen's fake campaigns from the 80's look like genius political work in comparison.

I don't think I've seen a presidential campaign this unfocused and lame in ages. Even Ross Perot had enough discipline to torture all of us with 30-minute ad buys and pie charts.

Perot was also charismatic. Romney reminds me of a political parody of a San Francisco mayoral race many years ago, where Roberta Achtenberg was described as 'so wooden she had sprouted branches'.

erik_t Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:53:33am

re: #17 Lidane

I don't think I've seen a presidential campaign this unfocused and lame in ages. Even Ross Perot had enough discipline to torture all of us with 30-minute ad buys and pie charts.

The key seems to be a profound lack of organizational discipline. For someone who, at various points, intends to stake their claim based on running a successful company... by god Romney couldn't keep his ducks in a row if he had duct tape and a straightedge.

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:54:18am

How Romney could have avoided paying any income taxes for the past 10 years

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:57:13am

Mitt's campaign is like a musical amputee. Can't hold a note, can't carry a tune.

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 10:58:12am

re: #18 SanFranciscoZionist

I never really agreed with the theory that money can buy a national election such as a presidential one. Money is necessary to get in the game and to play it, but I believe that it cannot buy a victory. And, I believe that Mitt Romney should serve to prove that it can't.

Targetpractice Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:00:43am

re: #16 Targetpractice

Give me a sec to don my hazmat suit.

----

Somebody find him a big tub of crap to stand in so he doesn’t look like fool walking around looking for a pile to step in.

2 posted on Wednesday, August 08, 2012 1:28:05 PM by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)

----

“Somebody find him a big tub of crap to stand in so he doesn’t look like fool walking around looking for a pile to step in.”

ya what you said... What a collection of morons this candidate and his campaign is...

When you have a candidate with no core conservative principles this is what you get

We are toast

5 posted on Wednesday, August 08, 2012 1:32:21 PM by Breto (The Establishment party is killing our country)

----

What a moron! Why didn’t he point out that the guy’s wife wasn’t refused treatment, and WAS treated even though there was no insurance, and that under Obamacare, the guy would have to pay a fine to the IRS for being uninsured?

7 posted on Wednesday, August 08, 2012 1:39:24 PM by Slump Tester (What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh -Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)

----

The GOP is dead. The sooner conservatives face up to that the sooner we can get about the business of saving the republic.

8 posted on Wednesday, August 08, 2012 1:40:33 PM by EternalVigilance (The saving of America starts the day conservatives stop supporting what they say they hate.)

----

I am convinced there are democrat operatives running Mitt’s campaign. That or they are simpleton morons.

11 posted on Wednesday, August 08, 2012 1:53:43 PM by soycd

makeitstop Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:01:18am

Wow. Amateurs.

I want to see Romney spin his way out of this, but I'm betting that they'll just ignore requests for clarification.

lawhawk Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:01:23am

I wont give it long before someone else from Romney's camp distances themselves from these comments and/or throws Saul under the bus. Heads will roll. Count on it.

The GOP and right wing cannot tolerate this admission of fact.

This is what happens when you have to contort yourself into a pretzel and go run against your prior positions so as to become the GOP nominee (Romney was governor of Mass. when the state enacted its own version of individual mandate and health care reform that expanded health care insurance to more people than ever). At the same time, the GOP used to be for the very individual mandate that Obama secured as part of the health care reform for more than 20 years - up until the moment that Obama enacted it as law. Then, the GOP lost its collective mind and called it unconstitutional even as they had touted the individual mandate for years. They claimed that Congress overstepped its powers, even as it had every right to do under the Constitution.

Opposition to Obama has driven everything the GOP has done. It's all or nothing for the GOP, and Romney's own staff can no longer keep up with the mess even as they are busy lying and obfuscating about practically everything Romney or Obama has done to benefit the Romney campaign (such as taking comments out of context, bowdlerizing, etc.).

erik_t Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:02:21am

re: #21 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

How Romney could have avoided paying any income taxes for the past 10 years

That's surprisingly compelling. Not airtight by any means, but it certainly closes out a lot of open questions.

Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:02:22am

re: #18 SanFranciscoZionist

Can he just not afford any better than this? I know he's personally richer than God, but he's raised a lot less money than Obama.

It's just a bad campaign.

Limbaugh is using "The Producers" as a model for running a GOP campaign that will guarantee his ratings and profits for the next 4-6 years.

Worst possible candidate. Worst possible campaign strategy. Selling the product to the donors wearing idealogical blinders for large scale funding.
/

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:02:38am

re: #24 Targetpractice

Youtube Video

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:03:24am

re: #25 makeitstop

Wow. Amateurs.

I want to see Romney spin his way out of this, but I'm betting that they'll just ignore requests for clarification.

"QUICK! See what the President is saying so we can misquote him!"

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:04:08am

re: #26 lawhawk

I wont give it long before someone else from Romney's camp distances themselves from these comments and/or ~~throws~~ straps Saul ~~under~~ to the roof of the bus. Heads will roll. Count on it.

FTFY

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:07:32am

In which Mitt tries to once again relate to "the average joe"

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:10:50am

re: #32 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

In which Mitt tries to once again relate to "the average joe"

"Hey, I enjoy local sports franchise as much as the next guy."

Mocking Jay Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:11:23am

re: #32 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

In which Mitt tries to once again relate to "the average joe"

The more money you have, the less you have to spend it.

makeitstop Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:12:03am

Another couple of mis-steps like this one and we may get that floor fight at the RNC.

There's gotta be some big-time buyer's remorse going on in Republican circles right now.

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:12:35am

Yeah, I imagine the Romney family would hit up McDonalds all the time.

Targetpractice Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:12:48am

As I watch the Romney campaign, I keep feeling like I'm Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day, because all I see is a Republican version of John Kerry, trying and failing utterly to rewrite himself as something totally opposite what he's sold himself as for years while being totally tone-deaf to the reality that the rich isn't fooling the plebes into believing he's one of them.

Shiplord Kirel Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:12:59am

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson is by far the strongest and most credible presidential candidate the libertarians have ever had. He cannot win over the religious whack-jobs, of course: He is worse than Obama to that mob. He can draw off the rest of the right, however. That could sink Romney's campaign for good if Johnson manages to get into the debates or comes up with an Adelson-style sugar-daddy to buy lots of air time for him.
It would be hilarious if Mitt finished third. I know that's unlikely but it may not be impossible.
The downside is that a GOP rout would give the crazies all the ammunition they need to finish remaking the party in their own image.

Targetpractice Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:13:14am

re: #36 Kragar

Yeah, I imagine the Romney family would hit up McDonalds all the time.

I wouldn't hit up McDonald's on a dare. I couldn't be paid to eat there.

Sheila Broflovski Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:14:10am

re: #39 Targetpractice

I wouldn't hit up McDonald's on a dare. I couldn't be paid to eat there.

I have never eaten at a McD in my life, and proud of it!

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:14:38am

re: #39 Targetpractice

I wouldn't hit up McDonald's on a dare. I couldn't be paid to eat there.

I prefer BK.

Targetpractice Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:15:09am

re: #41 Kragar

I prefer BK.

I like BK's burgers, but Wendy's fries. Why there can't be a merger there, I'll never know.

Mocking Jay Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:16:00am

re: #42 Targetpractice

I like BK's burgers, but Wendy's fries. Why there can't be a merger there, I'll never know.

Five Guys fries all the way.

erik_t Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:16:16am

re: #43 Mocking Jay

Five Guys fries all the way.

In-N-Out on line 1. Culver's on line 2.

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:16:38am

re: #42 Targetpractice

I like BK's burgers, but Wendy's fries. Why there can't be a merger there, I'll never know.

I like their Chicken sandwich. Their fries are pretty good if you get their zesty chipotle sauce.

erik_t Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:18:35am

re: #26 lawhawk

Opposition to Obama has driven everything the GOP has done. It's all or nothing for the GOP, and Romney's own staff can no longer keep up with the mess even as they are busy lying and obfuscating about practically everything Romney or Obama has done to benefit the Romney campaign (such as taking comments out of context, bowdlerizing, etc.).

The counter-point is that it's very easy to drive an opposing campaign to distraction when you get to dictate their positions to them.

NJDhockeyfan Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:20:02am

re: #43 Mocking Jay

Five Guys fries all the way.

The burgers are all beef, the fries made from fresh potatoes, and the bag is very greasy by the time you get to the table or home. It's magnificent :)

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:20:37am

1. In-N-Out
2. Five Guys
3. Fat Burger
4. Burger King

Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:20:54am

re: #47 NJDhockeyfan

The burgers are all beef, the fries made from fresh potatoes, and the bag is very greasy by the time you get to the table or home. It's magnificent :)

their cajun fries rock.

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:22:38am

I really never buy burgers when I eat out.

JeffM70 Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:22:57am

re: #48 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

I do not get the appeal of In-N-Out.

NJDhockeyfan Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:24:13am

re: #51 JeffM70

I do not get the appeal of In-N-Out.

How does it compare to Up-N-Down?

makeitstop Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:24:22am

How long before Romney's money guys start demanding their money back?

Killgore Trout Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:24:27am

re: #26 lawhawk

I wont give it long before someone else from Romney's camp distances themselves from these comments and/or throws Saul under the bus. Heads will roll. Count on it.

It might be a strategy shift.
Romney moves to embrace ‘Romneycare’

Twice today, Mitt Romney’s campaign has cited the health care bill he signed as Massachusetts governor — seeking credit for something it took pains to explain away during the Republican primary race.
...
Still, some say Romney may be wise to address the issue and suggest conservatives will turn out no matter what.

“It is a bit of a risk, but it would help blunt the ‘Romney wants to take away your health care’ argument,” said independent pollster Brad Coker. “I have a notion that the ‘conservatives are not going to show up’ is a canard. They might not love Romney, but they hate Obama more.”

Romney has generally distanced himself from his health care bill, noting that a Democratic-controlled state legislature made changes that he didn’t necessarily agree with. He has also made a federalist argument, saying that states should be entitled to make such changes, but that Washington shouldn’t institute a national bill.

It remains to be seen whether this was a calculated pivot by the Romney campaign or just some wayward messaging. The campaign has not yet responded to a follow-up question.

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:24:40am

So now an individual mandate is good or what. I swear Romney's campaign is a joke.

Mostly sane, most of the time. Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:24:52am

What is the point of owning a grill if you go somewhere else?

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:25:05am

There are a lot of these ads by this "PAC" called Priorities USA Action. It says it is an "Independent Expenditure PAC that supports candidates who will advance policies that . . . blah, blah, blah."

It has a lot of money. It takes in a lot of money. It spends a lot of money. But money is not the thing. The message is the thing. And, this is an effective message because it appears to be honest and relevant.

I don't think money can buy an election. Effective messages win elections. But, it takes money to publicize effective messages.

jaunte Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:25:23am

Advocacy group: 26,000 die prematurely without health insurance

A national health care consumer advocacy group estimates that three Americans die every hour as a result of not having health insurance.

According to "Dying for Coverage," the latest report by Families USA, 72 Americans die each day, 500 Americans die every week and approximately Americans 2,175 die each month, due to lack of health insurance.
......
The report found that the reasons for being uninsured varied, but many of those without health insurance had coverage denied because of pre-existing conditions. Others have been priced out of the market on the heels of a failing economy - a time when keeping their homes and feeding their families took precedence over holding on to insurance in the face of rising premiums. And some lost their benefits when employers stopped providing coverage.

Shiplord Kirel Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:26:29am

re: #38 Shiplord Kirel

On second thought, it's probably inevitable that the crazies will gain complete and permanent control of the Republican Party. The Tea Party here in Texas thinks that Perry and Dewhurst are too liberal. They have their own slate of bat guano candidates ready to take over when those two leave in 2015.
The current far right worldview has a kind of crazy internal consistency, fueled mostly by cracker barrel theology. This allows them to respond to defeat by simply doubling down on the crazy without a moment's thought for any other possibility.
In the end, the Republican Party will be reduced to a minority regional party, with no hope of national power. Its real purpose will be to serve as a framework for the various money-making scams that are at the root of the religious right in the first place. There won't be many Republicans in office but we will see lots of them raking in fortunes from home-schooling supplies, voucher school scams, nutritional supplements, MLM schemes and the rest of their dubious product line.

Mocking Jay Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:26:42am

re: #54 Killgore Trout

It might be a strategy shift.
Romney moves to embrace ‘Romneycare’

That's a losing strategy.

erik_t Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:27:14am

re: #51 JeffM70

I do not get the appeal of In-N-Out.

Your burger preferences are bad and you should feel bad.

Lidane Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:27:17am

re: #23 S'latch

Money is necessary to get in the game and to play it, but I believe that it cannot buy a victory. And, I believe that Mitt Romney should serve to prove that it can't.

Money sure as fuck helps, but at the end of the day, discipline is the key to everything. Just look at 2008. The Clinton campaign had the money and the establishment behind them in the Democratic primaries, but Obama had enough discipline to play a 50-state ground game and he ran circles around them.

Romney is seriously disorganized. If it wasn't this late into the game, I'd fire his entire staff and start over.

Kragar Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:27:39am

re: #50 Kragar

I really never buy burgers when I eat out.

OK, that's not entirely true. We rarely stop at fast food places for burgers, but we did go to Fuddrucker's last weekend. Not really fast food though.

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:28:17am

re: #60 Mocking Jay

That's a losing strategy.

No kidding. It alienates his base who are already suspicious of him to begin with and it comes across incredibly insincere to independent voters. Does Mitt's team think the American people are stupid? That we're just going to forget that Mitt trashed Obamacare and said he wanted it repealed. The time to own up to Romneycare was in the primaries not in the dead of summer.

Killgore Trout Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:28:45am

re: #57 S'latch

And, this is an effective message because it appears to be honest and relevant.

It might be effective but this ad is not honest by any stretch of the imagination.

Mocking Jay Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:29:06am

re: #64 HappyWarrior

No kidding. It alienates his base who are already suspicious of him to begin with and it comes across incredibly insincere to independent voters. Does Mitt's team think the American people are stupid? That we're just going to forget that Mitt trashed Obamacare and said he wanted it repealed. The time to own up to Romneycare was in the primaries not in the dead of summer.

Or at least after the convention.

erik_t Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:30:15am

re: #64 HappyWarrior

No kidding. It alienates his base who are already suspicious of him to begin with and it comes across incredibly insincere to independent voters. Does Mitt's team think the American people are stupid? That we're just going to forget that Mitt trashed Obamacare and said he wanted it repealed. The time to own up to Romneycare was in the primaries not in the dead of summer.

If when-I'll-start-being-honest is a strategic decision to you, you have no fucking place in office.

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:30:27am

re: #62 Lidane

I suspect Romney does not listen to his staff anyway. I suspect that they are required to listen to him. I see him functioning as a CEO with no sense of how to be the politician that his candidacy requires.

iossarian Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:30:42am

re: #65 Killgore Trout

It might be effective but this ad is not honest by any stretch of the imagination.

What is dishonest about it, specifically?

Lidane Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:31:36am

re: #35 makeitstop

Another couple of mis-steps like this one and we may get that floor fight at the RNC.

I haven't been good enough this year to get a floor fight at the RNC. I'd love to see it, though.

At this point, what choice do they really have? Romney's campaign just admitted that Romneycare (i.e., Obamacare) and the evil individual mandate would have helped in this case.

lawhawk Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:31:39am

Best burger joints I've been to:

1 Five Guys
2 White Manna (Hackensack NJ) - an incomparable experience
3 In and Out (I totally get why they have the following they do)
4 Bobby's Burger Palace - the sauces are awesome, the fries are great, and they've got a $5 shake that kicks
5 Smashburger
6 Zinburger

McDs, Wendys, Burger King are well behind those. But if choosing between those three, it's Burger King.

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:32:13am

re: #67 erik_t

If when-I'll-start-being-honest is a strategic decision to you, you have no fucking place in office.

He's a shitty candidate that benefited from having even more shitty primary opponents. If the man he was challenging didn't have some very wealthy opponents like Sheldon Adelson and the Kochs, he'd be fucked. He really is a most unimpressive candidate when push comes to shove.

engineer cat Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:32:22am

Romney Press Secretary Praises

the election's not over until the ~~fat lady~~ romney campaign has taken every possible position

Targetpractice Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:32:31am

re: #54 Killgore Trout

It might be a strategy shift.
Romney moves to embrace ‘Romneycare’

So after months of trashing Obamacare and declaring he'd repeal it on Day One, he's now going to get out there and tell people...what? That he's suddenly had a change of heart on the whole issue of universal health care? That he thinks Obamacare should be repealed but he's all for the government having a hand in healthcare? Seriously, what about pulling a 180 degree turn so fast that it gave his great-grandchildren whiplash reads as a plus?

b_sharp Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:32:58am

re: #20 erik_t

The key seems to be a profound lack of organizational discipline. For someone who, at various points, intends to stake their claim based on running a successful company... by god Romney couldn't keep his ducks in a row if he had duct tape and a straightedge.

There's the problem. You need to use Duck Tape to tape ducks, not duct tape.
[Link: www.duckbrand.com...]

Shiplord Kirel Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:33:13am

I can see it now....

Popular vote:
Obama 57%
Johnson 22%
Romney 20%
Other losers 1%

That's what we get for nominating a money-grubbing cultist instead of a good Christian businessman or a true man of God! Fischer/Barton in 2016!

We can dream, can't we?

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:33:28am

re: #65 Killgore Trout

I don't know if it is or not.

But, it appears that Mitt Romney really screwed Joe Soptic. And now Joe is giving it back to Mitt in spades. I kind of like that.

engineer cat Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:33:38am

re: #71 lawhawk

Best burger joints I've been to:

1 Five Guys
2 White Manna (Hackensack NJ) - an incomparable experience
3 In and Out (I totally get why they have the following they do)
4 Bobby's Burger Palace - the sauces are awesome, the fries are great, and they've got a $5 shake that kicks
5 Smashburger
6 Zinburger

McDs, Wendys, Burger King are well behind those. But if choosing between those three, it's Burger King.

jack in the box is not so bad - at least some of their burgers are served on decent bread

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:33:44am

1.) Laguna Burger (excellent burger joint near ABQ that I had when I was tehre this winter)
2.) Burgers and shakes- Mom and pop joint in the next town over. I'm no organic snob but those are great burgers.
3.) Five Guys- We all know them
4.) Red Robin- Love the variety in choices, Whiskey River is my favorite
5.) Cheeburger Cheeburger.

b_sharp Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:33:49am

re: #23 S'latch

I never really agreed with the theory that money can buy a national election such as a presidential one. Money is necessary to get in the game and to play it, but I believe that it cannot buy a victory. And, I believe that Mitt Romney should serve to prove that it can't.

Money tilts the playing field.

Amory Blaine Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:34:17am

Exclusive: Brigham Young’s Great-Great-Granddaughter on Mormonism and Mitt Romney

A direct descendant of Brigham Young, Sue Emmett left the church because of the very values she says would make Romney a frightening president. She speaks exclusively with Jamie Reno.

Sionainn Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:34:38am

re: #18 SanFranciscoZionist

Can he just not afford any better than this? I know he's personally richer than God, but he's raised a lot less money than Obama.

It's just a bad campaign.

He can't run a campaign. How does he expect to run a country?

lawhawk Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:34:57am

re: #74 Targetpractice

No. This is what he'd do: ~~Obama~~Romneycare. Rebranding. It's the capitalist way.

engineer cat Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:35:08am

Romney moves to embrace ‘Romneycare’

In Stunning Move, Romney Campaign Agrees With Previous Position Of Romney

pundits unsure how to pontificate

Lidane Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:35:09am

re: #72 HappyWarrior

He's a shitty candidate that benefited from having even more shitty primary opponents.

This x a billion. Romney's only the nominee because the rest of the GOP slate was filled with a bunch of raving lunatics like Santorum and Bachmann.

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:35:31am

re: #80 b_sharp

Not enough to matter if the candidate doesn't have a real message.

Killgore Trout Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:35:34am

re: #69 iossarian

What is dishonest about it, specifically?

CNN Sets The Record Straight On The Despicable New Ad From President Obama's Super PAC

Youtube Video

NJDhockeyfan Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:36:18am

Burger Grease Art

Youtube Video

Mocking Jay Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:36:28am

re: #71 lawhawk

Best burger joints I've been to:

3 In and Out (I totally get why they have the following they do)

Let me know when they open one this side of the Mississippi.

Shiplord Kirel Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:36:34am

Mars looks like Arizona, in more ways than one.

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:37:55am

re: #85 Lidane

This x a billion. Romney's only the nominee because the rest of the GOP slate was filled with a bunch of raving lunatics like Santorum and Bachmann.

Or has beens with no character like Gingrich or too nuts even for the GOP like Paul. Really the fact that Mitt had to really fight for his nomination that hard with all the money he has should show the casual observer something about him.

iossarian Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:38:01am

re: #87 Killgore Trout

CNN Sets The Record Straight On The Despicable New Ad From President Obama's Super PAC

[Embedded content]

No, you tell me. What specifically, to your mind, is dishonest about the ad?

Try to put it in your own words.

Sionainn Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:38:39am

re: #32 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

In which Mitt tries to once again relate to "the average joe"

I particularly like the poll at the end.

engineer cat Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:39:08am

In and Out

i don't just want white castle to open around here - i want it to be 1962 again...

Interesting Times Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:39:41am

The Romney campaign gaffed today by citing Romney's single greatest achievement as governor. Let that sink in.
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) August 8, 2012

Targetpractice Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:40:16am

re: #91 HappyWarrior

Or has beens with no character like Gingrich or too nuts even for the GOP like Paul. Really the fact that Mitt had to really fight for his nomination that hard with all the money he has should show the casual observer something about him.

Willard didn't have to fight so much as stand back while the rest of the field self-destructed. Bachmann couldn't stop yammering, Cain turned out to be too sleazy for a "family values" party, Santorum was too puritanical, and Newt couldn't get over the fact that he stopped being God's gift to the GOP in 1996.

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:40:20am

re: #87 Killgore Trout

So, it would appear that Mitt is not to blame for Joe's wife losing her insurance. But, it appears that Mitt is to blame for Joe losing his, and Joe's could have covered his wife if he hadn't lost it.

Sionainn Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:40:56am

re: #53 makeitstop

How long before Romney's money guys start demanding their money back?

Do they get to write off donations as a tax deduction?

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:41:46am

re: #96 Targetpractice

Willard didn't have to fight so much as stand back while the rest of the field self-destructed. Bachmann couldn't stop yammering, Cain turned out to be too sleazy for a "family values" party, Santorum was too puritanical, and Newt couldn't get over the fact that he stopped being God's gift to the GOP in 1996.

Yep. I remember his strategy at the debates was pretty much let Santorum or the others say something outlandish and then say something non controversial and look presidential. He's a fraud of a candidate.

100

Shiplord Kirel Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:41:55am

My favorite burger joint is a cardiac death-trap called Pete's Drive-in. They make an old school giant burger, with a bun about the size of my Chevy pickup's hubcaps, grilled on the same surface as the meat, with a thick slab of real cheese, and generous heaps of pickles, lettuce, etc. They will add bacon, chili, and God knows what else if you like. With their deep fried home-style onion rings, this has enough calories to jump-start a nuclear submarine and enough oil to grease its prop shafts.

101

iossarian Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:43:31am

re: #100 Shiplord Kirel

My favorite burger joint is a cardiac death-trap called Pete's Drive-in. They make an old school giant burger, with a bun about the size of my Chevy pickup's hubcaps, grilled on the same surface as the meat, with a thick slab of real cheese, and generous heaps of pickles, lettuce, etc. They will add bacon, chili, and God knows what else if you like. With their deep fried home-style onion rings, this has enough calories to jump-start a nuclear submarine and enough oil to grease its prop shafts.

Hey - if you're going to constrict people's arteries to pinprick diameters you've got to give them the power to pump blood even harder through them, haven't you?

102

Interesting Times Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:43:50am

It's hilarious when Corporate Media™ hacks pearl-clutch and use words like "despicable" to describe Dem counter-attacks, when they never once used similar terms to describe the endless racist smears thrown at Obama or the ever more grotesque attacks against the First Lady.

103

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:44:30am

re: #102 Interesting Times

It's hilarious when Corporate Media™ hacks pearl-clutch and use words like "despicable" to describe Dem counter-attacks, when they never once used similar terms to describe the endless racist smears thrown at Obama or the ever more grotesque attacks against the First Lady.

Hell the president has his loyalty to the country questioned by the GOP. Hardly a word from our liberal media there huh.

104

makeitstop Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:44:35am

re: #62 Lidane

Money sure as fuck helps, but at the end of the day, discipline is the key to everything. Just look at 2008. The Clinton campaign had the money and the establishment behind them in the Democratic primaries, but Obama had enough discipline to play a 50-state ground game and he ran circles around them.

Romney is seriously disorganized. If it wasn't this late into the game, I'd fire his entire staff and start over.

At this point I'm beginning to think that Romney had no idea what he was going up against. They thought they could go negative early and that Obama would fold.

Obama's campaign has answered every charge, countered every negative ad with one of their own, and they've got the Romney campaign scrambling not to look like a bunch of idiots.

Obama's team is proving that they can play hardball with the best of them. How people keep underestimating them is beyond me.

105

William Barnett-Lewis Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:45:38am

re: #92 iossarian

No, you tell me. What specifically, to your mind, is dishonest about the ad?

Try to put it in your own words.

He's been told it's dishonest by "fact checkers" and they're always right . ///

106

HappyWarrior Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:46:34am

re: #104 makeitstop

At this point I'm beginning to think that Romney had no idea what he was going up against. They thought they could go negative early and that Obama would fold.

Obama's campaign has answered every charge, countered every negative ad with one of their own, and they've got the Romney campaign scrambling not to look like a bunch of idiots.

Obama's team is proving that they can play hardball with the best of them. How people keep underestimating them is beyond me.

How they keep on underestimating them? Well it helps when you convince yourself that you are the next Reagan and Obama is Jimmy Carter 2.0. The right has wanted to paint Obama as Jimmy Carter 2.0 from the minute he was nominated for president. It was a stupid analogy then as it is now especially now.

107

b_sharp Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:47:30am

re: #94 engineer cat

In and Out

i don't just want white castle to open around here - i want it to be 1962 again...

I like 2012. I just want to be 30yo again.

108

engineer cat Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:47:56am

my favorite burger places are any place where they serve real handmade hamburgers instead of geometrically stamped out patty burgers

which is hardly any

109

makeitstop Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:48:46am

re: #92 iossarian

No, you tell me. What specifically, to your mind, is dishonest about the ad?

Try to put it in your own words.

Isn't that the third time you've asked that question?

110

Sionainn Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:48:49am

re: #104 makeitstop

At this point I'm beginning to think that Romney had no idea what he was going up against. They thought they could go negative early and that Obama would fold.

Obama's campaign has answered every charge, countered every negative ad with one of their own, and they've got the Romney campaign scrambling not to look like a bunch of idiots.

Obama's team is proving that they can play hardball with the best of them. How people keep underestimating them is beyond me.

That's because they fell for their own rhetoric that Obama is weak, ineffective, not too smart, etc. Dumbasses.

111

JeffM70 Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:52:58am

re: #61 erik_t

Eating fast food makes me feel bad.

112

S'latch Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:54:32am

re: #111 JeffM70

Chick-fil-A?

113

JeffM70 Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:55:34am

re: #112 S'latch

That just makes me feel gay.

114

iossarian Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:56:55am

re: #109 makeitstop

Isn't that the third time you've asked that question?

I think the main complaint is that the guy's wife had some kind of health insurance from her job working at a thrift store, as if it's impossible that such insurance might have had the kind of co-pays and restrictions that would have prevented her from getting the kind of medical attention that would have been available under her husband's insurance.

115

engineer cat Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:58:05am

eating fast food makes me feel slow

116

b_sharp Wed, Aug 8, 2012 11:59:34am

re: #115 engineer cat

eating fast food makes me feel slow

Sluggish you might say.

117

iossarian Wed, Aug 8, 2012 12:01:41pm

OK, I have work to do. BBL.

118

Lidane Wed, Aug 8, 2012 12:26:41pm

re: #104 makeitstop

Obama's team is proving that they can play hardball with the best of them. How people keep underestimating them is beyond me.

Because Democrats! Liberals! Scary black Muslim POTUS that's never been vetted! Eleventy!

///

119

labman57 Wed, Aug 8, 2012 5:04:52pm

Mitt's spin doctors will be earning their pay trying to disown this little nugget.
Obama should send her a courtesy check for creating his next pro-mandate ad.

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