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Manhattan Diary by Cahir O'Doherty

Mitt Romney is no JFK, RFK or Ted Kennedy

Posted on Monday, June 04, 2012 at 09:49 AM

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The Kennedy boys

Last week Mitt Romney compared himself to John F. Kennedy. He wasn't talking about Kennedy's life or achievements though, he was talking about his bank balance.

It was an unfortunate comparison though, because if Romney was looking for a legacy he should have known to shy away from the Kennedy's.

History shows, the Kennedy's worked tirelessly to promote social justice and equal opportunity every day of their political lives.

As one of his first presidential acts Jack Kennedy created the Peace Cops, in which young Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care and construction.

As one of his first presidential acts Mitt Romney has pledged to repeal Obamacare and introduce massive tax cuts for billionaires. So there's a major difference in the audience he's playing to and the people who will benefit.

Romney couldn't compare himself to Robert Kennedy either. Robert Kennedy promoted racial equality, championing the Civil Rights Movement in the years when Mitt Romney was giving involuntary haircuts to gay guys and walking blind teachers into glass doors. Kennedy battled organized crime and was largely successful in prosecuting several key crime figures. As Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson he resigned after splitting with him over several issues including the Vietnam War.
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And Ted Kennedy was instrumental in the following laws: The Head Start program, The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, Meals on Wheels Act of 1972, Title 9 prohibits discrimination against women and provides equality for women in schools, Americans with Disabilities Act 1990, The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act 1990, The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and many others.

Ted Kennedy stood with the gay community during the darkest years of the Aids crisis in the 1980's, when conservatives like Ronald Reagan justified public bigotry against them by citing the Bible and far right leaders like Jesse Helms suggested they be thrown into concentration camps.

In contrast for most of his adult life Mitt Romney has worked tirelessly to enrich a small number of fat cat shareholders. As president he will work to present massive tax cuts to fat cat millionaires.

It's disgraceful that even dare to compare himself to the lives and legacies of these men.

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71regiment | Jun 04, 2012, 09:58 PM EDT

Thank goodness Mitt is not like the Kennedy's. They all inherited a lot of money, money that was accumulated under questionable circumstances. Did any of the brothers really have a job and produce anything? But most of all how quick we forget who was behind the 1965 reforms of US Immigration, that ended the ability of people from Ireland to freely come here. You can thank the Kennedy boys for that.

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christilcaugh | Jun 04, 2012, 09:22 PM EDT

Mitt, you are NO Jack Kennedy!

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seanomelb | Jun 04, 2012, 08:45 PM EDT

Brian do you mean the millions he donated to the Mormon Church to build more temples some charity.

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BrianO | Jun 04, 2012, 07:19 PM EDT

Romney was asked if a person with wealth could relate to people, in this context he gave examples of other presidents who were wealthy, that the likes of Cahir apparently approve of. An honest treatment of his answer isn't expected, and it is funny how the anti Romney forces are grasping at any straw to try to attack. Jack Kennedy was right about many things, and I do not hold his inheritance against him, why do people hold Romney's inheritance against him? Is it because he donated it to charity?

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seabeetom | Jun 04, 2012, 07:14 PM EDT

Thank GOD for that.

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seanomelb | Jun 04, 2012, 06:53 PM EDT

Mitt flip flop Romney is not good enough to shine the Kennedy's shoes.He's the architect of Obamacacre now he's against it. a real right wing moron if ever there was one

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eiriamach | Jun 04, 2012, 06:52 PM EDT

To Brolaur's quotation from scripture, I'd like to add, from Robt J Miller's Annotated SV translation, Luke 6:20-21, 24-25. When Romney told Americans that we should "congratulate" people like him, who make great wealth in business, I was reminded of this SV translation of the Beatitudes: "Congratulations, you poor! God's domain belongs to you. Congratulations, you hungry! You will have a feast. Congratulations, you who weep now! You will laugh.... Damn you rich! You already have your consolation. Damn you who are well fed now! You will know hunger. Damn you who laugh now! You will learn to grieve." It's true what they say of us Americans-- we insist on separating church and state, but we can't resist mixing religion and politics.

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jamthecat | Jun 04, 2012, 06:31 PM EDT

Amazing how the haters crawl out from under their rocks to protect a sociopathic rich kid's sense of entitlement, even when it means to their own detriment. No...not amazing...pathetic and diseased. Mittens don't care 'bout nobody but himself and his rich buddies; the rest of us...it's survival of the fittest. The Kennedys came from a criminal father, but they made up for it in far more ways than Mitt could ever think of doing. He's an embarrassment to the country, and those who follow him hate everything America used to stand for.

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mairint | Jun 04, 2012, 06:17 PM EDT

Oh great, there he goes again pushing the homosexual campaign..as if Ted K. ever nursed a dying AIDS patient like the Mother Teresa's little sisters. The homosexual sexual vagaries would have had some parallels with Ted's lifestyles. Unfortunately the U.S. has no choice now if they are to salvage the role of President from the low's it has now sunk to. Do all you Obama fans want your children to be indoctrinated in the multi gender life 'choices'? Just watch the curriculum being infiltrated into the educational system from primary levels up. Do you know the activist that Obama has put in charge? Get real people.

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Brolaur | Jun 04, 2012, 06:00 PM EDT

Mitt believes in the bible esp. the verse "The poor we shall always have with us". There it is; Jesus said it. So don't worry about them!

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AengusOg | Jun 04, 2012, 05:36 PM EDT

Chappaquiddick, Viet Nam, Bay of Pigs, Marilyn Monroe, carpet bagging, drinking, & womanizing are not earmarks of productive lives. Espousal of high ideals sometimes cloak low-life human beings, aka politicians.

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faberm1 | Jun 04, 2012, 05:08 PM EDT

THANK GOD IN HEAVEN Mitt Romney is not like these two Kennedys. I hope he is like NONE of them. He is not a womanizer, thug, cheater, two-faced politician or a phony "church-goer". I didn't vote for Mitt in the Primary (I voted for Ron Paul)), but Ted and John F. Kennedy were criminals like their father and America deserves far better than them. As an American I am ashamed of the Kennedys.

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greensod | Jun 04, 2012, 04:56 PM EDT

Not a veteran in the family,or whiskey in the glass.I dont think so.

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acemaker | Jun 04, 2012, 04:15 PM EDT

He's very much not like the Kennedys, that's why he's got my vote. What kind of cool aid is the guy who wrote this drinking. He's read to much IC.

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BrianO | Jun 04, 2012, 03:28 PM EDT

not allowed to comment

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