The Romney Campaign Goes Old School — Here Come the Welfare Queens!

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One of the signature dishonest (of many) tales told by Ronald Reagan was one of some Chicago woman who was able to put together enough fraudulent participation in enough government programs to net more than $100K per year. Even as Reagan never named this woman and no one could find a public record of anyone who was that productive in getting government assistance. Certainly no one who was caught and tried for the fraud that this would have represented. This exaggerated tale was often repeated, never substantiated but it did its job -- tap into existing resentments and stereotypes of welfare cheats -- even though the typical welfare recipient never looked the way the stereotype had it. It was more dogwhistle politics from the ultimate dogwhistler -- one who kicked off his campaign at the Neshoba County State Fair (county where Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman were murdered), calling for a reinstatement of "state's rights". This was,of course, a coded message promising these folks to roll back the rights the Feds were giving to minorities. And now that he is cornered on the issue of his tax releases, Mitt Romney has decided that the Gipper's dogwhistles can work for him too.

Mitt Romney Is Going To Get Whiplash

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On Sunday, Mitt Romney boldly declared that Israel’s economic superiority over the Palestinians was due to its culture. On Tuesday morning, he dismissed any notion that he had even discussed Palestinian culture. On Tuesday night, Romney reversed himself yet again, in an op-ed entitled “Culture Does Matter.”

The Romney Campaign And Do-Overs

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There's a pattern here, and I think it's deliberate. First, the Romney Campaign says something outrageous (Anglo-Saxon comment, questioning the preparedness of security at the Olympics, etc.) then they counter their initial statement with an do-over.

Mitt Romney Goes to London to Get His Ugly American On

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It is an unfortunate stereotype, but why in heck would you -- a Presidential hopeful-- travel to a host country (hoping for lots of positive photo ops, hoping to look statesmanlike), then launch into a criticism of their signature event? That event being the Olympics and supposedly the source of Romney's hoped for photo ops. This is also a country currently under Conservative control (they might be your allies, dude) and one where you have just told the world that the current President doesn't treat as a special partner. But Romney goes to London and tells NBC news:

The Anglo-Saxon Romney Campaign

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In remarks that may prompt accusations of racial insensitivity, one suggested that Mr Romney was better placed to understand the depth of ties between the two countries than Mr Obama, whose father was from Africa. “We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser said of Mr Romney, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have”.
I am not shocked by this statement - I've always known this is what many conservatives believe. What shocks me is how blatant their statements have become.

Let Them Eat Cake

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My Dad just brought this gem to my attention: WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney's wife is reinforcing her husband's refusal to make public several years of tax returns, saying "we've given…

Taking the Mittens Off

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We've all been pointing and laughing at the Romney campaign as they find it simply impossible to defend not releasing his tax returns. Between throwing up a shiny bit of news bait of Condi as VP, stupid allegations of cronyism (from a guy who won't tell who funds him or who bundles contributions) and even the desperation of taking the President's words out of context -- they can't find their footing. Jonathan Chait writes in NY Magazine that Mitt Romney Gets Angry. And in getting angry, they aren't going to get smarter, they are going to morph into the comments section of (insert rightwing blog site here) . So that John Sununu trying to tell people that President Obama is not American is not a mistake of the news day -- it is the signal that more is coming.

Did Delaware’s Colm Connolly Run Interference For Romney and Bain Illegalities?

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8-Ball sez: "Signs Point to Yes". Now pay attention, kids, this is complicated, as many crimes involving money, corporatese, and coverups are. First, read this article by DailyKos' Stephen Laser Haas. In it, he lays out the massive fraud that Bain got entangled in during 2001.  Massive fraud that Romney's law firm at the time, the New York-based law firm, Traub, Bonacquist & Fox, has now admitted guilt for. As most of you know, there is always a Delaware-based law firm engaged in any Delaware litigation. That law firm in the Bain/e-toys matter was Morris, Nichols, Arsht and Tunnell.