"Mitt Romney, parroting another right-wing conspiracy theory" (updated)

[ProSense]

Last edited Fri Jul 27, 2012, 03:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Conservatives outraged over Abraham Lincoln bust in the Oval Office

by kos

Mitt Romney, parroting another right-wing conspiracy theory:

Mitt Romney, speaking to a group of more than 200 supporters in hotel in the heart of London this evening, said he is “looking forward” to returning the bust of Winston Churchill to the White House after it was sent back to Great Britain by President Obama.

Wait, this bust?



That's Obama showing off the Churchill bust to British Prime Minister David Cameron ... INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE.

So yeah, the bust was never "returned" to the UK. In fact, it was moved to the residence. In its place in the Oval Office, Obama placed a bust of Pres. Abraham Lincoln. Pretty sensible, right?

Which goes to show, only in America does the self-styled "patriotic American" party get insanely outraged when a bust of a foreign leader gets replaced with that of an American president. And a Republican president, at that.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/27/1114318/-Conservatives-outraged-over-Abraham-Lincoln-bust-in-the-Oval-Office

Maybe Mitt is worse than Sarah Palin.

Which leads me to ask: Have Democrats succeeded in making Romney run hard right?

That's what everyone said he had to avoid. It was also the point of his Etch-A-Sketch attempts, trying to erase the more conservative statements he made during the primary.

Democrats didn't want voters to forget.

I mean, Romney has been trying and needs desperately to appeal to moderate voters. If he's still trying to convince wingnuts, he has a problem. Appealing to moderate voters was the whole point of his Etch-A-Sketch strategy, which obviously failed.

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 overseas adventure thus far is a complete disaster and embarrassment. If he's playing to teabaggers at this point, and at the risk of turning what was supposed to be a trip to bolster his foreign policy creds, then it's out of desperation.

Even Republicans are piling on: "Kind of like Mr. Bean, only he's an American"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021027165

Aside from that, this is the real Romney.

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

Oops! Mitt Calls Country He's Visiting by the Wrong Name
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021028124

Mitt Romney: 'End of quote'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002932550

He's a guy who goes through life getting what he wants because he has money. He's knows how to get money, even if it means crushing people by cheating and lying.

Like Sarah Palin, he knows what he knows. His gaffes are the result of his limited knowledge of the issues. He's a functional idiot in terms of a politician.

Mitt doesn't care where China, Iran and Syria (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021024991) are on the map. He just knows the monetary benefits of holding the positions he does.

It's all about money, nothing else.

Updated to add, Mitt's actual quote

“And I’m looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again,” Romney said

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/romney-looking-forward-to-returning-churchill-bust-to-white-house/

Still, Mitt's quote has dog whistle implications. Without any knowledge of the RW conspiracy, what the hell is this comment about?

It also appears that the media is feeding the conspiracy.

Romney's comments were a nod to the controversy that erupted in 2009 after people learned that President Barack Obama had removed a bust of the former British prime minister that had been prominently displayed in the Oval Office by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The bust was returned to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., a move that raised eyebrows among British diplomats.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-looking-forward-returning-churchill-bust-oval-office-195505800.html

Romney promises to bring Churchill bust back to White House
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57480974-503544/romney-promises-to-bring-churchill-bust-back-to-white-house/

[Enrique]

1. actually ABC News is the one that fucked up

Last edited Sun Jul 29, 2012, 08:15 AM - Edit history (1)

this is what Romney said:

“And I’m looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again,” Romney said

That does not contain anything non-factual, since the bust actually was removed from the Oval Office.

But further down in the story, ABC News fucks up and says Obama returned the bust, which is false.

President Obama returned the bust in 2009, drawing ire from the British press who said that the move had made some leaders “nervous” about what the gesture meant for U.S.-U.K. relations. The bust had a home in the Oval Office during President George W. Bush’s administration.

The reporter, Emily Friedman, should be embarrassed, and ABC News needs to correct this story.

edit: oops, Emily Friedman is right, I was wrong, the bust is no longer at the White House, it is at the British Embassy, she got all her facts right.

[ProSense]

3. OK

actually ABC News is the one that fucked up

this is what Romney said:

“And I’m looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again,” Romney said

...ABC should issue a retraction and apologize for the embellishment.

Still, Mitt's quote has dog whistle implications. Without any knowledge of the RW conspiracy, what the hell is this comment about?

[Enrique]

4. it means he likes Churchill better than Lincoln

someone should ask Mitt if he loves America so much why does he want to replace the bust of a great American president with a bust of a foreign leader?

I hear the dogwhistle too, why would anyone make an issue out of this bust garbage? But as far as the gross factual error, that is ABC News. They are talking about returning the bust to the White House, which is wrong since it is there now. Mitt, and his advisers in the Telegraph story, talked about the Oval Office.

[Gold Metal Flake]

2. ABC News showing it's conservative media bias again.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/romney-looking-forward-to-returning-churchill-bust-to-white-house/

ABC "Reporter" (hack attack dog) Emily Friedman should retract and apologize at once. The CMB is brazen and obscene.

PS, Prosense, well done on the running tally of Mitt shit from across the pond.

[ProSense]

5. Evidently,

the media is feeding the conspiracy:

Romney's comments were a nod to the controversy that erupted in 2009 after people learned that President Barack Obama had removed a bust of the former British prime minister that had been prominently displayed in the Oval Office by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The bust was returned to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., a move that raised eyebrows among British diplomats.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-looking-forward-returning-churchill-bust-oval-office-195505800.html

Romney promises to bring Churchill bust back to White House
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57480974-503544/romney-promises-to-bring-churchill-bust-back-to-white-house/

Good grief!

Oh, and thanks.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. How dare Obama replace a racist/imperialist with the guy who freed the slaves.

Tsk. Tsk.

[malaise]

7. Perfect response n/t

[Tx4obama]

8. The Churchill bust in the OP photo is a COPY that belongs to the White House.

The one on loan WAS returned when Bush left office.

The Churchill COPY that the White House owns was out for repairs and when it came back it was placed in the residence (that's the one in the OP photo that Obama and Cameron are looking at).


In the Oval Office: Obama moved the Lincoln bust to the side of the fireplace that the Churchill used to sit. Then Obama added a Martin Luther King, Jr. bust to the opposite side of the fireplace where the Lincoln bust sat before being moved to it's new location on the other side of the fireplace.

The reason I know because I was watching what they were doing in the Oval Office back in 2009 and then in August 2010 when the whole room got a big makeover.