Israel: Romney, Walking Gaffe-Man, Insults America's Mid-East Allies

[ProSense]

Israel: Romney, Walking Gaffe-Man, Insults America's Mid-East Allies

by TeamSarah4Choice

In an attempt to criticize and attack President Obama on foreign soil, Romney ended up attacking the Religion of America's Middle-East Allies and ended up telling the world that Romney would bring back the failed Bush/Cheney Foreign Policies.

Romney told the conservative Israeli News, owned by Rightwinger Sheldon Adelson, "Israel Hayom" that he is "very concerned" about the "Islamic Leaders" being elected in the Mid-East.

ROMNEY: We're disappointed in seeing Tunisia and Morocco elect Islamist governments. We're very concerned in seeing the new leader in Egypt as an Islamist leader."

Romney's Comment Disturbing on many Levels.

Romney is saying he disapproves of letting people elect their leaders and Romney is tossing out bigoted comments about the Religion of most of America's Mid-East Allies in order to fearmonger against members of one religion. By the way, who is this "We" Romney refers to?

Also disturbing in Romeny's comment is that he is insulting America's Mid-East Allies as most of America's Mid-East Allies have Islamic Leaders and some of those Allies are even Islamic Republics.

U.S. Allies in the Mid-East with Islamic Leaders:
Saudi Arabia: Islamic Absolute Monarch
Jordan: Islamic Leader, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein
Turkey: Islamic Leader, President Abdullah Gül
Egypt: Islamic Leaders for decades. current Islamic Leader: Mohamed Morsi Isa al-Ayyat
Pakistan: Islamic Republic
Qatar: Islamic Leader, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Algeria: Islamic Leader, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Afghanistan: Islamic Republic put in place by Bush/Cheney
Iraq: Islamic Leader, Jalal Talabani under Bush/Cheney's watch
Kuwait: Islamic Leader, Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

How can any of America's Mid-East Allies trust Mitt Romney when he fearmongers and tosses out the boogie-man words like, "We're very concerned" about the Religion of American's Mid-East Allies? Um -- also, is Romney a bigot against one religion?

- more -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/28/1114277/-Israel-Romney-Insults-America-s-Mid-East-Allies

[sibelian]

1. This man is an IDIOT.

A fool! A complete catastrophe! How can anyone take him seriously? Rofl

[valerief]

18. A Mittiot.

A thought just hit me. Maybe he doesn't want to be president. Maybe he was given an offer he couldn't refuse, and now he's bumbling his way out of it.

Nah. It's probably just a strategy. Being stoooooopid worked for Dumbya.

A caller to Mark Thompson's radio show said yesterday that he expects Rmoney to make a gaffe with Israel by saying something like, "I love Middle Eastern food. I especially like Hamas with my crackers."

[BeHereNow]

59. MITTIOT!!!! Yes! DUzy nominee.

I think you just created new word Val!

Love it!

BHN

[Heather MC]

79. I am hoping he says...

I love Rommeydon!
He just made an all black Commercial
I can't wait to see his all Muslim Commercial
he also needs an all Asian one but he has to keep the Koreans, Chinese and Japanese Separate
a Hispanic one, but keep Elsavadorians separate from Mexicans and Brazilans.

Wow it is going to be very expensive making commercials that are designed to highlight each separate race, creed, and religion. Too bad he doesn't see us all as equally American.

[valerief]

91. Rommeydon! Bwahahahahaha!

[DCBob]

2. I guess Egypt is not his next stop on the Romney "Euro-disaster" tour.

What a dumb thing to say.

[smirkymonkey]

78. Good One! I can hardly wait for Poland.

I expect it to be his biggest f**k up of all times.

[gollygee]

3. The trick here is saying something nice to one ally without offending any other allies.

That's called diplomacy. Sigh. He should have stayed home.

[oldhippydude]

27. yikes

i figured the worst he could do was pass out copies of the Book of Mormon..

[JHB]

31. The only "diplomacy" Mitt knows is "say anything to get them to invite you in...

...so you can then loot the joint".

When Bain made negotiations to take over a company, it was behind closed doors and the only other party he was concerned with were the owners and executives of the other company. He didn't worry about anyone else thought (least of all the employees).

[SunsetDreams]

4. "We're disappointed" "We're very concerned"

Who's WE?

Please don't speak for the United States.

[bigtree]

8. his 'shadow' national security council?

. . . chock-full of Bush-era hawks and hacks.

http://www.mittromney.com/blogs/mitts-view/2011/10/mitt-romney-announces-foreign-policy-and-national-security-advisory-team

Cofer Black
Christopher Burnham
Michael Chertoff
Eliot Cohen
Norm Coleman
John Danilovich
Paula J. Dobriansky
Eric Edelman


Michael Hayden
Kerry Healey
Kim Holmes
Robert Joseph
Robert Kagan
John Lehman
Andrew Natsios
Meghan O’Sullivan

Walid Phares
Pierre Prosper
Mitchell Reiss
Daniel Senor
Jim Talent
Vin Weber
Richard Williamson
Dov Zakheim


US special envoy to Sudan, Richard Williamson:

Romney’s foreign policy guru has been intricately involved in foreign affairs at senior levels since the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who appointed him assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, a role he succeeded Alan Keyes in and immediately preceded John Bolton in.

During the presidency of George W. Bush, he was at various points ambassador to the United Nations for special political affairs, ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the president’s special envoy to Sudan.

In 2008, he worked on Arizona Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign as a senior foreign policy adviser.

[freshwest]

13. He's just doing the dog whistle for the drooling teabaggers. 'Mitt's agin dem Mooslem terrierists!'

Grwl! Woof! Woof! Snort!

But seriously, thanks for the link that needs to be put out to warn people of what he's planning.

War with Iran? You betcha!

Please make an OP from that post, bigtree!

[oldhippydude]

29. he's been campaigning in that right wing bubble

now he can't distinguish between an ali, and a cartoon character.... this is a Dominionist dog whistle not foreign policy..

the man is playing the world stage the same way he played the NAACP

[agent46]

38. Bingo. n/t

[freshwest]

41. Dominionist theology is foreign policy, until all nations submit and we are all one theocracy.

The Book of Revelations predicted a one world government and religion with oppression and environmental disasters. A world openly ruled by Satan, until Jesus the Christ shows up and all the unbelievers are wiped out. Those stories have had incredible staying power among the masses and some of their leaders. And what people believe, they can make happen. Some of the more outright religionists in both the Christian and Islamic faiths have been eager to bring about events to bring about Armageddon, eager for their Savior to arrive and bring world peace under their God. So where does Mittens fall in that scenario?

[siligut]

71. Mitt is the anti-Christ

And how the hell do they expect environmental disasters and still deny climate change?

[freshwest]

73. In my talks with *some*, they don't deny climate change, are even willing to admit it's man-made.

But that's from Sin, you know. The fallen nature of mankind led astray by Satan, and proud of it, unwilling to repent. If mankind would surrender to Jesus, the world would be saved, but it won't. So the world must suffer and be destroyed for it. Most of them think Obama's the anti-Christ. And the Pope, well, just maybe. As to Mittens?

They don't care. The world is coming to an end, so they don't have to give a toot what he would do to anyone. They don't have to recycle, reduce, reuse, care for the poor, work to have alternative energy, change the world, or anything.

It's batten down the hatches, keep their powder dry and get ready. Can't trust anyone, the followers of Satan are all coming for the true believers. Some believe in the Rapture, some don't. But they've all given in to it. As I said, they only want to be left alone with their money and their toys to survive.

And they vote.

[siligut]

74. Waiting for the end times?

How long have they been thinking this way? Wasn't Jesus supposed to come 12 years ago? Where do you live or are these on-line conversations?

So while they aren't helping the poor or minding the environment; are they still paying their bills? I get the impulse to batten down the hatches every once in a while, mostly to get off the grid and be prepared for what these people will do because of their expectations.

You know Mormons are always prepared for when things go to hell. There was an article years ago about how some weather phenomena wrought havoc on Salt Lake City and how organized the residents were cleaning it up.

[bigtree]

5. it was just a matter of waiting a moment for this latest ignorance

. . . and the set-up has been perfect; with all of the talk of Romney 'turning the page' in Israel from his embarrassment in London.

great post, btw . . . k&r

[TheKentuckian]

6. What a fucking embarrassment this guy is.

Plenty of worse than Bush capability with Weird Willard.

[Spazito]

7. Geez, the man is just one BIG gaffe...

totally tone deaf in so many ways. The bubble he lives in must be air-tight.

[Politicalboi]

56. Maybe Ann puts him on the roof

Of the car in the "air tight container" Seamus used to love to be in. LOL!

[OverseaVisitor]

9. Is he stupid

These are Islamic Countries.
The majority of the population follow the Islamic faith.

Of course they end up with Islamic Leaders.

[malthaussen]

10. "Islamist" is not the same as "Islamic."

I don't want to spoil the party, but Mr Romney's word choice would indicate that "we" (meaning all right-thinking, good Amurrikan peoples of no color) are "concerned" about the proliferation of xenophobic fundamentalist Islamic leaders in the region, and not that "we" have a down on all of Islam.

Which, however, is a bit outside the point: once again, Mr Romney should have realized that his words were going to be used against him, and exercised appropriate caution.

-- Mal

[ProSense]

14. Huh?

"Islamist" is not the same as "Islamic."

I don't want to spoil the party, but Mr Romney's word choice would indicate that "we" (meaning all right-thinking, good Amurrikan peoples of no color) are "concerned" about the proliferation of xenophobic fundamentalist Islamic leaders in the region, and not that "we" have a down on all of Islam.

It appears you're joining the party, and dispelling a straw man. Romney didn't say "Islam."

In the context of his statement, there is no distinction between his use of the term "Islamist government" (Egypt) and Islamic rule (Egypt).

In fact, the xenophobia of wingnuts targets Islam so Romney is essentially playing into it.

[malthaussen]

17. OP Quote ends: "Is Romney a bigot against one religion?"

Thus I say the Romney quote supplied does not provide evidence of a prejudice against Islam.

As for Islamist and Islamic, the point is that there is a difference between the two. I don't see any indication in the cited quote that Mr Romney was expressing "concern" about all the Islamic governments in the area, but only about the Islamist ones. So to take an expression of "concern" about one kind of political ideology as a blanket attack on different ideologies in the area is extending the message beyond bounds justifiable by the context.

As for the xenophobia of wingnuts targeting Islam, of course it does, and of course Mr Romney is playing to them -- and the Israeli wingnuts -- that's his base.

-- Mal

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

19. Do you honestly -- HONESTLY

think that Mitten is making that distinction? Do you think he 's smart enough to even know that there is a difference?

Do you think that people in Middle East countries as saying, "Oh, he said Islamicist, not Islamic. He's not talking about us."

[malthaussen]

21. Actually, yes, I do think Mr Romney is making that distinction.

I think his message is clearly "Us xenophobes are worried about Islamic xenophobes." Whether or not he personally thinks all Islamics are xenophobes (if he thinks at all) is well beyond my competence to hold an opinion.

Do I think the people in the Mid East are thinking what you say? I'd guess not, and I said his team should have realized his words could be interpreted that way.


-- Mal

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

23. You give Willard far too much credit

The guy who still thinks the UK goes by the name of "Great Britain"

[malthaussen]

25. Yeah, I'm hip.

It might just could be that he is using "Islamist" because he is ignorant of the term "Islamic," as people use "Democrat Party" instead of "Democratic." The only reason I entertain the notion is that RW wingnuts are not the only ones "concerned" about Islamist expension in Islamic regions, and that given the fact that some Islamists are in fact not particularly fond of us, it is at least a defensible position for the country to be "concerned."

-- Mal

[oldhippydude]

35. sounds just like one would say

as a direct appeal to Sheldon Adelson's wallet.......... just sayin, another example of citizen's united on steriods

[malthaussen]

39. Sure, but Mr Romney doesn't need to appeal to Mr Adelson's wallet...

Mr Adelson is already shoveling the cash at the GOP as fast as he can. OTOH, you could call it an example of "Value for money already spent," or Mr Romney earning his pay by citing Mr Adelson's desired line.

-- Mal

[vlyons]

88. Mitt's team of x-Bushies

did not know the difference between Shiites and Sunni moslems in Iraq. And in Syria there are Alawites, who are loosly allied with Shiites, but also somewhat sympathetic to Sufis, who are despised by other Shiites. The Islamic religion has different sects, just like Christianity. It's complicated, too much so for Mitt.

[cthulu2016]

61. Of course he is. He is briefed by neo-cons on everything.

The distinction is commonplace, even in (or particularly in) neo-con circles.

They have a whole line of argument against the Arab spring because it happened under Obama, and Mitt is repeating that argument.

The argument relies on the term "Islamist" which they use all the time.

[DCBob]

70. I wonder if those two words even translate to the same meanings we have here.

Somehow I doubt it.

[ProSense]

42. What?

OP Quote ends: "Is Romney a bigot against one religion?"

Thus I say the Romney quote supplied does not provide evidence of a prejudice against Islam.

You are linking Romney's quote to "the xenophobia of wingnuts targeting Islam"

You previously said:

"Islamist" is not the same as "Islamic."

I don't want to spoil the party, but Mr Romney's word choice would indicate that "we" (meaning all right-thinking, good Amurrikan peoples of no color) are "concerned" about the proliferation of xenophobic fundamentalist Islamic leaders in the region, and not that "we" have a down on all of Islam.

To your current comment:

As for Islamist and Islamic, the point is that there is a difference between the two. I don't see any indication in the cited quote that Mr Romney was expressing "concern" about all the Islamic governments in the area, but only about the Islamist ones. So to take an expression of "concern" about one kind of political ideology as a blanket attack on different ideologies in the area is extending the message beyond bounds justifiable by the context.

As for the xenophobia of wingnuts targeting Islam, of course it does, and of course Mr Romney is playing to them -- and the Israeli wingnuts -- that's his base.

Again, what?

Here's Romney's quote:

ROMNEY: We're disappointed in seeing Tunisia and Morocco elect Islamist governments. We're very concerned in seeing the new leader in Egypt as an Islamist leader."

He specifically referenced "Egypt."

From the OP:

Egypt: Islamic Leaders for decades. current Islamic Leader: Mohamed Morsi Isa al-Ayyat

Egypt, like all the other countries the diarist cites, is in fact under Islamic leadership.

You are inserting a distinction, a fuzzy one at that, not made by Romney.

[progressivebydesign]

33. U give him too much credit. He can't even tell if cookies are from 7-11 or not. n/t

[unblock]

36. "islamist" instead of "islamic" is like calling israel a "jew nation" instead of a "jewish nation"

the grammatical parallel isn't perfect, but the propagandistic point is to leave one word clean (islamic/jewish) in order to be able to claim that the speaking isn't actually a bigot and is showing religious deference, and imbue the other word with negative connotations in order to communicate the exact bigotry that the speaking can later deny.

thus, the speaker can claim to have respect for our christian/jewish heritage and respect for the jewish people, then slam israel as a "jew nation".

similarly, the speaker can claim respect for individual islamic people, but slam foreign leaders or terrorist threats as "islamist". when they are called out, they can always deny bigotry, saying oh, no, i'm not insulting anything islamic, i'm talking about the islamist violence and terrorism.

[malthaussen]

44. I agree as to the propaganda point.

Good analysis of the method, IMO.

-- Mal

[SoCalDem]

85. "Islamist"..is the codespeak term for "terrorist".. Would Christians like

being called Christ-ies?

Twisted language is infuriatingly ignorant

One of the BIGGEST ones that has always bugged the hell out of me is the way people routinely say EYErack and EYEran.. It's EE-rock and EE-ron

It shows an intense disrespect in that they could not even be bothered to learn the proper pronunciation..

Would Texans like being called TEEX-Ayns?
or how would we like it if others called us AmeriCANS?

Would Mitt like to be called MITE?

[aquart]

102. You got it, exactly.

[Malikshah]

40. The two terms might be different, but the term Islamist is also a bit misunderstood.

It's so unfortunate that folks equate Islamist with xenophobe. It misses the reality of what's been going on in each of these countries.

[malthaussen]

43. Yeah, "Islamist" is undergoing transition, but I do think

... that to give Mr Romney credit for being aware of that would be a stretch.

-- Mal

[citizen blues]

52. Thank you for posting this.

I did not understand the difference so I looked it up and read a couple different websites. The Daily Beast has a pretty good explanation of the difference between the two:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/22/is-it-islamic-or-islamist.html[link:http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/22/is-it-islamic-or-islamist.html|


What I came away with is a sense that Islamic refers to the religion while Islamists are basically Muslim Fundamentalists. Mitt knew that the word Islamist would serve as a dog-whistle back home while those in the middle-east would understand the difference.

I have other problems with what was said though. First, he's questioning other countries' right to elect their own leaders. Second, I too am wondering who this "We" is. The Mittwit is currently a private citizen and has no right whatsoever to speak for citizens of the U.S. Third, I'm sure there are plenty around the globe (and in the U.S.) who would be equally "concerned" over the U.S. electing a president from a 150 year old secretive cult that up until the 70's taught that people of color were the "marked" descendants of Cain.

[harmonicon]

90. Thanks for pointing this out.

Dailykos is chock-full of faulty reasoning and bad writing? Who woulda thunk it.

I'm constantly amazed that people will manufacture bullshit and trump up charges against Romney when all you have to do is look at his record and his proposed policies to see all the fault you need to criticize him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

93. Maybe so - but how will that translate?

Mittens' comments will not necessarily be read in English. The fine distinction between "Islamic" and "Islamist" might not survive translation.

[OverseaVisitor]

98. So

Islamist [ˈɪzləmɪst]
adj
(Non-Christian Religions / Islam) supporting or advocating Islamic fundamentalism
n
(Non-Christian Religions / Islam) a supporter or advocate of Islamic fundamentalism

[OverseaVisitor]

99. And So

Noun 1. Islamist - a scholar who knowledgeable in Islamic studies
bookman, scholar, scholarly person, student - a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines
2. Islamist - an orthodox MuslimIslamist - an orthodox Muslim
Islam, Muslimism - the civilization of Muslims collectively which is governed by the Muslim religion; "Islam is predominant in northern Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and Indonesia"
Moslem, Muslim - a believer in or follower of Islam

[dballance]

11. Is this man trying to provoke terrorist attacks against the US????

Can we send in Seal Team 6 now to extract him before he does more harm? The radical Islamists must be overjoyed. Now they have a US possible President bashing countries for properly and legally electing the governments they want. He's certainly giving them fodder to justify jihad against the US abroad and in the US. Who the FUCK is Mitt Romney or the USA to tell the people of a country electing the leadership they want is bad just because they are Islamic?????

This is such a repeat of the US lashing out against the imaginary threat of those evil Communists in the '50s and '60s. I guess s lot of us didn't learn anything from that colossal failure. Like how we needlessly lost 58,000 US troops in Viet Nam. Not to mention the civilian casualties and destruction of Viet Namese villages, cities and infrastructure.

Get your freaking head out of your ass idiot. Not all Muslims are terrorists and they're not coming to the US to rape our virgins and impose Sharia law on us. Just like the communists never came to the US to overthrow our government and install a communist regime.

So while he's at it he may as well add China to his trip and go bash Communism

Since the Cold War isn't over in his mind and our biggest threat is still the Soviet Union (again, which hasn't existed for more than 20 years) I'm sure he can work in a trip to China to bash that still evil red ideology of communism.

STFU Mitt. Then get on your plane and fly back home. I suggest you go to Utah and not MA. After all the international damage you've done so far you're going to be better off "in the middle of nowhere" than in a liberal, urban center like Boston.

[alfredo]

54. Yes, that's his best hope for defeating Obama.

[tyroneous]

67. He is not to knowlegeable on his foreign policy

Well said

[SDjack]

12. Looks like slicin' n dicin' live companies to screw workers and

original investors doesn't translate into international diplomacy. Mittens is the epitome of the "Ugly American". No way I would travel for years to any of the countries that he has/will visit -- I don't like being spit on.

[summerschild]

15. Now we get to find out what Adelson is buying with his $100 Million campaign investment

[freshwest]

64. Got that right. Welcome to DU.

[aquart]

104. Yes, the only questionable billionaire is the Jewish one.

Transparent, much?

[Scurrilous]

16. K & R

[Raven]

20. This coming from a Morman? n/t

[pitchforx]

26. actually it's "Mormon"

but that second "M" is superfluous in this case

[unblock]

37. good one!

and welcome to du

[magical thyme]

72. duzy!

and welcome to DU!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

22. Two Chimp terms as President were enough

No one in America, not even Republicans want to see Chimp 3. If the fact that Romney's only policies, both domestic and foreign, are Chimp policies was more widely known, he wouldn't stand chance.

[JoeyT]

24. I never thought I'd type these words,

but it looks like Bush was the smart guy with good people skills.

I guess this is the danger of being ultra-rich and having that much power from birth: Everyone is too afraid to tell you what a fuck up you are, so you don't find out until the entire world is laughing at you.

[Tom Ripley]

45. Bush was aware of what he lacked

and that is why he knew it was important to have people run interference for him. Romney appears to be absolutely oblivious to his shortcomings.

[DallasNE]

28. Maybe Romney Wants Voter ID Laws In The Middle East

I'm sure an awful lot of these voters don't have a drivers license so maybe he could go that route to get the leaders "elected" in those countries that meet with Romney's approval. And does this mean that Romney would have preferred that the old brutal dictators remained in power? What is not said says as much as what Romney said because he hasn't said what he plans on doing about the "problem" of these democratically elected governments in the Middle East. Flailing like a fish out of water is not a policy.

[agentS]

30. What newspapers is this guy reading?

Tunisia and Morocco have had relatively bloodless Arab Spring events, and their current elected governments are not shooting thousands of people (a la Syria) at the moment. What's the problem with this guy?

I think I get it. He's mad because these leaders won't take the bribes to play 'nice' with Israel, like what we did with the dictators to stop MidEast wars with Israel in the 80s. But, if you look at where the people are in their sense and feeling and actions, they're not pushing their leaders for war with Israel. They want jobs, not bombers.
"We're very concerned in seeing the new leader in Egypt as an Islamist leader.""
Concerned about what? Compared to a few other parties in Egypt, the Brotherhood is a bit more moderate than the average when it comes to Islamism in government. And with the power struggle with the military to deal with, I don't think we'll see sharia law in Egypt any time soon.

[progressivebydesign]

32. He's PRETENDING that he's already President! "We..." There is no "WE" Mitt...

There is YOU and Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers and the Tea Party, you do NOT speak for America!!!

Seriously.. WTF? He is NOT a statesman, and he is NOT even a fucking representative of America.. he's a TOURIST!!! And he's making these presidential type statements.

SORRY MITT! Just like dressing up as a State Trooper didn't make you one, saying "WE" does not mean you speak for the American Government.

The Obama campaign needs to address this. And he needs to STFU. He's not even the nominee yet.

[freshwest]

75. +1,000

[madamesilverspurs]

34. Anti "Islamist" comments

from the "Mormonist" candidate. Lovely.


Not.

-

[qwlauren35]

46. Here's a good link: Islam vs. Islamist

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/22/is-it-islamic-or-islamist.html

It looks like the article is wrong, and Romney is correct. To a point. Some Islamists are jihadists. Some are not. The president of Tunisia is a moderate in the Islamist party. He is NOT a jihadist. He even supports women's rights. Only someone trying to appeal to Israel would criticize Tunisia's new government.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/rachid-ghannouchi-tunisia_n_1679022.html


Morocco on the other hand, has some radicals in its Islamist government, ruled by the PJD party.

"The PJD’s core voters object to a two-state solution because it allows Israel to exist. In news reports, rank-and-file PJD members refer to Israel as “the Zionist entity.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/24/moroccos-islamists-apologize-for-jewish-visitor-but-not-for-hamas-politburo-chief/#ixzz24rjOFFXI

So, Romney didn't make a gaffe. He made a VERY accurate statement. And to a very specific audience. I don't like the man, but the dailykos got it wrong this time.

[ProSense]

49. Good grief!

It looks like the article is wrong, and Romney is correct. To a point. Some Islamists are jihadists. Some are not. The president of Tunisia is a moderate in the Islamist party. He is NOT a jihadist. He even supports women's rights. Only someone trying to appeal to Israel would criticize Tunisia's new government....So, Romney didn't make a gaffe. He made a VERY accurate statement. And to a very specific audience. I don't like the man, but the dailykos got it wrong this time.

The moron is questioning people's right to elect their own government.

Romney's statement:

ROMNEY: We're disappointed in seeing Tunisia and Morocco elect Islamist governments. We're very concerned in seeing the new leader in Egypt as an Islamist leader."

How on earth is he "right" by being "disappointed" in Tunisia? You point out why he's wrong, and there are other things wrong with his statement, yet you conclude that he made a "VERY accurate statement."

What the hell is this: Leave Romney alone day?

I mean, his statement is idiotic and insulting on multiple levels.

[cthulu2016]

47. The KOS writer is an idiot

If you cannot distinguish the words "Islamic" and "Islamist" then why write an article?

[ProSense]

51. No,

"If you cannot distinguish the words "Islamic" and "Islamist" then why write an article?"

but I'm begining to wonder about those who believe Romney's statement makes any such distinction.

Seriously, WTF?

[cthulu2016]

60. Wonder away.

Your error has been explained to you throughout the thread, and you're not interested.

[ProSense]

62. Thanks

"Your error has been explained to you throughout the thread, and you're not interested."

Less than a handful of people making bogus claims about what Mitt meant, a couple walking back what they meant, really doesn't make your point.

Calling the diarist an idiot and ignoring the idiotic and dangerous statement Mitt made amounts to silliness.

[Douglas Carpenter]

86. one ought to be careful about using the word Islamist for similar reason why one should be careful

about using a world like Zionist. Both words mean very different things to different people. There are many people who might be called Islamist who are not Muslim fundamentalist extremist. Just as there are many people who might be called Zionist who are not supporters of the extreme expansionist elements of Israel. Any careless use of the term Islamist by a major political figure could very well be interpreted by many ordinary Muslims as anti-Islamic - just as the careless use of the term Zionist could be interpreted by many Jewish people as anti-Semitic.

[qwlauren35]

48. In fact, this sentence sums it up.

Once again, Herr Mittens proves that there are times when he emphatically does not misspeak—when he’s sucking up to the right.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/28/arab-spring-comment-was-a-romney-love-letter-to-the-israeli-right-wing.html

[ProSense]

53. Yes

Usually Mitt Romney’s problem, as we saw in London, is that he says something obnoxious. But on Friday, to the right-wing Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, owned by Las Vegas mogul Sheldon Adelson, he said something that simply made no sense, about George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the Arab Spring. Check that: it made no sense unless you keep up with the tergiversations and vanishing-commissar new versions of history propounded by the neocons and duly followed by Romney. Once again, Herr Mittens proves that there are times when he emphatically does not misspeak—when he’s sucking up to the right.

...that proves the diarist's point, and it was not a "very accurate" statement.

It made no damn sense.

[flamingdem]

50. Truly dangerous fool n/t

[cindyperry2010]

55. mitthead

is what he is messing it up in another country

[Enrique]

57. I don't think Saudi Arabia will be insulted by this

I don't think Romney is mostly concerned about them being Islamist, but by them being democratically-elected Islamist governments, and I'm guessing Saudi Arabia doesn't like them any more than Romney does. I don't see this as a gaffe, just an expression of his neocon foreign policy.

[ProSense]

58. It's

"I don't see this as a gaffe, just an expression of his neocon foreign policy."

...Mitt being Mitt, stupid statements and all: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021032639

[benddem]

63. maybe he'll tell a polish joke

in Poland! How tin eared can this man be?

[crimson77]

65. America doesn't have allies it has interests. Same as every other country.

Every single country including England would throw us overboard if they had the chance, maybe except Poland.

[AsahinaKimi]

66. his tour had been an

unMittigated Disaster.

[spanone]

68. holy fuck...this man has no knowledge of what he's saying. this is scary territory.

he knows nothing.

[treestar]

69. This person has been running for President for eight years

And he still hasn't thought about the actual job itself.

[Smilo]

76. He is already thinking

he has been elected and is desperately trying to get us into war - he is Bush III without the affability.

[Botany]

77. The Romney who can I insult next tour rolls on

Goes to England and insults the English



Goes to the Mid-East and insults Islam


You just know a polish joke or two is coming @ his next stop.

I might be wrong but I can't remember somebody running for President going outside of
the United States and being openly critical of US policy in that region.

[mick063]

84. We all know that

people are pulling Mitt's strings like a puppet. It just goes to show how stupid THEY are. They choose a "loose cannon for a puppet. Their man carry's Sarah Palin mental capacity, Bush arrogance, and his own unique brand of disconnect.........all rolled up into an untidy package........at the top of the GOP ticket.

The entire GOP infrastructure is comprised of:

Puppets propped up by Plutocrats with Bain mentality.
Religious fanatics that wish to impose their extreme beliefs on all of us.
Islam phobic flag wavers that are itching to turn the Middle East into glass.
Lemmings that think FOX News is actually news.

Not a lick of sense in the whole lot of them with respect to international relations.

[proReality]

80. Would someone please send that man

a roll of duct tape to shut his mouth?

[alfredo]

81. He told a knock knock joke at the Wailing Wall.

[Monk06]

82. Democracy is great as long as you elect our choice for leader of your country.

[SoCalDem]

83. Islam is here to stay..and only getting larger

Islam is the world's second largest religion after Christianity. According to a 2010 study, Islam has 1.62 billion adherents, making up over 23% of the world population.[1][2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Muslim_population
Islam is the predominant religion in the Middle East, in Sahel, in the Horn of Africa and northern Africa,[3][4][5][6] and in some parts of Asia.[7] Africa harbors the highest percentage of Muslims (52.39%)[8], Large communities of Muslims are also found in China, the Balkans, and Russia.[9][3] Other parts of the world host large Muslim immigrant communities; in Western Europe, for instance, Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity, where it represents 6% of the total population.[10]

According to the Pew Research Center in 2010 there were 49 Muslim-majority countries.[11] Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in South and Southeast Asia, with over 1 billion adherents.[12], The largest Muslim country is Indonesia home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims followed by Pakistan (11.0%), India (10.9%), and Bangladesh (9.2%).[3][13] About 20% of Muslims live in Arab countries.[14] In the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of Turkey and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries; in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities.[3][13]

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011[15][3] found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world. The study found more Muslims in the United Kingdom than in Lebanon and more in China than in Syria.[3]

[aquart]

105. Imperial policies get that result.

There were more Jews in Roman colonies than in Judea during the Roman Empire.

[Tarheel_Dem]

87. I'd rather have Sarah Palin representing the US than this asshat clown.

[Godot51]

89. to paraphrase Mark Twain:

An Ignorant Abroad.

[brush]

92. Islamists?

95% of the people in those countries are Islamic, thus you're going to have Islamic leaders elected. What else are they going to be, Mittey, Seventh Day Adventists?

[sarge43]

94. He just can't seem to stop himself

With any luck he'll keep jamming both feet in his mouth and head up his ass until he disappears.

[BlueinOhio]

95. What the?

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/15/146944923/mormon-baptism-controversy-threatens-romney

Seems like the Islamics shouldn't be the only ones offended. Rmoney is against the Arab Spring, that makes him anti democracy. Has anyone read Gene Sharp's book From Dictatorship to Democracy? "Go Bucks" (couldn't help it)

[riverbendviewgal]

96. It's time for Obama's campaign people to pull the curtain

and show what people are puppet handling Rommey....

I liked this in the Kos piece.

Ok, I'll say it, Mitt Romney is a Dick Cheney-Puppet, d-bag, inept, religious zealot and a pathological liar.

[Berlum]

97. What a moran (R)

[Raine]

100. GEESH he's such a stupid dolt. I knew he was dumb but I'm shocked he's this much of a morAn. nt

[no_hypocrisy]

101. It was inevitable.

[madrchsod]

103. wow...this really is his "rainbow tour"