Huge signs appear at Romney rally in Poland ...

... supporting Ron Paul

..

"Under the headline 'Governor Romney won’t like this' we saw a big sign in the crowd for Rep Ron Paul." - Greta Van Susteren, FOX reporter

Romney bores a friend in Poland

At long last! After making a shambles of his first two stops on his foreign policy junket and angering any number of dignitaries along the way, Willard Romney met with one leader, well a former leader, who gladly handed the Republican presumptive nominee his unofficial endorsement.

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Lech Walesa, once known as a formidable pro-union activist, praised Romney effusively -- using four variations of the word "success" but not really saying much else.

Then, following his half hour encounter with the nominee, Walesa turned to Polish news to declare that Charisma is something Mr. Romney "doesn't really yet have," suggesting he needs to do "some rallying," according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Romney puts friendly FOX in petting zoo

"There has been no press access to Governor Romney since we landed in Poland. We (press) are in a holding pattern (I can’t help but feel a bit like the press is a modified petting zoo since we are trapped in a bus while Polish citizens take pictures of us.)  Under the headline 'Governor Romney won’t like this' we saw a big sign in the crowd for Rep Ron Paul."
- Greta Van Susteren

Now is this any way to treat The Help your traveling staff?

Romney falling star made Atlas weep

I just have to ask: What the hell is the deal with Republicans and their 15-minute Hall of Famers who embody the opposite of the snake oil they're trying to sell?
 
Last election cycle, the GOP candidates spammed us with Joe "Not a Licensed Plumber and Whose Name Isn't Even Joe" Wurzelbacher and anticipated that rational Americans would buy his schtick. He was crafted into a Conservative icon based on the fact that he was able to wake up one morning, walk his neighborhood and form a cogent (if fact-free) question.

Willard's stab at wrapping Reagan in own wimpdom misfires terribly

Willard Romney has spent most of his time campaigning in the US issuing that old childhood taunt of "I'm rubber, you're glue; whatever you say bounces off me and sticks on you."

In conservative circles, that approach works just swimmingly when the target of such attacks is President Barack Obama but, when the target becomes the Republican Right Reverend Ronald Reagan, it's a tactic that takes on a toxicity that draws immediate return fire from a faithful flock.

In a recent attempt to absolve himself of his lack of national security bona fides, Mitt and his Mittwits took a shot at Reagan by invoking an anecdote culled from the memory of Reagan's Secretary of State James Baker. It just didn't work.

Backlash begins ... The Wimp Factor

Hmmm ... Only time will tell who the real wimps are here: the bully-become-coward or the wimps who comprise our press. We'll only know for sure when the lies get called lies and the tax returns relentlessy pursued.

Ghost of Visit Past haunts Team Willard in Jerusalem

Man in London points, laughs at Romney. Photo: Stephen Crowley/NYT

After receiving a public drubbing at the hands of the British press and public officials then earning his own humiliating hashtag (#Romneyshambles) on Twitter, Romney hastily retreated from London headed for Israel. There, he was immediately met with reminders of his very big, very bad couple of days developing a "special relationship" that was nothing short of an American embarrassment.

Then, as though cultivating a hostile press had inexplicably replaced the campaign's previous goal of cultivating good will among allies, the Mitt wits broke agreement with its traveling corps and barred them from covering a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser.

Why was Mitt Romney chosen as CEO of '02 Olympics?

In a brilliantly written and researched article on Willard Romney's time presiding over the Salt Lake Organizing Committee during the 2002 Winter Olympics, an author writing under the handle DeanDemocrat provides a detailed peek behind the veil Romney has attempted to throw over the inner workings of that tenure. Try as I might, I can add little of substance to this amazing piece culled from contemporaneous reports of that time.

Taking enough of that writing to both stay within the bounds of fair use and encourage readers to click through at the end to conclude a stunning read, I present the opening salvo of this incredible research without further comment.

Seeing as Mitt Romney is in London playing the part of the Ugly American, and seeing as this has brought some new focus onto Mitt Romney's own tenure as head of the Olympic Games; I find myself asking why Mitt Romney was chosen as CEO of the 2002 Olympic Games in the first place?

In fact this is a question I find myself asking every time someone on TV mentions Romney's role in "saving" the 2002 Winter games from corruption and scandal. No matter how hard I look I cannot find an answer to this question. And I have done some extensive searching. Every article from the era seems to glance right over the question of why Mitt Romney was chosen and instead focuses on the question of how it will benefit him politically.

The Boston Globe covered the story of the 2002 Olympic Games very closely and I will be quoting extensively from the articles they wrote at the time. But even they seemingly failed to answer this basic question.

Here is a little timeline for those who haven't looked into it very much.

Read more »

Willard Romney - US Olympic standard bearer in UK?

British Olympic minister Hugh Robertson breaks into laughter after a BBC2 Newsnight presenter raises the possibility of Mitt Romney carrying the Olympic torch in opening ceremonies. Robertson replies “certainly not after today” and chuckles  at the suggestion that America's Mr Olympics be involved in the tribute.

Willard should retroactively cancel foreign excursion

How could a trip so tailor made for "a guy from Great Britain" who enjoys such a "special relationship" with his "Anglo-Saxon" forebears go so horribly wrong in one day? That answer might just stem from a condescension-laden, misinformed description of the host country on the first leg of his three-country tour that can be found in his fantasy novel, No Apology..

England [sic] is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn't make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn't been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler's ambitions.

Mitt's gaffe-a-thon skips Israel to chafe Poland's neighbor

As Mitt Romney prepares to take his horse and flee London searching for friendlier venues in Israel and Poland, at least one of those countries' allies is already miffed about his foreign policy agenda.

According to the uber-conservative Wall Street Journal, Slovak Foreign Minister isn't waiting for the Conservative Cavalcade of Clowns to descend on his country before taking Romney to task for his words to the Veterans of Foreign Wars this past Tuesday.

Now running for "Most Likely to be Dumped at the Convention," the alleged Republican nominee attacked President Obama's administration for "abandoning Poland and the Czech Republic by altering plans for an American missile defense system in Europe," the WSJ reports.

But, according to Miroslav Lajcak, in Washington this week for meetings with U.S. officials, Europe has embraced the Obama approach to missile defense and Romney was dredging up settled debates.

“People have moved on,” said Lajcak the minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “We are in a different situation now. We are discussing a different project. I see no reason to revisit discussions from three years back.”

Seems Romney's just skipping past Days 3, 4 and 5 to rock the diplomatic boat for his Day 6 host. And lest we forget how exciting this leg of the trip might be, please let's review Day 1's highlights stemming from his "special relationship" with the Anglo-Saxons of "shared heritage."

#Romneyshambles - Mitt' gets "special relationship" from "Anglo-Saxon" press

The Ugly American in London

Via Agence France-Presse, "US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney made some undiplomatic criticism of London's preparations for the Olympic Games on Wednesday, expressing concern about Britain's readiness to host the event."

The dressage horse owner who takes a $77,000 tax deduction on a horse he says he won't even be watching perform even went after his hosts:

Romney even called into question whether the British people as a whole were behind the spectacle, saying this would be key to their success. "Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? And that's something which we only find out once the Games actually begin," he said.

 Bad accent, bad guest.

Mittens' camp plunges into racism Hell

Photo via ConservatismLives

And now we have it. A desperate Romney campaign, unable to produce its candidate's tax returns, Bain Capital or 2002 Olympic records, a scorable budget plan, details on immigration or, really, much of anything concrete, trotted out the now-familiar Tea Party racism card.

Aside from the candidate himself attempting to paint President Obama as "extraordinarily foreign," his campaign sent a senior foreign policy advisor to talk to an overseas news outlet with the outcome of bringing shame to America and its citizens.

“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser said of Mr Romney, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.”

Adventures in Wingnuttia: WSJ Asswipe Edition

Without comment, other than to note this is in reference to the young men who laid down their lives protecting their loved ones:

(h/t to John Cole of Balloon Juice)

Romney dicks up first diplomatic encounter

Candidate Romney is quite comfortable lying about his opponent's words and getting a pass from a complacent U.S. press corps. Apparently, the Australians didn't look as kindly on his putting false words in the mouths of their diplomats.

Following a recent meeting in a San Francisco hotel with Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, a gleeful Romney departed the encounter, stepped up to the microphones and lied.

At a fundraiser later that evening, Willard bore false witness saying that Carr told him in their private meeting that America was “in decline,” but that the situation could be turned around if an appropriate budget deal is reached.

Just as quickly, Carr called out the Republican Fabricator-in-Chief, saying his exact comment to Mr Romney was: "America is just one budget deal away from ending all talk of America being in decline."

Fact is, such a budget deal was proposed during a Fox Entertainment GOP debate in August: Mitt, a sheep among a Tea Party herd, bowed to peer pressure and rejected a 10:1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases.

America can't afford to hire Mittens to travel the world representing this great country.

'Balanced between fear and greed'

Image via VeracityStew.com

Following his daddy's advice to " never get involved in politics if you have to win election to pay a mortgage" Willard Romney knowingly entered the dark, shadowy underworld of financial criminality and "junk" bonds in the mid-80s and never looked back.

Looking for easy money and a big payoff to fuel his insatiable political ambition and greed, Romney decided in 1988 to brush up against one of the most prolific financial criminals, in the middle of an intensive Securities and Exchange investigations.

"What transpired," writes Boston Globe staff, "would become not just one of the most profitable leveraged buyouts of the era, but also one of the most revealing stories of Romney’s Bain Capital career."

Romney's unbridled greed led him to hook his fortunes to now-convicted felon Michael Milken, known in financial circles as "The Junk Bond King."

FINALLY! A Willard fan! And he's singing out

A man who sees evil, Satanic phallic symbols strewn throughout the Denver International Airport and refers to himself as “The Third Eagle of the Apocalypse” and “The Co-Prophet of the End Times,” is back.

This time, Christian prophet and Romney supporter William Tapley finds a "Hero in my mind" right along with all the visions of hidden sex organs. Perhaps the real message here is that Romney's a big Satanic dick. Or something.

Romnocchio

Willard's Titanium Dioxide opacity

"No disinfectant for you" seems the mantra by which Willard Romney has lived his adult life.

The most stunning find by ABC News is that the tax release dodger's Olympic effort to give the public an "unprecedented level of transparency about the historic event" turned into an misadventure in opacity, rivaling that most opaque of pigments, Titanium Dioxide.

A decade after Romney parachuted into the 2002 scandal-ridden Olympics, their alleged savior risks tainting his own participation in them by hiding archival records behind a veil of secrecy.

... the archival records from those games that were donated to the University of Utah ... remain off limits to the public. And some of the documents that may have shed the most light on Romney's stewardship of the Games were likely destroyed by Salt Lake Olympic officials, ABC News has learned. 

Willard's inability to stand behind the records he habitually destroys before they can be reviewed, falls right into a pattern his administration began following his governorship of Massachusetts.

A pause in honor

Hey Mitt! The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!

Hey Willard, The British Are Coming ... after YOU

As Romney flees the United States seeking shelter amidst London's Olympic frenzy and high tea with banking elites, bad news follows him across the proverbial pond.

Despite attempts to shroud his fundraiser's location in classic Romney secrecy by listing it as "a Central London location," the cabal of banksters apparently couldn't hide from a vigilant Parliament still filtering through the poo Mitt's patron saint Rupert Murdoch shat all over their country.

Said one British MP of a motion introduced to Parliament seeking to halt Romney's overseas adventure in money-grubbing,

“Barclays executives have had their eyes off the ball for too long now. They must now stop fundraising for US Republican candidates and start rebuilding public confidence in the banking system here in the UK which they have done so much harm to.

“Parliament must send a strong message to these banking elites that it is no longer business as usual. Politicians are expressing the outrage felt by the ordinary people we represent.”

Our two countries seem allied in at least one aspect of our economic travails: a healthy distaste for the Romney Pain from Bain.

A little Stephen Colbert historical re-enactment might help Willard know what to expect  ...

Willard demands blind faith of voters

 

“I don’t manage them, I don’t even know where they are,” Romney told Radio Iowa Monday of his investment portfolio. “That trustee follows all U.S. laws, all taxes are paid as appropriate, all of them have been reported to the government. There’s nothing hidden there.”

So, how blind is Willard's allegedly blind trust? Not very according to CNN Money. "The trust is hardly blind," it reports.

For example, the trustee who manages the portfolio, Bradford Malt, is a friend of the candidate. A close personal relationship with the trustee, according to federal ethics rules, is most definitely out-of-bounds.

 You know who else thinks blind trusts aren't blind? Willard Mitt Romney. Listen to him tackle the issue in 1994, back when SODDI (Some Other Dude Did It).

Willard's Pork Barrel Olympics

Calm down, calm down. No, we're not talking about Willard's Olympic gold prowess in The Bald-Faced Lie competition. Nor are we talking about his 2012 Olympic entry in the Someone-else-rides-me, millionaire's horse-prancing event, Rafalca. This is about his decade-earlier leadership in the Canadian-outsourced, Burma uniform wearing U.S. Winter Olympics. You know, the "privately financed" ones that Romney socialized by billing the American taxpayer some $1.3 billion.

Mitt's Olympic Bailout Yummies, featuring John "No Pork" McCain

He's a slick one, Mr. Dick

Romney gettin' whupped by Community Organizer

James Carville unloads on Hannity last night about Romney's gross campaign incompetence and dereliction of duty to the Republican Party:

"And you should be mad because that campaign and Romney is not standing up for you. How can a guy be running for president and know he was going to run for president and not get rid of Swiss bank accounts, because you know that's going to be an issue? He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to go to the trouble. So he gets the nomination and now he has these guys from Chicago outflank him and Republicans and conservatives are duly angry at Romney for not standing for them.

"I think the Republicans are mad. And you know why they [are] mad? Because a Harvard educated community organizer is beating them in a street fight. And they're mad about it because they're used to winning these fights. And Obama people are outflanking and outmaneuvering and beating the Romney people and everybody knows it and the people that are watching this network knows it," James Carville said on FOX News' "Hannity" tonight.

"Those people" and their free stuff

"But I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy -- more free stuff.

But don't forget nothing is really free. it has to paid for by people in the private sector creating goods and services, and if people want jobs more than they want free stuff from government, then they are going to have to get government to be smaller."

REAL reason Romney MUST say he left Bain Feb '99

Like all presidential candidates, Romney has to submit a financial disclosure statement to the Office of Government Ethics. He filed his most recent one last month, and the disclosure contains a very clearly stated footnote:

Mr. Romney retired from Bain Capital on February 11, 1999 to head the Salt Lake [Olympics] Organizing Committee. Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way.

Why? According to a February 11, 1999, AP article by Kirsten Moulton:

Romney will have to sever ties with any companies that do business with the games. Bain Capital has ownership stakes in many companies and Romney serves on various corporate boards.

Mitt's severely troubling tax dodge

Severely Conservative Gov. Willard Romney had no problem releasing his state and local tax documents when his residency was challenged. Yet when asked for federal returns -- or documents that pointed to the inner working of his investment practices -- the bobbing and weaving began.

As far back as 2002, in what was called his "first serious crisis" in his bid for governor of Massachusetts, he dodged federally-linked tax questions. One might think that in sworn testimony before the State Ballot Law Commission he would be forthright, considering his ambition of the time. Perusing the list of requested documents, however, tells a chillingly different story.

Meet the Bainers

Now, I'm no particular fan of RedState nor of it's self-important leader Erick Son of Erick but I've got to admit, that every once in a while his brain spits out a cogent thought and his most recent one is a keeper.

Over on his virtual asylum, Erick contends that citizens shouting "Show us your papers" to financially-closeted Willard constitute a new, radical left-wing cabal of crazies unwilling to accept established, conventionally accepted truths.

"The Bainers will not take any answer that does not show Romney to be a liar or felon in the same way Birthers will take no answer other than one that shows Barack Obama is not an American citizen."

So, meet the Bainers.

There is one teeny problem with Erick's attempt to blur the edges of reality: President Obama showed us his papers. Romney has not.

Bet this guy feels like Nostradamus, too!

Willard plays the refs, bats 0-2

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In fact, it was just this morning. I remember it like it was today.

Yeah, you know ... when the Boston Globe ran a devastating article entitled, "Mitt Romney stayed at Bain 3 years longer than he stated."

Now, having whiffed on the first pitch thrown across the plate by the Washington Post, the gallant Romney team stepped up to the plate for a second at bat with a second pitcher.

"We are drafting a formal [correction] request, they will have today,” wrote Romney Press Secretary Andrea Saul.

Swing batter, batter, swing!

Adventures in Wingnutia: Maine Kampf Edition Redux

It's not often that on one's way to a reprise of an already-established apology, one trips over the words and falls deeper into stupidity.

But that's exactly what happened to the Pine Tree State's governor not very long ago.

This morning, Maine Gov. Paul LePage was in Vermont (out of respect for the citizens of that state, I have to believe it was an illegal border crossing) for a fundraiser.

The hilarious tale unfolds from there.

"Standing by Brock's side at the Sheraton in South Burlington, the Maine governor said, "What I am trying to say is the Holocaust was a horrific crime against humanity and, frankly, I would never want to see that repeated. Maybe the IRS is not quite as bad -- yet."

LePage then said, "They're headed in that direction."

Asked if he had a sense of what the Gestapo did during the second world war, LePage said, "Yeah, they killed a lot of people."

Asked whether the IRS "was headed in the direction of killing a lot of people," LePage answered: "Yeah."

Now teacher gave you two chance, Paulie and you still failed the test. Dummkopf

Facts to FactCheck: Your Factcheck is All Wet

In one of the more smarmily-titled pieces of straight reference works, FactCheck.org responds to an Obama campaign check of the facts with this impertinent gem:

FactCheck to Obama Camp: Your Complaint is All Wet 

That was July 2 and, oh, the great laughs had sticking it to the Obama folks. And the arrogant campaign had the nerve to back their complaint with a six-page dissection of the pertinent data ... then sent it to media outlets without FactCheck's permission! 

"The Obama campaign’s objections are contained in a six-page letter sent to us (and  — without notice to us — to other news organizations as well)."

Oh, that dang Obama campaign ... acting all presidenty and stuff. With their hubris, you'd think they worked for the President of the United States or something.

"The Obama complaint claims we erred in saying Mitt Romney gave up active management of Bain Capital in early 1999 to run the 2002 Winter Olympics, insisting we were then wrong in saying Romney was not responsible for shipping U.S. jobs overseas.

In fact, if the Obama campaign were correct, Romney would be guilty of a federal felony by certifying on federal financial disclosure forms that he left active management of Bain Capital in February 1999."

Well that couldn't be true. Romney's the patrician Bostonian via the sweet innocence of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., for Pete's sake so no potentially criminal acts for him.

Willard's sweet dreams of a Capitol Bain

A speculative view of a consultant-heavy Romney Oval Office.

We've all heard the stories about Bain Capital and its uncanny ability to wring huge profit from an otherwise health company while simultaneously sending it and its workers down that treacherous road to massive debt and bankruptcy -- even if it was left standing in the end. These proved to be just one part of the Bain broadside against the American worker.

Over in another corner of world of high finance sits Bain Capital's mother ship Bain and Company, that multinational conglomerate where Mitt Romney cut his teeth as a high-dollar consultant. This other Boston-based firm wasn't the vulture Bain Capital had become, rather, it was a ready partner actually interested in bolstering the bottom line of corporations it advised.

Early on, the parent company collected its fees in the form of "success fees," equity stakes in client companies, thus it developed more symbiotic relationships with the boards it served. However, that early culture, classified as "unconventional" was in full swing when Mitt Romney came on board.

Anyone hunting the genesis of Romney's inability to speak openly of weighty matters need look no further than the tony Bain and Company headquarters, at the time located in historic Lexington.

Hi comma I'm Mitt Romney comma

Mitt Romney speech to the NAACP in Houston, July 11, 2012.

End of post. (Headline: h/t KagroX)

Romney's Bermuda Triangle

As reported by web site Crooks & Liars, Romney told an Iowa radio host that his finances are above-board and his assets held in a blind trust managed by a trustee.

"I don’t manage them. I don’t even know where they are. That trustee follows all U.S. laws. All the taxes are paid, as appropriate. All of them have been reported to the government. There’s nothing hidden there. If, for instance, you own shares in Renault or Fiat, you still have to disclose that in the United States,” Romney said. “So, you know, I understand the president’s going to try to do anything he can to divert attention from the fact that his jobs record is weak and he has no plan to make things better."

Conveniently, and indeed most fortunately, the Romney clan was able to scour the planet and locate their Caribbean stash just in time to trickle some down on son Tagg.

“The blind trust that the Romney camp cites to deflect questions about potential conflicts of interest? It invested $10 million in a hedge fund [called Solamere] co-founded by Tagg Romney. The trustee, Romney’s personal lawyer R. Bradford Malt (yes, that’s his actual name), explains his investing philosophy by saying that he ‘liked Solamere because of its diversified approach and because he knew the founders.’”

 Having dodged an ethics scandal by riding out the six year statute of limitations for failing to list the Sankaty holding on his Massachusetts disclosure form, Romney swiftly did some ass-covering by throwing it on his 2012 report. The account, picturesquely named for an historic Nantucket lighthouse, remains a mystery due to the campaign's lack of transparency.

Let me tell you, I know one guy who knows this whole "blind trust" charade is a fraud and is quite upset by it. Let him tell you in his own words ...

Adventures in Wingnutia: Maine Kampf Edition

 One of the toughest undertakings a reasonable mind can attempt is a slog through Wingnutspeak.

Regular folks listen to words through the prism of regular meaning. What one reasonably cannot expect the rational mind to do, however, is distort commonly understood lexicon into the ever-shifting maladaptations presented by the New Conservative Collective. Wingnutspeak wouldn't be that demanding an undertaking if it had either a basis in reality or didn't shift from day to day.

Let's take a recent example: Maine Tea Party dimwit Paul LePage's most recent ramblings about "something something freedom something Gestapo something IRS something something Obamacare something." I only invoke LePage's name because he's in the news now, but that quote is as Tea Party formula as Giulliani's "noun-verb-9/11" construct. The problem for sane Americans becomes "Whatever in the hell is that ginormous lunatic bloviating about?"

It really just comes down to interpretation and in order to understand the words being vomited, one must toss aside all the usual reference books and turn to the Wingnut Translation Service for the day.

Let me try my hand at guiding you through the crazy.

Stupid shit Romney peeps say

 

Lovey, We are V.I.P.

“Is there a V.I.P. entrance? We are V.I.P.” 

Oh my, Thurston, who IS on our yacht?

Ms. Simmons paused to highlight what she said was her husband’s generous spirit: “Tell them who’s on your yacht this weekend! Tell him!” Over Mr. Conklin’s objections, Ms. Simmons disclosed that a major executive from Miramax, the movie company, was on the 75-foot yacht, because, she said, there were no rooms left at the hotel.

That common(er) touch

"I don't think the common person is getting it. Nobody understands why Obama is hurting them. We've got the message, but my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies -- everybody who's got the right to vote -- they don't understand what's going on. I just think if you're lower income -- one, you're not as educated, two, they don't understand how it works, they don't understand how the systems work, they don't understand the impact."

So for you, "the common person" unable to comprehend these quotes as written words, the Reverend Al Sharpton has provided a visual aid for dummies. 

So without further interruption or continued ridicule and mockery ... Reverend Al presents:

Willard's filthy mitts

As Slick Mitt slithers his way down the presidential path, one constant marks his trail of lies and deceit -- his abject refusal to release his tax returns.

Turns out, the candidate himself calls such obfuscation a dirty proposition.

In 2002, the would-be Bay State governor sicced his attack dogs on opponent Shannon O'Brien, screeching, "Her hands aren't clean!" because she disclosed her personal tax returns but not those of her husband. The stunning sanctimony of the proclamation was reported at the time, as it came one day after Romney refused to release his own taxes.

His 2002 campaign manager Eric "Etch-a-sketch" Fehrnstrom whined, "Her hands aren't clean. She can't claim to be disclosing anything until she discloses the returns of her husband, the Enron lobbyist. Under Shannon O'Brien, the state Pension Board lost millions by buying Enron stock when it was collapsing -- what is she hiding?"

Great question, considering this nugget from the same campaign:

Romney, who has pumped nearly $ 5 million of his own money into the campaign, has refused repeated requests by O’Brien’s campaign to follow her lead and make his income tax returns public. [Salt Lake Tribune, 11/4/02]

So we fast-forward a decade and where do we find ourselves?

Colorado's message trumps Wisconsin's

 

Oh, and these federal firefighters don't have healthcare despite putting their lives on the front line. Perhaps they should go to the Caymans, too.

Ron Paul camp properly savages Willard

Who better to deliver a healthy dose of truthiness about a candidate than his primary challenger who openly developed a full-on bromance with the rich kid? Take it away Paul campaign:



Ouch. Ron better have sent Willard a shitload of roses after that one.

Why Romney lies about Obamacare

So, why would a politician who crafted an identical healthcare law for his state lie about one modeled after the one crafted by The Heritage Foundation as the Conservative response to Universal Health Care?

 Here's what Wiley Willard doesn't want you to know about Obamacare and why he's desperately lying to hide the facts lest they tank his personal presidential ambitions:

• Obamacare protects you from being denied insurance due to a pre-existing condition.
• Obamacare protects you when your insurance company tries to deny you coverage.
• Obamacare protects you from lifetime caps on your benefits.
• Obamacare protects you from being dropped by your insurance carrier when you or your family gets sick.
• Obamacare protects you from losing your health care should you lose your job
• .Obamacare makes sure you'll never go bankrupt and lose your home because of medical bills

It doesn't get any more patient-centered than that! And this is what Romney and his Ship of Fools want to take away from you.

BONUS BENEFIT: Obamacare Is About To Put $1.3 BILLION Back In Consumers' Pocket

(h/t Jill W Klausen)

From One to 4,000 Days in 5 short weeks

Flippity, floppity, flip.

Adventures in Wingnutia: 'Give a Lamb a Gun' Edition

Paging Dr. Colbert ... Dr. Stephen Colbert .Doctor, doctor ... he's baaack.

Into that part of the interwebs which is that boiling cauldron of clueless craziness mixed with conspiracy theories and hopelessness, with a touch of  -- otherwise known as the Conservative Center of Mass -- rides Herman "Uzbeki-beki-stan-stan" Cain with a spanking brand new internet offering.

Despite the fact that I may have overlooked a "beki" or two (and maybe even a "stan"), follow me further for a breathtaking site review as only The Guardian's Oliver Burkeman can deliver!

This guy must feel like friggin' Nostradamus

So, how'd his prediction play out?

Willard: What fails in Amerc-i-a can now fail overseas, too

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is mulling a five-country tour later this month to seize an advantage over President Barack Obama on foreign policy, sources told Politico. Likely visiting select countries to check on his off-shored wealth.

Tale of Two Men

First up, Romney.

Romney's Insensitive Response To Woman Without Healthcare

"When you signed into law Romneycare, I was excited," the woman said. "You seemed proud to do that. And then when the country copied you, it just seemed like there was hope for people like me."

"How have you done since then?" Romney asked flippantly, talking over her.

"I don't have health care, sir, and I'm scared," she said.

“That tells you something doesn’t it?” Romney said. “Tells you something.”

Indeed.

 Now, President Obama: 

Mitt-rolling Willard

The greatest fireworks display this Independence Day was the one exploding over in Conservoland, with the intended audience the lethargic, bumbling Romney campaign:

Romney, in a CBS interview that aired on July 4th, maintained that the mandate the Supreme Court ruled constitutional is indeed a tax. Ferhnstrom, however, told NBC’s Chuck Todd that it was a penalty in an interview just two days earlier.

That prompted the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Bill Kristol, Laura Ingraham, and even Rupert Murdoch, who has previously pressed Romney to shake up his team, to sound the alarm.

“This latest mistake is of a piece with the campaign’s insular staff and strategy that are slowly squandering an historic opportunity,” read the WSJ editorial.

Suddenly, Willard's Boston Beaners decide to hire new consultants.

Earlier, Conservative David Frum mused, "Is Mitt Romney so weak he won't be able to stand up to Congress?"

Adventures in Wingnutia: Marsha, Marsha, Marsha Edition

While Romney is entertaining on his own, he is merely the head clown in a clown car full of idiots. Here's a remix of IL Congressman (yes, a bunch of morons voted for this guy) Joe Walsh doubling down on the stupid on CNN (set to Destiny's Child's "Say My Name").

Whacha hiding, Willard? Real Americans want to know

While Colorado was burning

Get that woman a waaambulance, STAT!

“No. 1, they’re not correct. It makes you recognize that they are gonna do everything they can to destroy Mitt,” Ann Romney recently whimpered.

  

Willard Mitt unzipped on January 30, 2012:

On The Today Show this morning, Mitt Romney responded to a New York Times piece detailing the campaign's strategy to win Florida by destroying Newt Gingrich.

"There's no question that politics ain't bean bags, and we have made sure that our message is out loud and clear."

From flip-floppin' to full gainer

Willard has missed his Olympic calling. Rather than passively participating in horse prancing from the spectator stand, he needs to consider getting on the US Gymnastics team. This mashup of Mittens' slippery slide down Healthcare Hill proves his prowess in tumbling.

As David Axelrod notes of a Mitt presidency, "If he were in WH, parsley would be official veg: Twister, national pasttime."

Aw, Mitt, you flip-floppin' devil

The Huckster in 2007:

0:42 "My plan, by the way, allows every citizen in America to get health insurance. How do I do that?
No new taxes raised. No new requirements that people get government insurance but instead private insurance. Let them get private, market-based insurance."

The Ever-Evolving Snake Oil Salesmen at the Romney Headquarters July 2, 2012:

'It's a penalty not a tax.' 

When a lying liar keeps lying

Snagged from the Vanity Fair sizzler cited in an earlier post:

For nearly 15 years, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s financial portfolio has included an offshore company that remained invisible to voters as his political star rose.

Based in Bermuda, Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors Ltd. was not listed on any of Romney’s state or federal financial reports. The company is among several Romney holdings that have not been fully disclosed, including one that recently posted a $1.9 million earning — suggesting he could be wealthier than the nearly $250 million estimated by his campaign.

The omissions were permitted by state and federal authorities overseeing Romney’s ethics filings, and he has never been cited for failing to disclose information about his money. But Romney’s limited disclosures deprive the public of ... a clear understanding of how his assets are handled and taxed, according to experts in private equity, tax and campaign finance law.

Oh, that Mormon honesty.

Romney's bets AGAINST America

It's little surprise that a guy whose campaign can't get the country's name right would be in the business of betting against it. Yup, that guy, Romney, in addition to shipping jobs overseas managed to do the same with his millions.

The unpatriotic sycophant stashed money in foreign accounts rather than being that "job creator" of whom he speaks so fawningly. A biting Vanity Fair expose blows the lid off the Romney campaign's lies about his ability to create jobs.

As the Obama campaign noted after the scandal unfolded:

"Today's Vanity Fair article confirms what the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported but the Romney campaign falsely denied.  Unlike the vast majority of Americans who pay their fair share of taxes, Mitt Romney is avoiding taxes by stashing millions of dollars in the Cayman Islands.  This matters in the presidential campaign because it is just these types of loopholes for the wealthy that Romney would protect, forcing more of the tax burden onto the middle class."

Righteous!