Am I the ONLY one who thinks Romney is *deliberately* making gaffes overseas...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

to appeal to the Republican/Teabagger base? Hear me out:

The hyper-nationalists think this is great, going over there mocking the Brits. And yes, there may be some middle of the road folks who think this is just great.

Also, "forgetting" the Opposition Party leader's name...yeah, way to sock it to those "libruls," Mitt!

Touting the "America is better" meme because we're more prepared for the Olympics.

While we sane people are laughing at Mitt Romney, the nationalists/Teabagger brigade absolutely LOVE the fact that Mitt's giving it to those SOCIALISTS!! And again there might be those Independent voters, pretending not to be Republicans, who are turned on by this show.

I could be reaching, but oh, well...

[XemaSab]

1. The only problem

is that if it's not on Faux, the teabaggers will never hear about it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Shep led with it.

but I think they want a brokered convention.

[tridim]

3. You're reaching. He's just a dumb man doing dumb things, just like *.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

7. I don't think he's dumb at all. I think his arrogance and sense of entitlement leads him to do dumb

things. He's careless. And he's careless because he's arrogant.

Mitt is going to buy this election. That's why he doesn't care. He things that the fix is in.

That's why we have to beat the monied interests by getting everyone out to vote.

[reformist2]

38. Yep. Arrogant, careless, and not used to people correcting him.

But I don't think he can buy this election. Money can't buy you love.

[scheming daemons]

4. Yep.. you're the only one

Romney already has the votes of all the teabaggers.


The foreign trip was a ploy by Romney to try to win over independents and moderates. To show that he is "presidential".

It is failing miserably.


And I guarantee you that Romney is not deliberately doing it.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. O.K., that sounds like a convincing argument. So that only leads to this observation:

Either Romney is incredibly stupid; or, his arrogance and sense of entitlement leads him to act carelessly. Either way, he loses.

[SDjack]

20. rMoney is an arrogant twit. nt

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

21. LOL @ "twit"!! Spoken like a true Brit!!

[catbyte]

54. I think Romney is a replicant and his charm chip is malfunctioning

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Diane
Anishinaabe in MI & mom to Taz, Nigel, and new baby brother Sammy, members of Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division
"Dogs Aren’t Luggage--HISS!”

[dixiegrrrrl]

66. same could be said of Shrub and his ilk.

tho his faux pas were of a slightly different dumb.

[Politicalboi]

78. Al Sharpton hit the nail on the head

He said Rmoney is acting like a CEO. That is dead on IMO.

[Tippy]

5. I thought he was working on a skit for SNL..

[WilliamPitt]

6. No

He's wandered into a place with a functioning news media.

Period. End of file.

[scheming daemons]

12. this

[JBoy]

14. Bam. You nailed it.

[emulatorloo]

22. +1

Wish somebody in ours would wake the fuck up and start reporting.

[Ishoutandscream2]

23. + Infinity.

So true.

[Initech]

45. One that isn't controlled by the Murdoch empire at that.

[uponit7771]

46. +1!

[marsis]

56. Bingo, well said.

[hifiguy]

67. Pithy, elegant, and 100% correct.

The British media is always quick to seize on missteps by the political class and trumpet those gaffes at the top of their lungs.

[rucky]

8. A three-cornered hat would be a nice touch

show those Redcoats what freedom looks like!

[JI7]

9. no, that's not it, the guy is just a fool

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. He's a CEO-type that thinks everyone should kiss his feet.

He is an international laughingstock.

[YOHABLO]

13. U.S. Xenaphobes love it.

He's counting on these idiots (his base) to vote for him. Those damn European Socialists. You go Mitt!

[RebelOne]

15. No, he is just as dumb as Bush.

And Bush did not intentionally screw up.

[loyalsister]

73. In contrast to mitt

I can almost see why people thought Bush was "charming."
Bush is wealthy, but I don't think he came anywhere close to the sense of self entitled mentality of Mitt.
I think a supporter who compared a generic CEO style republican to Bush might see him as down to earth.
I think if I had to chose, I'd rather have a beer with Bush than Mitt.

[longship]

16. Nope, but we all know it's the Bilderbergs.

[DevonRex]

17. You are the only one. He is that stupid. Nt

[smirkymonkey]

18. Mitt has turned the "Ugly American" into an art form.

Certainly appeals to his base.

[Pisces]

19. You are alone. He is just plain dumb on his feet. His entitled ass does not know how to handle

talking to the little people.

[TreasonousBastard]

24. That was my first thought, but...

it's an incredibly stupid and dangerous plan if true.

True that blowback from the Brits mens nothing-- they don't vote here and hardly anyone who does will remember in November, but it is a dogwhistle to his xenophobic following.

OTOH, it shows everyone not stupid enough to be in his pocket already that he's a hopeless idiot at diplomacy and is not exactly the best choice to lead the world's superpower.

OYAH, if they really want to broker the convention and get someone else, anyone else, that was a good line to slip to the fool.

[fascisthunter]

25. Nope... he is trying to appeal to the right wing sociopathic base

those with the most money.

And your thread deserves more recs.... I guess this hasn't dawned on folks yet.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

30. I'm glad you feel me. I've bookmarked this thread to revisit later...

[fascisthunter]

33. too often folks on the left want to just dismiss these freaks as dumb

they are anything BUT dumb. Ignorant, sure, but not dumb.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

34. I agree. We liberals often live in the bubble. I live in very liberal Maryland and work

in very liberal Washington, D.C. We truly are insulated from the rest of the country.

The mistake that we liberals often make is that we *misunderestimate* just how calculating these folks are. We dismiss them as "fools," "stupid," "idiots". I don't think they are at all. Maybe I'm paranoid and lived in this area far too long. I just don't put anything past these people.

[fascisthunter]

35. I grew up in Liberal Boston

but the right wingers were the ones feeding the animosity, bigotry, and just plain hatred as I was a kid. I will never forget my experiences as a child seeing and hearing what I have. I was so close to the source, that I can tell you, most right wingers are evil, but cunning.

edit: evil as in just bad, why I do not know really, but they enjoyed it.

[ProSense]

26. Impossible

"Am I the ONLY one who thinks Romney is *deliberately* making gaffes overseas..."

...unless he was plotting this day years in advance.

Romney on England: "It is a small island . . doesn't make things. . the world wants to buy".
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1026048

Romney: Don't let US become a second-tier nation. Like Britain
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021026748

It's like claiming that Sarah Palin is a sure thing.

There are a lot of kooks in this country, but it would be a complete mistake to believe that appealing to them at the lowest level is going to play well among sane people.

Mitt's trip thus far is a complete disaster and embarrassment, and if he's playing to teabaggers at this point, it's out of desperation.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

27. There is always that possibility, but the more reasonable alternative is that he is just

a rich, out-of-touch corporate republican buffoon that has no business being in the White House.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

31. Why can't both be true? :)

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

72. They could, but the latter seems more plausible.

I would find it hard to believe that others aka Koch brothers would allow their monetary investment to be put into jeopardy with such blatant vaudevillian attempts in order to win the tea vote. By doing that Mitt could become an even lamer horse than he already is; so much so that not even diebold could slip him into office.

I still believe that he acts like an imbecile because he is one.

"Corporations are people, my friend."

"want to make a 10k bet?"

"I created a 100k um 10k um thousands of jobs."

[Lint Head]

28. Maybe there is a Democratic/MI6/CIA mole who is feeding him lines.

[gollygee]

29. He'd be wise to retroactively cancel his visit.

[TwilightGardener]

32. Yeah.

[snot]

37. It crossed my mind; but I can't quite believe it.

[Raine]

39. No, he's just a selfish self-centered pretentious lunkhead. nt

[Bluenorthwest]

40. I think that both the planning and execution of such a complex and backhanded plan

would require a skill set and influence so great and so controlled that such a candidate most certainly would be able to plan and execute a less convoluted way of attracting his own voting base without making the world and the balance of the electorate think he's a contender for twit of the year.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

42. Enter KKKarl Rove. :)

[Bluenorthwest]

43. Yeah, Karl is just a cheat. And note that I said the planning and excecution. Mitt is the candidate

and again, a person skilled enough to play some convoluted and risky game with the international press as some ploy to win those who love idiots would be skilled enough to think of a far better plan, the actual goal in such an outing for a candidate is headlines that are positive and events that are heart warming. Do you remember Obama's speech as candidate in Berlin? Throngs of adoring people chanting his name-that's what you are after when you do such a trip. That's what Willard would like to have seen happen. That's not what's happening.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

44. Agreed. And as I said upthread it's the arrogance and sense of entitlement that leads to this

carelessness. I think Krauthammer put it best when he wrote about Mittens' carelessness. It's just so baffling that I can't help but think it's somehow part of some master plan.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

48. I almost feel sorry for him.

[Honeycombe8]

41. If they think the U.K. is socialist, they're ignorant. Cameron is a conservative, who got pissed

at Romney's comments.

No, I don't think Romney is intentionally making gaffes, generally.

It crossed my mind the Olympics statement might've been an intentional statement to take away from the gaffe by one of his staffers about Obama not understanding the Anglo-Saxon connection. But I don't think Romney thought of his Olympics statement as a gaffe. Because of his narcissistic view of the world, he thought he was merely shoring up his history as the perfect Olympics preparer.

He keeps talking about the Olympics. Has he done anything else besides the Olympics and make more money using his dad's money?

[soccer1]

47. Sometimes I wonder about Romney's cognitive functioning....

when listening to him, I get the impression his mind isn't all that sharp...the same impression I had of Reagan long before it was known his mental faculties were in decline. But, maybe Romney has always presented himself this way. I never paid any attention to him until it was a given he would get the nomination. So, I have no basis for comparison.

[kimbutgar]

57. I get the early alzheimers vibe about him also

[soccer1]

65. Maybe it's just mild cognitive decline that can accompany aging. But, it concerns me if

he were to become POTUS.....the 3AM phone call....foreign relations....scary thought.

[dixiegrrrrl]

68. sorta "half zheimers"...

[Paladin]

49. I Think You're Giving Him Too Much Credit.

At least, I hope you are......

[gkhouston]

50. It wouldn't surprise me. I think they've over-counted the number of people who will be

impressed by this, but maybe his advisors have been taking "math" lessons from Rove.

[mfcorey1]

51. No. That is the excuse we use every time he puts his foot in his mouth. That is just

the real Mitt "without substance" Rmoney.

[KurtNYC]

52. but how would that "deliberately" get him swing voters ?

He has the racist vote sewn up. This election is about fence-sitters 7 states.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

58. Yes, but in my OP, I state that Robme's gaffes may actually be appealing to some

Independents who pretend to be "independent" but are really Republicans who don't want to call themselves that anymore. There are a good number of so-called Independents who are conservative but just aren't as nationalistic as the Teabaggers or other Republicans.

I guess I have little faith in the average American voter.

[KharmaTrain]

53. If Willard Is Still Trying To Win Over The Teabaggers...

...he's toast. But there is some validity to what your pointing to.

Mittens is overcompensating to show he's a "severly conservative"...picking neo-cons to play advisors and blowing all sorts of dogwhistles, but this trip isn't for their benefit.

I can see Mittens dreaming 6 months or a year ago about using this trip to highlight his leadership at the '02 Olympics and be seen as a world leader...similar to the trip President Obama took in the '08 campaign.

[djean111]

55. Hard to tell if he is deliberately acting like an ass.

But I just peeked into freeperville - and they are swooning with delight.
These are folks who were going to sit out the election because Newt didn't win the nomination.
Now they are cheering Mitt's evident disdain for the British.
So I think Mitt is good at the dog whistle thing. Or else this is his natural assiness, and it is working well for him.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

60. Yes, yes! You are catching my point!! Just like when he went to the NAACP and insulted

the people there. He was not well intended; he was talking directly to the racists on the far right and yes, some racists in the middle and Independents who have bought into the idea that we lazy, shiftless knee-grows just sit back waiting on government handouts.

[BrendaBrick]

64. I just ran across this while looking for the "I Love Lamp" video

from Free Republic back in February. There's actually some funny stuff there!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2848349/posts?q=1&;page=1#1

I love the White House.
It’s White.
It’s in Washington DC.
I want to go to there.
_______________________________________

See Mother and Father.
See Mother and Father in the car.
They think they will go somewhere!
They think they will go to Washington DC.

See Spot!
See Spot on the car roof.
Bark, Spot, bark!
Why has Spot stopped barking?

[progressivebydesign]

59. Interesting. But no, not really. this is his pattern, he does it in the US, too.

His insults of the local bakery in cookie-gate, to his "who let the dogs out" riff. He just lives in a bubble, and is so used to having yes-men around him all the time, that he thinks everything he says or thinks is golden.

No.. he's just an incompetent boob, and a bully, who got where he was because of his money.

There is no one out there good enough to pull off that kind of absolute idiocy, to make a point.

EDIT: AND.. don't forget that before he took the trip, he made that speech to the VFW trashing the President for not having good relations with our 'less foreign' pals like the UK. No.. he truly intended this to be some GREAT big overseas triumph, and we know this because of what he said before he left. His whole thing was to shame Obama's relationship with the UK and Israel. But now Netanyahu is coming saying that he and Mitt don't even know each other well, after Romney claimed they were Bffs.

[BrendaBrick]

61. Never hurts to reach

and consider that something more is going on than actually is - but I think in this case, you'd be giving him too much credit:

[guneydomuz]

62. Peruse the Reich Wing sites and Mitt is a Hero Now to the Mouth Breathers

Doubtful it is on purpose, but it is working out for him anyway with them.

[LanternWaste]

63. After I watch the new employee trip and fall to the floor about twice a day over the past two weeks

After I watch the new employee trip and fall to the floor about twice a day over the past two weeks, I reach the conclusion that she's simply clumsy rather than a secret Olympic gymnast hopeful...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

69. Tweety just agreed with me. He just stated that Romney could have been directing his remarks to

Americans, especially those in Utah who may "take pride" that he saved the Olympics there, while in London, they just aren't ready.

The Brits going after him may actually turn him into a sympathetic character here.

[hay rick]

70. That was my take on his NAACP appearance but I think this is different.

Teabaggers love the "Anglo-Saxons" and I don't think there are many points to be earned with the base by disrespecting the Brits. I think this is just Mitt being Mitt.

[barbtries]

71. i don't think so.

even most republicans know better than to piss off our allies. after all they'll need them the next time they want to throw a war.

[randome]

74. Yeah. Palin and now Romney.

Any decade now, the trap will be sprung!

[annabanana]

75. Well the wingnuts LOVED it when Cheney wore that horrible parka at Auschwitz

[unblock]

76. yes, you're the only one. however, they will make lemon-wet-good out of the situation.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

80. Apparently I'm not. On Friday, Tweety posited the same, and just this morning, so did Melissa

Harris Perry. It was a nod and dog whistle to the bigoted, xenophobic assholes in this country.

The Brits fired back with a ceremony celebrating their NHS and way of life.

Fuck you, Mitt Romney!!!!

[alarimer]

77. I don't know if it's deliberate but it will definitely appeal to them.

"We don't truck with no furriners." That crowd will eat it up because they are ignorant trolls.

[Th1onein]

79. There was an earlier thread about Romney visiting England and now getting ready to insult the rest

of the world. I thought it was great!

And, no, I think this guy is just an idiot.

[Skip Intro]

81. Intentional or not, his visit to Israel will now draw more attention.

Even if the increase in attention is mostly made up of people looking to see if he will screw up again.

[karynnj]

82. and the first two stories are negative

1) He scheduled a $50,000 a plate fundraiser on a Jewish Day of mourning in Jerusalem - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/mitt-romney-jerusalem-fundraiser_n_1668271.html

and
2) He told the media they can't have access though it is in a public place, not a private home.

Where you can say that annoying the British might win with the American exceptionalism crowd, how does offending the small percent of Jews that would support him and who are religious help?

[Monk06]

83. Talking down to your friends and threatening your adversaries is considered essential

for Neo Cons. As has been pointed out 70% of Romney's advisers are American Enterprise alumni or are signers of PNAC. He penciled in John Bolton for Sec State for Christ's sake.

He's blowing the dog whistle like Louis Armstong's trumpet. You watch he will promise Israel an invasion of Iran and Syria if he's elected.

[grantcart]

84. No I am sure he has convinced Ann its all part of some hairbrained plan to,

but its always after the fact, never before.

[ecstatic]

85. "While Willard was not my pick, at least he appears to have the right enemies."

Based on comments like that on RW sites, it seems your theory is possible, but I just think Rmoney is clueless!