Ann Romney won't explain her views on marriage equality and birth control to 'you people' - VIDEO
Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2012 at 10:09 AM
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| Republican's Mitt Romney's wife Ann Romney |
Ann Romney was asked her position on marriage equality and birth control on Friday but declined, multiple times, in the most dismissive tones, to give an answer.
Gay people and their legal rights aren't important to America, they not worth discussing apparently. Neither are any women's reproductive rights. You would think with the controversies surrounding Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan's stance on abortion and an ongoing perception about the eroding of the rights of women that she might have engaged.
But no, Ann Romney knows what this election is about and she won't be distracted by 'hot-button' issues that don't interest her. Like most conservatives, she seems to believe that issues that don't personally affect her are non-issues.
Interviewed on Iowan television station KWQC on Friday Romney faced questions from anchor David Nelson.
David Nelson: 'Here in Iowa, as you know, same-sex marriage is legal. Do you believe a lesbian mother should be allowed to marry her partner?'
Ann Romney: 'You know, I'm not going to talk about the specific issues. I'm going to let my husband speak on issues. I'm here to really just talk about my husband and what kind of husband and father he is and, you know, those are hot-button issues that distract from what the real voting issue is going to be at this election. That, it's going to be about the economy and jobs…'
Nelson: 'Do you believe that employer-provided health insurance should be required to cover birth control?'
Ann Romney: 'Again, you're asking me questions that are not about what this election is going to be about. This election is going to be about the economy and jobs.'
David Nelson: 'Well, a Pew Research poll shows those issues are very important to women, ranking them either "important" or "very important.'
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Ann Romney: 'You know, but I personally believe, and this is what I'm hearing from women all across the country that they are going to look for the guy that's going to pull them out of the weeds and get them job security and a brighter future for their children…'
David Nelson: 'You just told a reporter who was questioning you in Cleveland that you want women to have a secure and stable future. I asked you about marriage and whether lesbian mothers should be allowed to marry. Isn't marriage a part of creating a stable future?'
Ann Romney: 'You know, again, I'm going to talk to you about the economy and about job creation...'
It was so scripted and robotic that it was a masterclass in staying on message, even when it is blatantly obvious that you're dodging issues important to millions. But she came off as a high handed and patronizing, as though she were telling the press what the election was about and only taking questions that were convenient.
The sharp contrast between Romney's dodging and Michelle Obama's transparency on the issues stands in high relief. This election, there really is a choice between the candidates, their spouses, and what they stand (or won't stand) for.
77 comments
eiriamach | Sep 11, 2012, 09:29 AM EDT
sgfoster1968, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that Education comprises 2% --TWO PERCENT-- of the federal budget, less than is spent on transportation and infrastructure and 10 times less than defense and international security. But without that 2 percent, you can forget about economic recovery! Without a trained, literate workforce prepared to handle university courses in math, engineering and tech support, we are headed for decline and widespread poverty. Remember, by the 1990s, we'd lost much of our manufacturing industry, backed off from new construction, and maxed out on service workers. Without training for new industries, there'll be little except minimum-wage jobs available. If states could spend on early childhood education and Pell grants to enable middle-class students to attend college, the feds would not need to pick up the slack, but we've seen states cut education to the bone. Dept of Ed helps fund public schooling for 49 million students and makes college possible for more than 15 million grads. Your grandfather would be eating in soup kitchens and sleeping on park benches today without such education and Without police and govt regulations to protect your income, you'd be doing the same. And yes, your statement of hard work being sufficient without govt to protect equal educational and work opportunities IS both "faulty" and ridiculously naive.
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Mairin67 | Sep 11, 2012, 09:02 AM EDT
Agree, McNamara31...most Americans of Irish decent who shout loud and poud to be Irish, do not have a clue what the Irish have endured to get to where they are today.
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sgfoster1968 | Sep 11, 2012, 04:54 AM EDT
eiriamach- You are taking things WAY out of context to the point of caricature. Your argument has little to no logic. You give an example of how the republicans are 'cutting funding' for various public jobs (firefighters, police, teachers). These are STATE-funded vocations. Do you really thing the bloated federal government actually employs teachers? The Department of Education founded in 1965 is just another bureaucratic mess that costs taxpayers over $110B a year. That comes to almost $314,000/yr for every man woman and child in the US. What is all that money doing for you and the children of this great nation? Do you honestly subscribe to the notion that more money needs to be thrown at the problem of education in this country? That figure doesn't even include the money that the individual States spend on education! That's just one example of a typical federally funded scheme we are paying for.
eiriamach, you also tell me of the irony of the Vietnamese going to the government for help by mentioning that because a few Federal Marshals and a Federal Courthouse were involved (part of our legal system by the way) that somehow my statement of hard work is faulty. Where are you getting this stuff? Sounds like our education money is being wasted worse then I originally thought!
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sgfoster1968 | Sep 10, 2012, 11:29 PM EDT
I'm a 3rd gen Irishman. My Grandfather, Arthur Collins came here with nothing in 1903, was raised in a church orphanage. In a few short years, he taught himself mathematics whilst riding the trains and eventually became a structural engineer. We helped build numerous buildings in NY, NJ, and Hoover Dam. He bought a modest house in Colorado and raised 6 girls to have more opportunities then he ever would have had in the old world. Not once, did he ever complain or use what he called the 'government crutch'. He was proud to be an American. I'm not talking about money but opportunity. Some of you just don't get it. (you are not READING the posts) Where do you think the middle class comes from? A self-made middle class is what America is all about not one based on entitlements. Its ironic how so many Irish who lived in the eastern states became so saturated with the eastern leftist propaganda that they soon became only concerned about themselves. Some of you talk how the republicans are selfish and focused only on money but then talk about how YOU deserve 'this, that, and the other thing'. Selfish, huh? You would trample upon the very document and philosophy that made America great to accommodate yourselves. You probably don't see the irony of that since you have been so brainwashed by the 'Ted Kennedys' on the hill. The false promises coming from old world marxist countries and scruples. Well, drink your coolaid cousins. I am proud to be an American and proud to be of Irish descent. I know my wife and two daughters will have all the opportunities available in this great country because of the sacrifices of my forefathers and am not ashamed to admit it. I am ready to move on and become my own man. Some of you, obviously, are not.
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McNamara31 | Sep 10, 2012, 06:53 PM EDT
eiriamach, Mairin67,EphraimKibbey... (Agree with all your posts) A very sad truth is: in America, many third and fourth generation Irish have no clue about their true history and the struggle it took to help create and enter the middle class which the GOP is now waving the flag at, while pulling the economic rug from beneath their feet.They will only wake up, when their job is outsourced, their healthcare cancelled, and they meet their neighbors at the local food pantry.
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Mairin67 | Sep 10, 2012, 06:44 PM EDT
With this video, Ann Romeny appears to be the new Sarah Palin. They should yank her off any public speaking engagements because she's ruining it for her Mitt. Go Ann!!
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Mairin67 | Sep 10, 2012, 06:42 PM EDT
And btw, success is a wonderful thing but cannot only be measured by your paycheck. I am a nurse, make a decent living but will never be rich which is what Mr. Romney claims makes you a success. The world needs the middle class..the teachers, the nurses, cops and firemen, librarians, secretaries, store clerks to make this world function. In Romney's eyes we all must be failures beacause we don't make enough $$. Funny how he NEVER mentions that! And btw, I am happy in my chosen profession....and I consider doing what you love and not what you earn, a huge success.
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Mairin67 | Sep 10, 2012, 06:37 PM EDT
@sgfoster1968...funny, I always wonder how anyone of Irish decent can claim to be a Republican...the Irish have always fought hard for what they gained but they always did it with the spirit of benefitting their fellow Irishman in Mind, NEVER for their own sole gain as what defines the Republican party.
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eiriamach | Sep 10, 2012, 06:13 PM EDT
It's ironic that sgfoster1968 makes an example of hardworking Vietnamese immigrants to the US. A group of Vietnamese immigrants needed the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center in 1981, when they sued the KKK to stop driving the Vietnamese out of the shrimp fishing industry near Galveston. A federal judge had to issue a protective order against harassment and intimidation of the Vietnamese by pistol-carrying, white-robed Russell Gregory Thatcher, KKK leader and member of a neo-Nazi group. Louis Beam, the Grand Dragon of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Texas, also wore a Klan robe and carried a revolver to intimidate the plaintiffs. The judge, Gabrielle McDonald, moved the proceedings to a federal courthouse under protection of federal marshals. Yes, sgfoster, Vietnamese immigrants DID "go to the government for answers" because their "good ol' fashioned hard work" could not succeed against racist organizations determined to deprive them of their livelihood. I'm sure those shrimp fishermen would be happy to pay taxes to support fellow citizens now unemployed by Republicans cutting back on police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other govt workers. Your view of "other" people as shiftless parasites on hardworking Americans like you is a form of narrow-mindedness that the GOP seems to have patented and served up to the most gullible. Would you have come to the aid of the Vietnamese against the KKK to show us all how communities can take care of their own and don't need government? LOL!
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sgfoster1968 | Sep 10, 2012, 03:31 PM EDT
Ephraim- What I am saying? How in the world are you interpreting what I am saying as condoning oppression? Being a hard-working American that strives for greatness should be the greatest reward of being an American. When nationless Vietnamese showed up on our shores in the 70s looking for a future, they didn't go to the government for answers, they made a life by good ol' fashioned hard work. Should THEY be taxed and penalized to support the unmotivated and undisciplined? I think not. Look, I can't help it if there are the vast numbers that strive for mediocrity and look to feed off of other peoples' success. There will always be people who will be without and point the finger, blaming the 'haves' for their own slothfulness. There comes a time when we have to accept responsibility for our actions (or lack thereof) and maintain accountability. That's why the marxist philosophy will always be appealing to the masses. Its easier to blame others and feel a sense of 'where's mine??' then make it on your own. America has always been and hopefully will continue to be, a beacon of hope where, through perseverance and hard work you can succeed. If, upon attaining success, you choose to leave others behind, that's your choice. When a government forces a population to carry others, its tyranny. The Constitution says a whole lot about "Liberty" and "Pursuit of Happiness" and nothing about 'cradle to grave' welfare. We, as a community, have a CHOICE to assist our fellow citizens, family, etc through churches, charities, community organizations, etc. Additionally, the taxes we pay support existing welfare programs. How much is enough?
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EphraimKibbey | Sep 10, 2012, 02:54 PM EDT
@sgfoster1968 - Think about what you are saying! You are saying that since the Irish immigrants were oppressed when they arrived in America that the Irish Americans of today should act like their OPPRESSORS did. If it was wrong then isn't it even more wrong for us now since we have the benefit of historical hindsight to guide us? I wish all reporters had the stamina of David Nelson. I wish David Gregory had followed up Romney's left shift (etch-a-sketching has begun) on Romney/Obama CARES on Sunday with how he was going to pay for his replacement without the individual mandate that he thought was so great for Mass., touted as a national model in 2007 and now repudiates. Oh yea, and how is he going to pay for his own tax cuts while he's at it. "Trust m! We'll work out the details after the election!" As Ann "Cassandra" Coulter predicted "If we don't run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee, and we'll LOSE!" The curtain has been pulled back and WE CAN SEE YOU! DUH!
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sgfoster1968 | Sep 10, 2012, 01:46 PM EDT
McNamera- Today's democrats are marxists; a complete antithesis of what made America the great country it is. Yes, the democrats of old and the Irish worked together for the common good of the new immigrants; of that I don't disagree. Today, however, the democrats pathetically attempt to cling to the old 'goodness' of the party on one hand yet destroy the dream of attaining greatness on the other. Sure the republicans have much work to do and are certainly not perfect...far from it. At least they support the idea of the 'self made' American. Taxing higher incomes 50 - 75% is NEVER the answer. Its not the government's job to bottle-feed the populace but the community's job to stick together. Thats what the Irish have always done. Its not about nativists or immigrants, its about the Constitution and preserving the rights enumerated in that great document. You are right in your assessment of the Democratic Party of yesteryear but way off course in describing the party of today my friend. Today they aim to destroy the America that we and our forefathers made...through runaway and irresponsible taxation. At the end of the day, big business supplies the jobs and maintaining a business-friendly atmosphere should be the goal. THIS is what produces jobs. Both parties need to re-evaluate their goals and return the promise of the 'American Dream'.
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McNamara31 | Sep 10, 2012, 12:22 PM EDT
sgfoster1968... Totally untrue. Go back and read about the early days of the Irish and the Democrat Party. The Irish branded their principles of a "common good" and a "fair wage for a fair days pay". When the kids in the windowless tenements needed a park to play in it was the Irish and the Democrat party that made it happen.The GOP is completely a modern day version of the "Nativist's" with their "I got mine the hell with you" anti labor, pro outsourcing, greedy attitude, just like back in the day.
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hollabackgurl | Sep 10, 2012, 12:01 PM EDT
The Democrats believe we are in this together and the Republicans say you are on your own. It comes down to that really. We believe it is patriotic to work together for the good of the nation, the GOP work to enrich themselves (then ship the profits overseas to the Cayman Islands and Switzerland).
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