Wow: Washington Post editorial board absolutely eviscerates the Romney campaign.

[WilliamPitt]

For good reason, I have been very, very down on the Washington Post. In several short years, it has gone from an essential daily read to little more than fishwrap.

Which is why this, from the Post's editorial board, is nothing short of astonishing. I read dozens of articles a day, every day, and few have done better to eviscerate Mitt Romney's campaign than this. Color me gobsmacked.

Mitt Romney’s campaign insults voters
Washington Post Editorial Board

11/02/2012

THROUGH ALL THE flip-flops, there has been one consistency in the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney: a contempt for the electorate.

How else to explain his refusal to disclose essential information? Defying recent bipartisan tradition, he failed to release the names of his bundlers — the high rollers who collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations. He never provided sufficient tax returns to show voters how he became rich.

How, other than an assumption that voters are too dim to remember what Mr. Romney has said across the years and months, to account for his breathtaking ideological shifts? He was a friend of immigrants, then a scourge of immigrants, then again a friend. He was a Kissingerian foreign policy realist, then a McCain-like hawk, then a purveyor of peace. He pioneered Obamacare, he detested Obamacare, then he found elements in it to cherish. Assault weapons were bad, then good. Abortion was okay, then bad. Climate change was an urgent problem; then, not so much. Hurricane cleanup was a job for the states, until it was once again a job for the feds.

The same presumption of gullibility has infused his misleading commercials (see: Jeep jobs to China) and his refusal to lay out an agenda. Mr. Romney promised to replace the Affordable Care Act but never said with what. He promised an alternative to President Obama’s lifeline to young undocumented immigrants but never deigned to describe it.

Much more, keep reading, well worth it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romneys-election-campaign-insults-voters/2012/11/02/69fcc1fc-2428-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story.html

[merrily]

1. Romney's message has been totally consistent since he ran against Kennedy.

"I want to be elected President some day and will say and do anything that I think will make that more likely."

That's all he wrote.

There's really nothing to parse.

[silvershadow]

51. and that is chilling. nt

[Amonester]

52. Then, by lying, distorting, flip-floping, hiding, he managed to fail at what he tought...

*would* make that more likely. (To Be Confirmed In Four Days). If he can't even think of the right behavior he must cling to to win what he's been wanting to win for years, how could he have done the right things once he *would* have won?

He's a bailed-out failure (Matt Tahibi). A liar. A snake-oil salesman. A job destroyer profiteer.

Add on.

[freshwest]

53. +1

[cprise]

62. I think WaPo was right on Romney's heels

...as a representative of globalist, war mongering clepto-crats to the point where this endorsement kind of looks like a flip itself.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Better late than never

I'm sure the fact that Romney very nearly almost pulled it off will be seen as thrilling by the klepto class, and these tactics will be mimicked and refined for years to come. The sad truth is the media never really gave a shit about his tax returns, to the point where Harry Reid had to drive the coverage for two full weeks.

[russspeakeasy]

7. + 1

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

9. And of all publications, Bloomberg proved Reid right in the end. nt

[BeyondGeography]

11. Heroic effort by Harry, and I think he did it because he knew

we couldn't count on the media. That plus his utter disdain for Romney. I will always revere him for what he did.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. He just shanked him like in prison and did it with that quiet demeanor of his. One of

this year's highlights for sure.

[dchill]

58. Yep.

And yep.

[jsr]

3. Great piece

[DonViejo]

4. That's the way to make Myth a member of the castrati! Really like

the last paragraph:

Mr. Romney, by contrast, seems to be betting that voters have no memories, poor arithmetic skills and a general inability to look behind the curtain. We hope the results Tuesday prove him wrong.

[nichomachus]

5. Unfortunately, whatever is in the Washington Post

is little more than "court gossip."

Anyone who reads the WaPo is already firmly in one camp or the other.

[libdem4life]

6. Too little ... too late. It's ass-covering time, along with a long list of "endorsements" too late

to change voters minds, maybe a few that might have stayed at home would be encouraged, but nothing game changing.

[trailmonkee]

8. caught this one too Axelrod Tweeted it

[shawn703]

10. Unfortunately

A great percentage of American voters are gullible, somewhere between 40-49.9% of them.

[DaveJ]

29. We also don't often consider...

...anti-social individuals who would actually pay money to see civilization burn to the ground. There are plenty of them and they also vote.

[loyalsister]

36. Or maybe just 47%

Such statements rival romney's disdain for voters.
'Everyone is stupid but me and my friends' is not a very good starting point for winning elections.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. In any other election Mitt wouldn't stand a chance with Republicans,...

All through the primaries he had 30% or less approval with his own party and was BUSTED stuffing ballots at one point. The ONLY reason he won the nomination was because of the people they put up against him and even then he only got a plurality from a split decision. This was why Ron Paul supporters thought they had a shot and they watched the Party screw them out of some of their wins. Those Ron Paul supporters will NOT vote for Romney. Then there's the Libertarian Right that can't stand the guy either.

The entire basis for Republicans at this point to vote for Romney is a combination of general party loyalty, their CEO worship (which is a lot more limited than you might think) and hatred of Obama. For those who believe that racism is a big factor, OF COURSE IT IS but the racists tried to stop the black guy the last time and failed miserably and there were other reasons to support the Ghost and Mrs. Moran.

BTW: Anyone seen Ryan? Did Romney send him to Cheney's "undisclosed location"?

[Supersedeas]

14. for the most part the MSM has been a willing accomplice in this effort to mislead the public

[1gobluedem]

18. +10000

[just1voice]

15. "his chronic, baldly dishonest defense of mathematically impossible budget proposals"

That describes every lying (R)epuke since Abraham Lincoln. Sadly, the article leaves out (R) support of torture as money seems to be the only thing that is even mentionable in politics today.

[hootinholler]

22. Since Lincoln?

That's a bit extreme and insults some fine Presidents and some moderate ones as well.

Since and including Nixon, then I can agree.

[hifiguy]

28. Agreed. I have to stick up for TR and Ike.

They were good men and good presidents, though with faults like all the rest of us.

[hootinholler]

33. Teddy is pretty much responsible for the R right shift

He split the progressives out with the Bull Moose party who subsequently pretty much went with Franklin to the Democratic party later.

[hifiguy]

34. I'd love to see TR take on today's repukes.

He'd load his elephant gun with rock salt and blow their butts to hell and back.

[grantcart]

16. And for the reasons stated in the editorial, if Romney were elected he would not be able to govern.

Not only would the Democrats be against him but all of the Republicans as well.

He hasn't put out a platform to build support on and therefore when it comes to governing would have no allies.

A lot of Republicans know this. Many good ones will, in the privacy of the ballot box, give Mr. Romney their true opinion.

[WinkyDink]

25. "...if Romney were elected he would not be able to govern." He's not LOOKING to "govern." he's out

to LOOT.

If Romney could out-source the entire nation, HE WOULD.

[SharonAnn]

35. Exactly! He's out to LOOT!

[UCmeNdc]

17. All of the media is at fault

All of the media and their reporters should have never let Mitt Romney get away with his lying and flip flops. They should have held him accountable. To do other wise makes a candidate treat the whole system as a joke. That is just what Mitt Romney and his campaign has done. Made the electoral process into their own private joke.

[Cali_Democrat]

19. Total evisceration.

[BlueStreak]

20. Did he ever release the promised 2011 return?

All I remember is his releasing a one-page summary saying his accountant would send out the full return one of these days, maybe after the accountant got done doing his laundry.

And that summary wasn't really about 2011, it was just his way of saying "I've always paid at least 14% of the income I don't have sheltered in illegal offshore tax havens, as long as you let me consider money put into complex tax evasion schemes involving the Mormon church as charitable contributions."

[SCVDem]

21. Rmoney couldn't be a boy scout!

He lies constantly!

[Hamlette]

23. this is surprising...and good

it's the contempt....stupid...not of the 47% but of the 100%. Yes, he's even lying to his own, the .01%. Of course, not all in that group care.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

24. Fact is it is sociopathic !

But the method is clear- his 47% blunder was the major blow. It resonated than stuck -no short memories to be found.

Since that broke, it has been lies and lies and mores lies on end ,serial flip flopping and on and so on.

He has to think or they do ,the voters will create excuses for all those lies and flip flops.

All the lies and flip flop will make the 47 % blunder just another thing said to please a select few.

It leaves the voter to believe what the voter wants to believe about what he really is all about- if the voter is more-so R leaning -the voter may very well vote for what the voters thinks the R party is. !

About like those young republican reformers thought.
Oh yes they miss those 80's.

Romney is a serial lier -it's sociopathic -but he has a method.



Through all the craziness -they have a plan.

Look at it this way- they figure if you are out of a job, looking for work -even desperate -or & worried about keeping your job, Through all those lies and flip flops ,they figure you would figure and understand that Romney will say anything to get the job as would you if you were desperate.

After the 47 % thing went viral the Romney campaign became desperate.

All bad publicity is good publicity to them at this point.

It's almost brilliant - They want to get the voter to vote for what the voter will want to think Romney is REALLY all about. So the voter would be voting for whatever the voter really wants to believe.

It's sociopathic.

[Javaman]

27. I have always maintained that mittens is a sociopath. nt

[dchill]

57. Then you have always been right.

IMO.

[triplepoint]

26. mitt romney--the King of Nothing!

[secondvariety]

44. Good one.

Here's my dedication to Mitty Boy;

[savannah43]

30. Romney is a very bad liar. It's that simple.

[Duval]

31. Great read, WRP! Thanks again. n/t

[RiffRandell]

32. Don't forget about FEMA.

Like he tried to.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. No one likes a Mitt flopper.

Except maybe the 1%.

[spooky3]

38. They just had to throw in false equivalence at the end.

Last edited Fri Nov 2, 2012, 10:14 PM - Edit history (1)

They accused Obama's campaign of bad behavior without specific evidence. This phony, unsupported "fair and balanced" crap undermines the value of the piece.

[DallasNE]

39. This Actually Goes Too Soft On Romney

Much of Romney's message has been downright cruel, whether it was his comment in the debate that his health care plan that would replace Obamacare would cover pre-existing conditions, giving false hope to those so affected, or saying in Ohio near a Jeep plant that he "heard that Jeep was moving all production to China", driving fear into the hearts of those Jeep workers, the Jeep suppliers and their workers. Romney is simply not a good person. He has no character whatsoever. He would take his sissors to the hair of America like he did back in his high school days. Republicans need to take their lumps this election, regroup and come back in four years.

[AZ Progressive]

43. Mitt Romney epitomizes the moral character of the Republican Party

The only reason why a creature so foul as presidential candidate Mitt Romney could exist is because the party behind him is basically a legion of lowlives with the moral character of charles manson. It's enough that they've twisted the bible and Christianity, and they have claimed that they speak for god, that they mislead millions of people as to what Jesus was all about. These people make the level of evil of villains in movies look amateurish.

Not that all of you here didn't already know this....

[AZ Progressive]

40. I wish the rest of the news media had the courage to be as blunt as that

Romney is perhaps the most disqualified candidate to be so close to getting the presidency in a long time. Romney makes Bush look innocent. Anyone who's saying so many lies and betting on the immaturity and ignorance of the public is truly Anti-American and a true scumbag. Romney is basically the caricature of the lying, two faced politician.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

41. My RW sister is not gonna be happy I posted this to her facebook wall. Oh well.

[Dalai_1]

42. Great Post K& R

[LovingA2andMI]

45. Good for Op/Ed Writers....

When they TELL THE FREAKING TRUTH! Romney is not a candidate that anyone should vote for because frankly, he's a joke.

Thank you Washington Post Editorial Board!

[Scurrilous]

46. K & R

[zentrum]

47. His position is

...Straight forward: He's rich, he's always gotten what he wanted and it's his turn. Because he's him. He can't understand why that's not enough and why we just don't get it.

[Up2Late]

48. Wow! Is that really the WP?

Definitely a "must read."

[Window]

49. Oh my! Fantastic!!!

n/t

[VPStoltz]

50. Candidates pander, that's part of the terrain, but NEVER - EVER - EVER...

has there been a candidate so willing so say just about anything - and sound SOOOOO wrong - to get elected as Robbedme has done.
The amount of $ he and his friends have spend on making him look like a fool could have brought the unemployment rate down a couple points.

[Quixote1818]

54. Talk about speaking the obvious truth!

[mary195149]

55. Romney is so bad, he is losing endorsements one by one.

Christie, Bloomberg, Washington Post. Who's next??

[creoledna]

56. RE: WaPo

"Well said"

[Gabi Hayes]

59. where were these aholes, and the rest of the msm, when it would have made a real difference? even

if he loses, Romney will set the standard for future big lie campaigns. this will be the template, as long as media let pols lie without compunction or consequence.

[eqfan592]

60. This was awesome.

Shared it immediately to facebook. I'm sure my FB friends will be damned glad when the election is over.

[99 Percent Sure]

61. 4 Proper Nouns, 5 Syllables --

Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove, along with the gang of 15-16 other GOP traitors to the US, including Gingrich, McConnell, Cantor and that hack, Luntz. Time: POTUS' Inaugural Night, January 2009. This is the who, the what, the when and the how of Money Boo Boo's elevation. The why is brought to us by corporate industrialists such as the Koch Brothers.

Despite this scathing editorial, WP, and most media, still suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder (split personality) in their campaign coverage. IMO, the race isn't close and never really has been, not even after POTUS' abysmally befuddled 1st debate brought on by high altitude.

Is Lyin' Ryan still on the ticket? After the VPOTUS pimp-slapped him into a stupor, he's pretty much disappeared.

I voted already and my ballots been received/counted. I'm glad it's almost over except the Obama-Biden wins 2nd term shouting. Corporate media's schizophrenia and Money Boo Boo's mendacity have worked my last nerve.