Romney Embraces Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories During Ohio Town Hall

[Kadie]

Romney Embraces Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories During Ohio Town Hall
By Zack Beauchamp on Jul 18, 2012 at 5:24 pm


Mitt Romney has singled out the Drudge Report as one of his favorite websites. But the candidate’s public embrace of the right-wing publication is more than an effort to win over conservative readers: Romney actually believes in some of the debunked conspiracy theories extremist groups peddle.

During a town hall in Ohio on Wednesday, Romney responded to question about the United Nations by declaring that the international body will undermine Americans’ Second Amendment rights and dictate how families should raise their children:

ROMNEY: Turning to the United Nations to tell us how to raise our kids, or whether we can have the Second Amendment rights that our Constitution gave us, I mean, that is the wrong way to go, right? Do not cede sovereignty. I’m happy to talk there. I’m not willing to give American sovereignty in any way, shape or form to the United Nations or any other body. We are a free nation. We fought for freedom and independence. We are going to keep freedom and independence.

The “guns” reference concerns Arms Trade Treaty, a U.N. initiative to prevent weapons from getting into the hands of terrorists and genocidaires. Both Drudge and the NRA have insisted that it poses a threat to American gun ownership. However, as ThinkProgress has documented, the treaty can’t and won’t: there are no provisions being negotiated in the treaty that affect domestic gun ownership, the State Department has publicly committed to rejecting any treaty that does, and Constitutional protections for gun ownership would trump a U.N. treaty according the Supreme Court even if a treaty infringing on the Second Amendment somehow made it through Congress.

more...
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/07/18/543691/romney-embraces-right-wing-conspiracy-theories-during-ohio-town-hall/

[Enrique]

1. so is Romney coming out against the Trans Pacific Partnership?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. Yuck

I wonder when the first town hall participant will accuse President Obama of being a Muslim terrorist and how Romney will respond to it?

[Politicalboi]

4. He'll just laugh

And ignore it. And he won't apologize or correct them either.

[spanone]

3. he wants his presidency. he'll say anything. he feels entitled to it.

[monmouth]

5. He never learned how to play well with others..What a disaster he would be..n/t

[The Magistrate]

6. This Fella Is On Full Self-Destruct, Ma'am

Jesus wept....

"Romney loves America like a tick loves a dog."

[arcane1]

7. When all else fails, standup against made-up shit!

These fools never learn any new tricks, do they?

[surrealAmerican]

8. He knows full well this isn't about "sovereignty".

He's "happy to talk there", but he's unwilling to listen. That's not how diplomacy works: he's just demonstrating yet another reason he's unqualified to serve as President.

[pampango]

9. Consistent with Texas GOP platform that is anti-UN and other international organizations.

National Sovereignty – We insist that the President and Congress defend our national sovereignty in accordance with their oaths of office. Therefore we believe the United States government must remain free of external control or influence, including, but not limited to, a North American Union and a security and prosperity partnership.

United Nations – We support the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations and the removal of U.N. headquarters from U.S. soil.

Law of the Sea – Adopted by the UN in 1982, we still oppose the Law of the Sea Treaty.

UN Treaty on the Rights of the Child ― We unequivocally oppose the United States Senate’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

United Nations Agenda 21 -The Republican Party of Texas should expose all United Nations Agenda 21 treaty policies and its supporting organizations, agreements and contracts. We oppose implementation of the UN Agenda 21 Program which was adopted at the Earth Summit Conference in 1992 purporting to promote a comprehensive program of sustainable development projects, nationally, regionally and locally.

Cap and Trade – We oppose Cap and Trade (“Cap and Tax”).

International Organizations – We support U.S. withdrawal from the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Platform_Final.pdf