Humorous anecdote: Mitt Romney mocked John Kerry for being rich

[ProSense]

Humorous anecdote: Mitt Romney mocked John Kerry for being rich

by Jed Lewison

It's funny because it's true:

Now, there's a senator from my state that you may have heard that wants to get elected president. I don't know why he wants to do that, because of course if he won, he'd have to move into a smaller house.

By the way, I don't which was worse: Mitt Romney's delivery, or the joke itself. I mean, if he was going to blow his ability to claim righteous indignation when the tables are turned, don't you think he at least would have liked to tell a funny joke? But on the upside (from Romneyland's perspective), at least Mitt didn't make a joke about a car elevator or home lobbyist or anything crazy like that.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/29/1078860/-Humorous-anecdote-Mitt-Romney-made-fun-of-John-Kerry-having-a-big-house

Romney Backer Kevin McCarthy Warned Romney's Mansion Would Be Trouble
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002478003

Romney is trying to Etch-A-Sketch the car elevator
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002487907

Romney Laughingly Recalls Father's Layoffs (updated)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002485696

Dear Rmoney:

[Initech]

1. The Least Interesting Man In The World On: Money

"My opponent is rich... but does he own a car elevator?"

Stay boring my friends.

[ProSense]

6. That

"Stay boring my friends."

...cracks me up.

[Initech]

18. I'm having way too much fun with this.

It's a take on those Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man In The World" ads but in this case Mitt Romney is The Least Interesting Man In The World.

[ProSense]

24. .

[KamaAina]

29. "I don't always flip-flop on the issues"

"but when I do, I prefer Etch-A-Sketch."

[Initech]

34. "I don't always drink beer but when I do..."

"Oh wait that's right - I don't drink beer."

[politicasista]

37. lol

[onehandle]

2. 'I want there to be no peasant in my realm so poor that he will not have an elevator in his garage.'

To paraphrase Henry IV of France.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_chicken_in_every_pot

[DefenseLawyer]

3. That's gold, Jerry!

?w=320

[hughee99]

4. Even compared to rMoney, Kerry is still rich. n/t

[ProSense]

5. Huh? n/t

[SharonAnn]

17. Actually, Kerry's wife is very rich. I doubt that she handed her money over to him.

[politicasista]

30. Point proven. The Senator gets hated on for everything

Just for having money, it's never about anything else.

He is a decent person and Democrat/Progressive that supports Obama and it's never good enough here. Go figure.

Sometimes, MA should imagine having a GOP governor, 2 GOP Senators, a GOP controlled state House/Senate that gets nothing done while the few Dems (bless their hearts) trying to fight and overturn this joke of a voter ID law.

[DefenseLawyer]

7. Ketchup is popular. n/t

[ProSense]

8. Yeah

"Ketchup is popular"

...so are RW talking points.

No matter how matter how many times people conflate Teresa's trust with John Kerry's finances, the point is still bogus.

Romney is rich and getting richer.

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2012/01/03/romney-is-richest-candidate-in-a-decade/

Still, thanks for proving that idiotic talking points are alive and well.

[DefenseLawyer]

10. Wait, Are you really disputing that John Kerry is wealthy?

I hate to break it to you, but that's not a "RW talking point". John Kerry is the richest member of Congress. So what? John Kennedy was rich. FDR was rich too. Romney is rich, and a tool. If he went bankrupt tomorrow he would still be a tool.

[ProSense]

11. You misunderstood

Wait, Are you really disputing that John Kerry is wealthy?

I hate to break it to you, but that's not a "RW talking point". John Kerry is the richest member of Congress. So what? John Kennedy was rich. FDR was rich too. Romney is rich, and a tool. If he went bankrupt tomorrow he would still be a tool.

I was disputing the conflation of Teresa's trust with Kerry's finances; the use of the idiotic "ketchup" talking point, which doesn't have anything to do with Teresa, and using these ridiculous assertions to try to derail the point of the OP.

There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. John Kerry has wealth. Teresa's trust fund does not belong to Kerry. I still value facts.

[DefenseLawyer]

12. Sounds like you value a distinction without a difference.

"Oh that's his wife's money, not his." Again, so what? Are you saying that his wife doesn't spend any of "her" money (Ketchup money, by the way) to the benefit of her husband? If my wife buys that half a billion dollar lottery ticket tomorrow should I not have reason to be happy? Despite your views, I will be rather pleased if that comes to pass. Your "defense" of John Kerry is not only unnecessary, it's downright silly.

[ProSense]

13. Yeah,

Sounds like you value a distinction without a difference.

"Oh that's his wife's money, not his." Again, so what? Are you saying that his wife doesn't spend any of "her" money (Ketchup money, by the way) to the benefit of her husband? If my wife buys that half a billion dollar lottery ticket tomorrow should I not have reason to be happy? Despite your views, I will be rather pleased if that comes to pass. Your "defense" of John Kerry is not only unnecessary, it's downright silly.

...I see the derailing issue. Here's the comment to which I responded: "Even compared to rMoney, Kerry is still rich."

That is not a fact.

You chimed in with the RW "ketchup" talking point, and you're now stretching it the point of being ludicrous.

I'm sure they spend money on each other, but the silly analogy doesn't change the fact that Teresa trust is not Kerry's.

[karynnj]

15. The difference is that her sons are the sole heirs to her fortune

One likely difference in your analogy is that you and your wife likely have commingled assets and you would be entitled to half of the winnings.

Not to mention, Kerry is a mufti-millionaire in his own right. It is true that he would not have the same luxurious homes if he were not married to Teresa, but he would still be very very comfortable.

[DefenseLawyer]

23. I'm sorry, but I still don't see the point.

Kerry's rich, but he's not THAT rich and he's certainly not as rich as Romney, because part of his vast wealth is his wife's and that doesn't count. Huh? It's as if there is some value to be found in being able to argue that Romney is too rich to be President and therefore we need to clearly establish that John Kerry isn't THAT rich, because most of us wanted our rich guy to be President. I say again, Romney is a tool. Rich or not, he's a tool. Does his wealth contribute to how out to lunch he appears to be? Perhaps. But there are plenty of wealthy people who aren't jerkoffs (the afore mentioned JFK and FDR to name a couple) that I certainly wouldn't want to disqualify from public office because they are well off. This whole discussion is dumb. John Kerry is rich and his wife is really rich and he would make a good President. Mitt Romney is rich and his wife is rich right along with him and he would make a lousy President.

[JDPriestly]

26. Kerry's wealth may have played a big role in his loss of the election.

To many Americans, he seemed distant and unfamiliar with the problems of many Americans. I say that as one who worked very hard to elect him.

Romney has an even worse problem in this respect. And Romney did not serve in the military. Kerry did and was a hero to many.

[politicasista]

32. It was a liability, thanks to the campaign

Being priviledge worked against him. Maybe the campaign should have made him visit those places that Americans were struggling (and people wouldn't still hate on him so much).

Do you think The President's (and First Lady's ) humble beginnings with a country in shambles paved the way for people to relate to them?

[JDPriestly]

35. Yes to your question.

Obama seems like just a nice guy. He does not have the arrogance or the obliviousness that rich people often have.

[ProSense]

28. Again

Kerry's rich, but he's not THAT rich and he's certainly not as rich as Romney, because part of his vast wealth is his wife's and that doesn't count. Huh? It's as if there is some value to be found in being able to argue that Romney is too rich to be President and therefore we need to clearly establish that John Kerry isn't THAT rich, because most of us wanted our rich guy to be President. I say again, Romney is a tool. Rich or not, he's a tool. Does his wealth contribute to how out to lunch he appears to be? Perhaps. But there are plenty of wealthy people who aren't jerkoffs (the afore mentioned JFK and FDR to name a couple) that I certainly wouldn't want to disqualify from public office because they are well off. This whole discussion is dumb. John Kerry is rich and his wife is really rich and he would make a good President. Mitt Romney is rich and his wife is rich right along with him and he would make a lousy President.

...what the hell are you talking about? The OP has nothing to do with any of that. It's about hypocrisy. And jumping into this thread to turn this into a debate about who has more wealth (The original comment: "Even compared to rMoney, Kerry is still rich.&quot , especially using bogus information, and to push RW talking points about "ketchup" is simply an attempt at obfuscation.

Now that you've introduced a RW talking point into the debate, you're trying to claim that the "discussion is dumb"?

[DefenseLawyer]

39. Why exactly is Heinz Ketchup a "RW talking point"?

You keep saying that. It's not in dispute (except maybe by you for some odd reason) that Mrs. Kerry is the heir to the Heinz Ketchup fortune. Why would that be a Right Wing Talking Point? It's just a fact. So what? Good for her. And good for John Kerry to be married to her. She seems like a nice person and they seem very happy. Is there something dishonorable about a successful ketchup company that I don't know about, such that the "right wing" would create a "talking point" out of the fact that Mrs. Kerry has a whole lot of ketchup money? I certainly don't think it's a negative. It's not like Heinz makes ketchup out of babies or something. But have it your way. John Kerry is not really that rich. Thank goodness. Now maybe he can finally become an effective legislator and a war hero.

[DefenseLawyer]

41. That's just crazy

I'm not bashing Senator Kerry at all. I worked for his campaign. I was a max donor to his campaign. I just don't think he needs to be "defended" by some phony argument that somehow he isn't very wealthy. He is very wealthy and it doesn't make a damn bit of difference. He's a good man. His life history and his voting record demonstrate that he is a good and decent man. He also happens to have a lot of money. So what? Jay Rockefeller is doing all right too. You'd be surprised how many Democrats are rich. I'm not sure how that "helps the GOP" but I'll have to take your word for it. Mitt Romney is a tool. He's an empty suit. Money or no money, Romney would be a terrible President.

[politicasista]

45. Apologies for the over the top comment.

Went back an edit, maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere.

Can't speak for the others, but the RW memes about the Kerrys (i.e. ketchup and wealth) are still sensitive subjects almost a decade later.

IMHO, just venting because it is not right that Senator Kerry is still trashed not only for being wealthy, but the mistakes of 04 and by some MA constituents who either always unfavorably compare him to the late Uncle Ted or some other stuff (some will pile on me for saying that, but it's an observation).

It would be nice to actually see the Senator be more respected for what he has done to help our President and his role as Foreign Relations Chairperson, but just because he is wealthy and didn't grow up like Obama, he gets disrespected.

Again, apologies for the over the top reply, but that is how me feels. Peace.

[DefenseLawyer]

46. It's all good.

I agree that Senator Kerry takes a lot of unwarranted grief. I certainly wasn't trying to give him any. I just thought the fact that he is rich was just a fact, not a "talking point". It is what it is, as the overused cliche goes. But I definitely appreciate your point of view. Peace right back at you.

[karynnj]

42. I think the problem is the way you said things

In fact, the Kerrys have separate finances - a completely reasonable situation as Teresa intends her three sons inherit their father's fortune. In a 2004 interview with 60 minutes, Kerry admitted that Teresa's fortune was actually something that made it harder for him to propose to her. I don't know if this arrangement helped create the trust between Kerry and her three sons, but it is very clear that they love and respect him. As Chris Heinz pointed out to a reporter, they were all college age or older when Teresa and John married - and it was not given that they would campaign for him. They did it because they believed in him as a leader and a person.

I had absolutely no problem that Kerry came from an extremely privileged background. That background showed, when in 2004, there were pictures of a young Kerry sailing with JFK. This was not the treasured second or two of the many who reached out to shake JFK's hand. He was sailing on JFK's yacht - there as the date of Jackie's step sister, Janet. Kerry was a welcome guest at her family's home. The first few chapters of Tour of Duty did a great job describing the life he was born to. Though his immediate family was upper middle class at that point, his extended family owned an island where they vacationed and his grandparents had an estate in Normandy. His summers were clearly different than most of ours! His schooling was exclusive prep schools, where in what would be middle school his best friend, who later died in Vietnam, was the grandson of General Pershing. His first wife (and his best friend, who was her twin) was a descendent of someone on the Mayflower - thus Vanessa's middle name "Bradford". His family was not as wealthy as the Romney's, but they were as socially elite as it gets.

The reason it does not bother me is because of what he has done with his life, the values he has lived and the political positions he has taken. He has worked nearly his entire adult life in public service. This meant that for a large portion of his adulthood, he actually struggled to provide his daughters with the expensive private schools and to maintain two apartments - leading to gaps when he actually did not have a home in DC or Boston (or both), staying with friends. His parents helped with gifts at various times. As he told the Boston Globe, he was very very lucky and never had to worry that he could not afford his or his family's needs. Yet, the fact is that he could have used his family's connections and his talents to have made a fortune in the private world. That was not what he wanted his life to be.

It was also not simply wanting to be President. After he did not pull strings when he was suppose to start officer training and joined the military, and became a genuine war hero, the EASIER path to becoming President is obvious. Most of the people he knew at St Paul's and Yale were Republican and his father-in -law was an Eisenhower appointee, who managed the Marshall Plan in Italy. If he were a "Romney" willing to do or say anything, imagine how much the Republicans would have loved him - as a fast track politician. Forget protesting a war that was killing soldiers (and others) that the architect of the war knew was lost in 1968, that is too controversial and too complicated a story. First, he could have applied to law school at Yale or elsewhere, entered the DAs office as he did and established residency in a state where he could then run for Congress --- as a Republican.

Can you imagine the Republicans having a war hero, with the storybook like stories of his two major medals - with the bronze star given because he risked his life to save another and the silver star given because he saved his entire crew (and the crew of two other boats) when they were ambushed by implementing a counter measure that he had developed by listening to everyone - officer and enlisted - he could who had been in earlier ambushes and discussing the idea with everyone and selling it? (McCain is a hero for what he did AFTER being captured - I am not criticizing that, but Kerry's heroism, if he were a Republican, was far more in the theme of an American hero.) Then throw in that Kerry was the star debater at Yale, which never lost a debate in the years when Kerry was there. In addition, he played 4 sports in college and was a pilot. Given that profile, he likely would have been a media favorite.

Instead, he risked having no political future by protesting the war - and in the Senate risked his future twice - when he investigated illegal funding of the Contras, at a point where the Republicans and half the Democrats favored them and when he investigated BCCI which had coopted money men of both parties.

[JDPriestly]

25. If the money is in a trust, Ms. Kerry may not have complete control

over it. You have to know the terms of the trust documents.

Romney's money is his. No doubt about it.

[karynnj]

43. She doesn't - when there was a question of trades, Kerry's office and Teresa's statement said that

she was one of the beneficiaries of the trusts, but not a trustee. She does have money in addition to the trusts.

[karynnj]

14. That statistic uses the Senator and spouse's assets

The point Prosense made is correct. Kerry is wealthy, as he became a beneficiary of the Forbes and Winthrop trusts when his mother died, but if the list were on his assets only, he would not be at the top.

Of course, the life style he lives includes Teresa's properties, though if you follow what he is doing, he is extremely hard working and spends large amounts of time doing a great job as the Chair of the foreign relations committee and a sometimes diplomat for Obama.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

9. I wonder if he accused Kerry of being a flip-flopper, too

It wouldn't surprise me, as every Republican was spouting that bilge at the time.

[ProSense]

16. Now

that would be funny.

Of course, the OP was funny before...

Oh heck!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

20. In fact, here's a video of Romney going on and on about Kerry's flip flops

It's breathtaking in its audacity and nerve.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/05/watch-mitt-romney-call-john-kerry-a-flip-flopper-speak-french-video/

[ProSense]

22. Notice how

the media had been trying to use the Kerry flip-flop meme to make Mitt look like he was being treated unfairly?

Rmoney's daily rewriting of history changed that, and then came Etch-A-Sketch.

[JDPriestly]

27. Terrible accent, but definitely French. I assume he was a bit rusty.

[ProSense]

21. Oooh!

Is that a test?

[politicasista]

31. So have people in this thread

JAO.

[mnmoderatedem]

44. the CEO at a company I used to work for once had a Romney moment

Late 2000/early 2001 I worked for a big insurance company. The previous CEO had recently retired, and for the first time in the company's 150 year history, they appointed a CEO from outside the company rather than promoting from within.

You can guess what happens next. The new guy (a real turd) bemoans the "bloated" nature of the company's expenses, and exclaims "we need to tighten out belts". So a few weeks later the hatchet falls, and many good people, myself included, were let go, precipitating a lengthy stretch of unemployment for myself and others in the early 2000s recession. Naturally the "we" part of the "we need to tighten out belts" phrase went by the wayside, as the board saw fit to pat him on the back and award him over $2 million in cost cutting bonuses. Nich eh? Nothing new though.

Anyway, as short time later, when he was asked at a company presentation whether his measures were negatively affecting employee morale, he casually explains, "I don't care, I'm not in the business of employee morale."

You can imagine the reaction. A coworker friend of mine who survived the layoff forwarded a company email from the turd, where he explained how he didn't really mean it, tried to play nicey nice with the remaining employees, said how they will all be better off in the long run etc.

Ivory tower sentiment at its worst. Wonder if he and Romney are related somehow...