That one is for you James.
Hey guys! I posted something I would usually save for this blog on my Florida for Mitt blog. I'm a little nervous about it......so please give me some feedback! I must have reached a Mormon-intolerance threshold or something.
I wasn't able to find the video on youtube, but Google had it. It is very long, but to hear what Mitt had to say about his change in position from pro-choice to pro-life begin watching at 17:00 minutes and go to 18:15 minutes. Feel free to watch the whole thing. It's probably among my favorite Mitt Romney videos.
.... that's where he goes.
I don't think it is a sin to change your mind. In fact, I think we should have more politicians who are able to think for themselves rather than supporting tired policy (and rhetoric) that is ineffective, outdated or downright wrong (ahem- Iraq). However, I want a president who is willing to stand for what he/she believes in and won't change their morals if it is politically expedient. I don't want someone who is the proverbial chaff, blown about by every wind of political doctrine.
So let’s face the facts folks. Mitt has labeled himself a conservative and has done so for a while, that I will grant and that doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is that he is willing to change his views to get elected. Arnold is considered a conservative even though he is all over the map on issues. Sticking to his guns (no pun intended) has only helped his recent popularity. Mitt, on the other hand was someone I would have supported, had he not buckled to political pressure and come up with some stupid story about cloning, that has nothing to do with the issue by the way, to make himself more appealing to the Falwells of America and the conservative right. Here’s what he said during the first debate of this year. Prepare to be stunned and thrilled by this brilliant explanation of why he was suddenly enlightened to the evils of abortion.......(wait for it.....wait for it)
"About two years ago, when we were studying cloning in our state, I said, look, we have gone too far. It's a "brave new world" mentality that Roe v. Wade has given us, and I changed my mind."
Wow. That just could be the worst excuse for selling your morals to a political party that I have ever heard. He succeeded in using a literary allusion and a buzz-phraze in the same sentence but ended up sounding canned and trite. Nice try at a conversion story, Mitt, but, come on! I’m a little disappointed really. He’s a smart, well-spoken guy, couldn’t he come up with something better than cloning and a Brave New World? What happened to the meaningful stories about your parents pro-choice stance, that story about your aunt? Where did that go and what idiot on your campaign team thought up Brave New World? Whoever it was, fire them quick! Pretty soon you’ll have people labeling children’s books Communist Manifestos (Just kidding, it is a pretty odd book).
Was he pro-choice? There is no argument there, he was pro-choice as late as 2002 when he was running for Governor. He filled out a Planned Parenthood questionnaire with the following responses.
Do you support the substance of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade? YES
Do you support state funding of abortion services through Medicaid for low-income women? YES (Can you Rudy? James, didn’t you say you wouldn’t vote for Guliani because of this same reason?)
In 1998 the FDA approved the first packaging of emergency contraception, also known as the "morning after pill." Emergency contraception is a high dose combination of oral contraceptives that if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, can safely prevent a pregnancy from occurring. Do you support efforts to increase access to emergency contraception? YES
There are many more quotes from his time in Massachusetts in both of his campaigns where he made his pro-choice perspective quite clear.
Now that we have established that he was pro-choice, for good reasons, reasons that I agree with, I want to explain why that bothers me.
Few members of the church are brave enough to agree with Roe v. Wade even though it is in perfect agreement with the gospel. I feel the same way about abortion that Mitt used to. It is a moral question for me, not one that I am going to change to fit the needs of a candidate. Mitt didn’t have the spine to do the same thing. He gave up a moral stance to get votes. He’s just another slick politician with overdone hair.
No matter how you twist it, the man was pro-life, or at least pretending to be. Either way, he was putting on a show to get votes. Which is just what his advisor, Michael Murphy has admitted.
In 2005 he fessed up and said "he's been a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly."
What does Mitt stand for? That depends on what will get him elected. Take gay marriage. While I won’t get into the same details as the abortion flop, Mitt did make himself out to in the corner of gays and lesbians. He might not have been forthcoming about what he would/ wouldn’t do but he did want to become governor of Massachusetts and had to convince the voters that he leaned to the left on social issues.
There might be some good reasons to vote for the guy, but none of them have convinced me so far. He might be Mormon, but when you get past all the talk, he’s just another politician who would bend over backwards to serve his party but won’t stand for what he believes if it will hurt him in the polls.
YES!
This is Stuff From 1994.
The ONLY thing that I have found that could remotely suggest flip-flopping is Mitt's recent stance on abortion.
Gun rights..........nothing has changed, except now he is a member of the NRA
Gay rights...........nothing has changed
Taxes...................He knew it was unrealistic to sign a no-tax pledge running for Governor of Taxachusetts--anyone who would do such is a gimmicky fellow. Besides, actions speak louder than words--did he raise taxes in Massachusetts?
Recent Conservatism............he was NEVER a liberal Republican--look above and tell me in what way he was a liberal?
Immigration.........nothing has changed
Josh, I'm officially calling you out. You have called Mitt a flip-flopper. Please justify it. I plan on knocking down whatever you propose. You're much better at debating, but you won't be able to debate against the facts.
In conclusion, MSM is biased and ignorant. They will do whatever necessary to take down a conservative with promise and a record of accomplishments. Have you heard the phrase "a thousand lies makes a truth." We've heard that Mitt is a flip-flopper at least that many times.
Compare Mitt's media treatment to Obama's glorified status for doing essentially nothing. I'm sick of it--the media didn't even jump on Obama's case for saying that about 10,000 people in Kansas had died from tornadoes..........he even used that inaccuracy to attack Bush for not doing anything. If Mitt would have said that, it would have been the topic everywhere--the media is just so darn biased.........thank heavens for the internet where we can sort out the distorted truths.
Small digression:
I'm starting to realize why there are media niches for political thought. The Liberals can spew out whatever they want on T.V. and the viewers can't say anything back to them. The newspapers are a little more fair. The radio is controlled by conservatives--they actually have substance to argue when people call in. Liberals can't survive the radio successfully--few people think immigration amnesty, bigger government, increased welfare spending, and suppression of individual rights are logical (that is why they resort to Bush name-calling........when they're bored with that--they'll call for our troops to be sent home).
I have seen The Rainbow Fish in many family homes lately........I'm sorry, but that's pathetic. It's bad enough that our children are force-fed socialistic views at school, but then they come home and are inadvertantly brainwashed with such nonsense--the pretty pictures are the book's only redeeming qualities.
While minorities come in all shapes, sizes, and colors........let us not forget the one minority that might be just as important--the individual.
Are you among the many who want to deny individual rights for the "greater good".......if so, why?
First comes the money, now comes killer-debate-performances, and next comes the rise in polls!
I want to prevent this form becoming a Mitt Romney site, so the majority of my Romney praise is now at my new blog: Florida For Romney, so take a gander if you're interested.