Romney Goes Full Retard (Birther)

[Flagg]

WaPo

Mitt Romney: ‘No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate’
Posted by Felicia Sonmez on August 24, 2012 at 12:27 pm

COMMERCE, Mich. — Did Mitt Romney make a birther joke?

It sure seemed like it Friday morning as he made remarks before a crowd of more than 1,000 here in Michigan, the state where he was born and raised.

“I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born,” Romney said as his wife, Ann, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) stood next to him on the podium.

“Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital, I was born in Harper Hospital. No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate; they know that this is the place that we were born and raised,” he said.

Romney actually did release his birth certificate in May.

“The governor has always said, and has repeatedly said, he believes the president was born here in the United States,” Romney adviser Kevin Madden said. “He was only referencing that Michigan, where he is campaigning today, is the state where he himself was born and raised.”

Spokesman Rick Gorka also downplayed the remarks in a gaggle with reporters after the event. ”It’s settled,” he said. “He’s illustrating that he was born and raised here in Michigan.”

President Obama’s campaign was not impressed. “Governor Romney’s decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America,” said spokesman Ben LaBolt.

Anything to get elected, I guess. What a fucktard empty suit douchebag.

[TheHammer]

I think that's a bit of an over-reaction to a tounge-in-cheeck remark. Its not as if he needs to court the "birther" vote.

[Flagg]

I think that's a bit of an over-reaction to a tounge-in-cheeck remark. Its not as if he needs to court the "birther" vote.

He seems to think he does considering his fellating of Donald Trump.

[TheHammer]

I think that's a bit of an over-reaction to a tounge-in-cheeck remark. Its not as if he needs to court the "birther" vote.

He seems to think he does considering his fellating of Donald Trump.

Would be rather foolish to think he needed to preach to the choir. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd fellate Donald Trump just for being rich.

[Bright]

I think that's a bit of an over-reaction to a tounge-in-cheeck remark. Its not as if he needs to court the "birther" vote.

He seems to think he does considering his fellating of Donald Trump.

Would be rather foolish to think he needed to preach to the choir.

But Romney is that foolish - hence his pick for VP.

[Flagg]

I think that's a bit of an over-reaction to a tounge-in-cheeck remark. Its not as if he needs to court the "birther" vote.

He seems to think he does considering his fellating of Donald Trump.

Would be rather foolish to think he needed to preach to the choir. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd fellate Donald Trump just for being rich.

Umm, he seems to think he needs to preach to the choire. And has since the primaries. But go on defending him, douchebag.

[LapsedPacifist]

When Romney got booed by the NAACP and there were suggestions that it would actually help him, I didn't understand it. Then I woke up and realized "Oh, it will help him with racists."

He's diving to the bottom of the barrel and has been all along, I just wish there weren't so many votes there.

[Flagg]

It's not really surprising to be honest. I mean he's already pulled the Reagan racism bit by trying to call Obama a welfare loving ni**er.

[TheHammer]

Would be rather foolish to think he needed to preach to the choir. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd fellate Donald Trump just for being rich.

Umm, he seems to think he needs to preach to the choire. And has since the primaries. But go on defending him, douchebag.

Nobody is defending him dipshit. You are taking what was clearly meant as a humorous jab and making it as though he has thrown in with the birthers ala Trump. If you see him coming out and actually questioning Obama's birth certificate then maybe you'll have something.

Until then, my message to you is: lighten the fuck up.

[Flagg]

Would be rather foolish to think he needed to preach to the choir. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd fellate Donald Trump just for being rich.

Umm, he seems to think he needs to preach to the choire. And has since the primaries. But go on defending him, douchebag.

Nobody is defending him dipshit. You are taking what was clearly meant as a humorous jab and making it as though he has thrown in with the birthers ala Trump. If you see him coming out and actually questioning Obama's birth certificate then maybe you'll have something.

Until then, my message to you is: lighten the fuck up.

You're defending him now, stupid fuckstick. You keep pretending that this is some harmless quip as opposed to what it obviousely is: A bullhorn to his birther base to get them riled up.

[Simon_Jester]

Flagg, how is it "clearly" anything? I can't tell whether people were joking without, y'know, seeing their facial expression, gauging crowd reactions, things like that.

What makes you the expert here?

[Flagg]

Flagg, how is it "clearly" anything? I can't tell whether people were joking without, y'know, seeing their facial expression, gauging crowd reactions, things like that.

What makes you the expert here?

Are you being obtuse for a reason or are you just a stupid asshole?

Romney has always had a hard time getting anyone but rich people exited about him. So he's pandering to the racists, pandering to the government haters, and now pandering to the birthers. It's so obvious a 3 year old could see what is going on. And if you want to see his facial expression and crowd reaction, then look at the video at the link.

[Simon_Jester]

You're confusing "campaign strategy" with "every word he says drips with whatever evil I can attribute to it."

To me, this looks just like all those idiot business-fetishists who think "you didn't build that" means Obama wants to take EVIL SOCIALIST credit for all that rugged individualism the American CEO exhibits. Obviously the bad guy's using a dog-whistle, obviously it's not a joke, because he's evil and I hate his guts!

Fuck Romney, I hope he loses the election, but you're coming across as a vindictive, hypercritical little shit here, you know?

[Flagg]

You're confusing "campaign strategy" with "every word he says drips with whatever evil I can attribute to it."

To me, this looks just like all those idiot business-fetishists who think "you didn't build that" means Obama wants to take EVIL SOCIALIST credit for all that rugged individualism the American CEO exhibits. Obviously the bad guy's using a dog-whistle, obviously it's not a joke, because he's evil and I hate his guts!

Fuck Romney, I hope he loses the election, but you're coming across as a vindictive, hypercritical little shit here, you know?

So is the entire news media, then. It's not even a dogwhistle, it's a fucking bullhorn. He's pandering to his base, fucktard. You're either really stupid or being willfully ignorant.

[Channel72]

“Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital, I was born in Harper Hospital. No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate; they know that this is the place that we were born and raised,”

Whatever, this is basically just a jab at Obama. But since Romney knows Obama was born in the US, it's nothing more than standard "you can't trust that black guy" base-pandering.

At least John McCain had the decency to defend Obama as a "decent family-man citizen" when some idiot at his rally voiced her concern that she didn't trust Obama because he was "an Arab" or something.

[mr friendly guy]

Flagg, how is it "clearly" anything? I can't tell whether people were joking without, y'know, seeing their facial expression, gauging crowd reactions, things like that.

What makes you the expert here?

Looking at the video he smiled afterwards. To me it looked like he was making a joke, but its not clear at whose expense? Obama's or the Birthers? Maybe he is hoping for something that would be interpreted by either side as a jibe against the other, so its win win.

[TheHammer]

Until then, my message to you is: lighten the fuck up.

You're defending him now, stupid fuckstick. You keep pretending that this is some harmless quip as opposed to what it obviousely is: A bullhorn to his birther base to get them riled up.

I'm not defending anything, I'm saying your "analysis" is way fucking off base.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7419220n

Besides, the real "birthers" don't need anyone to get them riled up. They're fucking nuts as it is.

[Flagg]

Wow. I'm totally convinced. It's a good thing people can't say one thing and mean another or you'd look like a real idiot.

[Zinegata]

Doesn't really seem to be a tacit support of the Birther movement to me (it's to a crowd of 1,000 people in his home state); it's really looking to be more of the prejudices of the people judging Romney that this is even an issue at all.

[Zinegata]

Also, just remembered - folks do realize that the Democratic party actually tried to stop Romney from running as Governor many years back on the basis of him not being a resident of the state (since he went to work for the Winter Olympic Committee), and that the charge was so ridiculous that a local bipartisan committee ruled to throw out that complaint, yes?

[Channel72]

Doesn't really seem to be a tacit support of the Birther movement to me

It's not support of the birther movement per se, in the sense that Romney is actually questioning Obama's place of birth. But it's definitely not a condemnation of the movement. If anything, it's just a general jab at Obama's "otherness" which happens to channel the same sense of alienation and fear that a lot of middle class white people feel towards Obama - the same alienation and fear which spawned the birther movement.

Romney is basically saying: "Nobody ever asked to see my birth certificate! Because everybody knows I was born right here in Michigan... unlike that other guy." It just comes off as another "you can trust me - I'm from Michigan! - but you can't trust him because he has a weird name or whatever."

[Simon_Jester]

Now see, that I believe. The right has done a lot to stir up and maintain that alienation and fear, and now Romney is using it to mobilize that demographic.

Put this way. Romney is not a fundamentalist, but he doesn't hesitate to say things that make fundamentalists like him, and think he's one of them at heart. He's not a libertarian, but- same thing. He is presumably not a birther, but- same thing.

I think what you can really say about Romney is that he puts a lot of energy into being all things to all people, and masking his own convictions on issues from anyone who might vote against them because of him. He seems to be running as a 'stealth candidate' in that regard.

[TheHammer]

Obama has been President for four years. He has shown his birth certificate. Playing the "birther card" or the "race card" or the "He's different card" really isn't going to get much traction at this point. We know what we have.

The Birth certificate issue is a dead issue. One that Obama himself has made jokes about. Anyone making more of it than that is making a mountain out of a fucking mole hill.

Any crackpots who continue to cling to the "birther" movement after all these years are going to be voting for Romney simply because he isn't Obama. I'm certain he knew that he wasn't winning over any undecided voters with that joke, so thats why I take it for what it was - humour - whether you thought it was funny or not. Its not as if Jim-Bob at home was waiting for a "sign" from Romney that now was the time to vote. He didn't win any new votes folks, and likely didn't lose him any. So the idea that he said it "just to get elected" is retarded.

[Mr Bean]

TheHammer is missed the context of the joke and frankly I think the Obama team dropped the ball in the response based on how they handled it.

Imagine if this had been their response

"Governor Romney said in Michigan today that no one has ever asked him for his birth certificate as a joke. And I believe he was joking and what he was saying was true. But given that fact I'd ask Governor Romney to ask himself why that he can go through life sure that no one will ever question that he was born in America, that he can walk the streets of Phoenix and not have to worry about some police officer pulling him over and demanding his papers. I'd ask Governor Romney as he is a supporter of SB 1070 if he was stopped by some chance could be produce his birth certificate because that's what the people of Arizona are being asked to do under that policy. Does Governor Romney understand why people oppose the Republican Paper's Please law he backed so enthusaticly and now wants to say he never supported? It's something I hope he and the American people think about in the coming days."

See? Much better, starts by agreeing with Romney that yes it's a joke then hints at a racial undertone about Romney's statement then pivots it to immigration which Romney does nooooot want to talk about. And that's how you turn a gaff into a talking point.

[Zinegata]

Romney is basically saying: "Nobody ever asked to see my birth certificate! Because everybody knows I was born right here in Michigan... unlike that other guy." It just comes off as another "you can trust me - I'm from Michigan! - but you can't trust him because he has a weird name or whatever."

Was it really a jab at the "other guy" though as opposed to a general jab against the Democrats who did question if he could run as Michigan's Governor before?

Like I said, given the crowd and it was more of a "I was born in Michigan!" as opposed to "I was born in America!" quip I don't think he was really aiming to make a birther joke at all.