Of course, we know that Romney would strap all five sons to the top of his campaign bus and run them through the carwash when the resulting terror-induced diarrhea streamed down the back window if there were a few votes in it, so this is a lie:
It’s very easy to excite the base with incendiary comments. We’ve seen throughout the campaign if you’re willing to say really outrageous things that are accusative, attacking of President Obama, that you’re going to jump up in the polls. I’m not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support. I am who I am. I’m a person with extensive experience in the private sector, in the economy.
Even if his internal polling tells Romney that Michigan is in the bag, isn’t it kinda stupid to dis the base on Michigan’s election day like that, especially with Super Tuesday looming? All the Bobo paeans in the world will mean little if Little Ricky wrests Romney’s nomination out from under him.
[H/T: TPM; X-POSTED at Rumproast.]
Egg Berry
Where do dems sign up for that superPAC?
The Dangerman
His internal polling must suck if he’s already spinning the loss; couldn’t happen to a nicer asshole.
Comrade Mary
I guess someone sat Mitt down and used simple words.
Chyron HR
Oh, of COURSE not.
Schlemizel
It actually is a clever argument. See, when I said Obama is a so-shall-ist who is destroying American, thats not hyperbola. Thats the Moroni’s honest truth cuz I’m a very reasonable guy. Those others are nutters but not good ol Willard.
chopper
i hear brooks brothers just came out with a new line of fireproof slacks.
kooks
Just simply a horrible politician. Save the money and retire already.
JPL
@Chyron HR: haha.. I’m imagining Mitt who knows owners of Nascar teams calling Obama a snob. According to our media though he could call him a muslim soc$alist though.
edit..I see Schlemizel mentioned the other s word first..
chopper
@The Dangerman:
i know. it really comes off like he’s trying to soften the blow.
Aaron Baker
Say nothing accusative–or worse, dative or ablative.
k488
As a lefty Michigander, I am torn today. The thought of making mischief to keep the right-wing circus on the road is very tempting, but the thought of actually pulling the lever for Santorum (or Gingrich, for that matter) gives me pause. I have gay friends and relations, and I can’t in good conscience vote for someone who would condemn my own children for simply being who they are. As for Romney, I can’t see why anyone from this state would vote for him AT ALL. Our backbone is the car industry, and he would have condemned us all, line workers and university professors alike, to some very dark times. I have watched as problems in the car industry led to the closure of a whole bunch of parts manufacturers in Jackson (my nearest metropolis), creating an actual domino effect with surrounding mom-and-pop businesses. Had GM gone under, it would have been a lot worse. About one thing he’s right: the trees here are the right hight, but beyond that…
chopper
@JPL:
i was sitting in the owner’s box with several multi-millionaire team owners, and over some bacon-wrapped filets and a really nice bottle of Mouton-Rothschild we all agreed what a huge stuck-up snob obama is.
Boots Day
There was a quote from Mitt a while back wherein he said that he hadn’t really thought about running for president until his wife suggested it a couple of years ago. I think we ought to get PolitiFact working on that one. I can’t think of anyone who’s ever run for president who had so little interest in pursuing specific policies or principles and was so nakedly in the race just because he desperately wanted to be president.
cmorenc
That he’s “not willing to light his hair on fire to get support” with incendiary comments would be one of the most admirable, positive things Mitt Romney has said, that is if only he really meant that and had actually demonstrated it in his own campaign behavior as a matter of principle and integrity. Instead, however it comes across more as begrudging recognition that he is unable to convincingly pull off the sort of flamethrower arson that comes so naturally to Santorum and Gingrich, rather than any genuine statement of sentiment or principles.
amk
fucking lying asshole of a bastid.
Sentient Puddle
That’s pretty rich coming from the guy who entered the race saying that we’re inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy.
Villago Delenda Est
If OvenMitt did light his hair on fire, it would be an inauthentic fire that would convince no one.
Rick Taylor
Will this insult those on the right, I wonder? He’s essentially saying it’s easy to pander to those lunatics through crazy incendiary rhetoric. I’m not sure that was a good idea right before the Michigan primary that’s already so close.
gnomedad
Never say “I have” when you can say “I’m a person with”.
Betty Cracker
@Villago Delenda Est: LMAO! Like one of those fake fireplace logs, exactly.
janeform
@Rick Taylor: He probably figures that Frothy has the lunatic vote sewn up. Which leaves him the RINOs.
zach
What’s really rich are the couple stories going around right now about how Mitt Romney saved some lives from a jet ski and put his CEO wizardry to work to locate a lost girl… all of which note that he his campaign hasn’t focused on these stories because of Mitt’s humility.
John S.
@k488:
Don’t think of it as voting FOR Santorum. Think of it as voting for a weaker opponent for Obama to shred in the Fall. I’m sure all your liberal and gay friends can get behind that.
Hal
He is his own worst enemy. The minute the man is even remotely ahead, he decides to open his big trap and a limo falls out.
Even if Santorum loses, if the vote is close I can imagine all people will talk about is how Romney almost lost MI, not that he one. Super Tuesday should be very interesting. I was listening to NPR yesterday and a woman was saying she didn’t know who she was voting for, but, even though she didn’t agree with Santorum on everything, she felt he at least genuinely believed in what he was saying. Romney will never be able to really convince people he is sincere, and I can’t imagine that not effecting him in a general election.
Ed Drone
@Villago Delenda Est:
You realize that we’re in “burning Bush” territory here, don’t you? Or at least “burning Bush-successor.”
Ed
chopper
sweet, creamy poop-speckled santorum on a ritz cracker, is this guy a horrible politician or what.
chopper
@Villago Delenda Est:
OTOH, the fumes from the burning plastic would give people cancer.
Steve
Pointing out that you have refrained from calling Obama the Infanticide President is an odd closing argument, that’s for sure.
Tractarian
That’s what occurred to me when I read this. Sure, the media will run with this – but they’ll focus on the blatant detachment from reality (i.e., here’s a list of all the “incendiary” things Mitt has said in the last two months) – rather than the more important issue, which is how this comment will play with the base.
Mitt is basically saying here that the GOP base is easily manipulable. All you need to do is throw them some delicious
mixed-racered meat.It’s downright insulting, condescending, demeaning… both to the Tea Party right-wingers and to the many “mainstream” Republicans who identify culturally and emotionally with them. These are precisely the people Mitt needs to win over, not alienate.
Just add this to Mitt’s list of unforced verbal errors. And don’t be surprised if this seemingly-minor gaffe is enough to push Rih over the top in Michigan.
Butch
@k488: The Upper Peninsula where I live is really a distinct entity from downstate and we’re forced by a quirk of FCC regulations to receive Wisconsin TV stations as part of any cable or dish package, so it’s hard to get a read – does the “home state” thing with Romney really carry any weight with anyone in Michigan?
cat48
off topic, but The prez is firing up the UAW w/speech now on msnbc. He loves the auto bailout & so do I.
Amir Khalid
I thought someone would have pointed it out by now: this image is a Blingee in waiting.
SenyorDave
@Betty Cracker: But the thing is that it wouldn’t burn well, because it would be a knockoff fake fireplace log. It wouldn’t be “Duraflame”, it would be something like Everflame.
samara morgan
Romney is gunna lose Michigan.
its in my quantum crystal ball.
;)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I guess this is as close as Romney is going to come the my fantasy Mitt-as-Shatner moment, “You know what? fuck y’alll. I’ve got more money than god, some of the choicest real estate in the country, a beautiful wife with a medical condition and a couple of dozen grandchildren. I’m sick of trying to pretend to be dumb and crazy enough for you goobers. Enjoy the convention when Li’l Rikki has himself dressed by confused twenty year old virgins from Ave Maria University in robes designed by Josef Ratzenberger and made by Prada, and you go on tomlose every state but Mississippi and Idaho. Willard, OUT!”
dmsilev
“I am who I am”: Mitt ‘Popeye’ Romney.
Expect him to start chugging spinach from a can by Friday.
Tractarian
@gnomedad: FTW.
I’m a person who believes Mitt may have lost Michigan with this latest blunder!
@zach:
Love the BuzzFeed headline on this: The Heroic Romney Rescue That, For Some Reason, The Campaign Doesn’t Talk About.
For some reason??? Um, the whole story is based on Romney and his family riding jet skis near his lakeside vacation estate. Even when Mitt does something arguably “heroic”, it’s firmly in the context of unimaginable luxury. Nothing in his life is normal. That’s what comes across in this story – well, that and how ridiculous his “heroism” compares to the everyday sacrifices of working moms and soldiers, for example – and that’s why the campaign doesn’t talk about it!
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
What has Erik, son of Erik said about this? If he’s unavailable I’ll take whatever Lars, son of Lars has to say.
quannlace
And let’s just have a mini-marathon of all those commercials Mitt blanketed Florida with, shall we?
scav
quannlace
Actually that sounds a lot like his concession speech back in 2008!
noodler
POTUS gives a UAW Speech on THIS DAY? Remember the September (?) primetime address during the GOP debate (although it was moved). The Scheduler deserves a raise.
The timing of the speech was notable: As the UAW held its national community action program conference in Washington, Michigan voters were headed to the polls to help decide which Republican candidate will face Obama, the Democrat, in the fall.
rikyrah
I said he’d sell his Mama for a block of votes, but I like yours better.
Satanicpanic
Uh really?
Hasn’t worked for you Mr Roboto.
amk
@noodler: I hear it’s a barn burner too today. Can’t wait for the youtube,
Steve
@Butch: I am from Romney’s part of the state, and I believe it does help him, although it’s hard to quantify exactly how much. In 2008, 42% of primary voters said Romney’s ties to Michigan were either very important or somewhat important, for whatever that’s worth. There’s still quite a few old folks who remember that Romney’s dad was a pretty good governor, back when the state did fairly well under five straight terms of moderate Republican governance.
zach
Has anyone asked Mitt what he thinks about our last CEO President? It seems odd that his sales pitch is identical to Bush’s when Bush’s failures almost all boiled down to mismanagement in the pursuit of a businessman’s White House. Should we expect Mitt Romney to appoint corporate heavyweights to the cabinet who are magically less inept then the ones that Bush selected? Paul O’Neil, Donald Rumsfeld, etc, etc were corporate stars; Bush was praised by Wall St. for picking them. How will Romney’s CEO Presidency be any different?
bemused
Mitt has made so many “I’m no different than you” gaffes yet he continues to step in it over and over. He is so far removed from regular folks’ lives, he seems incapable of even understanding that he has made a gaffe. A practiced politician would know how to pretend to relate to voters. Mitt just can’t do it.
Rafer Janders
@k488:
The thought of making mischief to keep the right-wing circus on the road is very tempting, but the thought of actually pulling the lever for Santorum (or Gingrich, for that matter) gives me pause. I have gay friends and relations, and I can’t in good conscience vote for someone who would condemn my own children for simply being who they are.
I understand that sentiment completely. However, keep in mind that you would not be voting for him to take office, you would be voting for him to be the Michigan delegate’s choice to be the Republican nominee for president. And having him be that might be actually the best way to protect our gay friends and relations by ensuring that the GOP goes down to a crushing defeat.
danimal
I must disagree. R-Money is being truthful when he says he will not set his hair on fire to win political arguments.
He’s much too selfish and well-coiffed for that.
The real question is whether he sets someone else’s hair on fire for political gain. I think we know the answer to that one.
jl
A few days ago, TPM quoted Michael Moore, s 0 s * l 1 s t class warrior, who said that the trees in fact were just the right height in MI. Especially compared to weird too giganto trees in WI, and stuff that looks like shrubbery in OH.
I am from CA, so I can infer that Moore thinks the trees out here are way way too high, but I will let it pass.
Here is picture evidence of just the right height trees in MI.
http://media.talkingpointsmemo.com/slideshow/things-mitt-romney-loves/1-256669
I agree that those trees are an excellent height. I think we need to give Romney credit for speaking a brave and potentially politically risky truth (if neighboring states’ delegates are still up for grabs) about MI trees.
Rafer Janders
@Tractarian:
I loved this from the comments to that article:
You have to understand- this rescue was in 2003, back when Rommney was the Pro-Choice, pro gay rights Governor of Massachusetts. Since so much has changed about Rommney’s beliefs since then, isn’t it logical to conclude that he has changed his opinions on lifesaving as well, and is now AGAINST saving people from a sinking boat? That is probably why Rommney’s camp is keeping this quiet.
piratedan
@scav: almost translates as “dammit people, I bought your votes before, why don’t you just stay bought?”
Villago Delenda Est
@zach:
Never, ever put an MBA in charge of something important.
This is the lesson of the first MBA preznit.
ericblair
@Steve:
Yeah, and us Virginitards got George Allen because there are enough “independent” voters who remembered his pappy was a real good footbawl coach, or even confused him with his pappy. Don’t underestimate the low-information voter who somehow manages to find the voting booth without forgetting to breathe and falling over dead.
This is supposed to be a gimme state for Rmoney.
Herbal Infusion Bagger
“Never, ever put an MBA in charge of something important.”
Never put a Harvard MBA in charge of something important. I’ve had good experiences with MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Wharton MBAs.
Harvard MBAs, however, in my experience, were looking to either increase their net worth or enhance their CVs, using their alumni contacts to parachute out of the monster screw-up they’ve left behind into the next enterprise they’ll screw-up.
SRW1
@Boots Day:
Lol, the whole Romney candidacy then is a plot by Ann to get The Mittster out of the house because he was nagging too much?
lamh35
Darn, I’m at work now. Did anyone hear POTUS speech to UAW??? TPM saing it was a barn burner!
jibeaux
@Tractarian: That’s funny…I liked this suggestion from the comments
jibeaux
@jibeaux: Oh Rafer and I mind-melded.
patrick II
When Mitt takes his shirt off, he has multiple tattoos. One says “you must be presdident”, Another says “trust Paul Singer” and another says “trust Robert Mercer”. One says “John McCain is your enemy” but that one is crossed out. Below it is a tatoo that says “Barrack Obama is your enemy”.
Each morning he looks in the mirror, trying to remember why he is here at this place on this day. He reads his notes from yesterday. “Matt Roades will tell you what to say today, listen to him”. Another note says “Be reasonable today”.
Mitt waits for Matt, but ten minutes goes by and he again wonders what he is doing here on this day. He reads his notes again and remembers. Someone knocks on the door — it is the man named Matt Roades. Matt leaves a folder instructing Mitt what to do that day in ten minute increments. Mitt thanks Matt and begins to read his instructions. Matt says “I will see you a little later on” — and the slender, smiling black man leaves Mitt alone in his room.
artem1s
that’s cause he’s already in OH blowing his wad saying really outrageous things that are accusative, attacking Santorum. Of course the attacks are about Rick’s deficit voting record NOT the real crazy stuff.
JoyfulA
@zach: Interesting question that someone with a microphone ought to put to him if he’s nominated. Of course, Bush did fire O’Neil for making sense.
wrb
@k488:
He’s so brilliant people don’t recognize moves, they occur in dimensions unperceived by average folk.
No one else noticed that the redwoods and firs are in states he had no chance of winning anyway so he could slag them, take the deciduous loyalists and sweep to victory, his opponents left spinning like Wile E. with “meep meep” ringing in his ears.
chopper
@dmsilev:
i was thinking more “ehyeh asher ehyeh”, i am that i am. he’s got the ego for it.
Persia
@danimal: Also, too, his hair is treated with flame-retardant chemicals.
chopper
@patrick II:
it’s sorta like a messed up version of the old story about rabbi bunem – mitt carries two slips of paper in his pockets. the first one says ‘for my sake the world was created’. the other one says ‘for my sake the world was created’.
Joel
To be honest, I’m a little happy to see Romney make a statement like that. I was afraid we were really on a one-way ticket to hell, vis-a-vis the Republican base.
Sad_Dem
Isn’t he the guy who lied on TV about what his name is? He’s running for office or something like that, right?
Linda Featheringill
So Romney is saying that it was okay for him to mess with Democratic primaries in the past but it’s not nice for Democrats to mess with his primary today.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/28/1069111/–It-s-totally-different-when-Mitt-Romney-meddles-in-Democratic-primaries-says-Romney-aide?via=blog_1
Another excuse. He sounds like he’s losing.
inkadu
@Aaron Baker:
It is a nomination after all. He should stick to the nominative.
patrick II
@chopper:
It was supposed to be more like Guy Pearce in Memento who had short term memory loss and had to keep reminders of where and why he was each day. But because he couldn’t remember what happened ten minutes ago he was manipulated and the story he told himself changed constantly and the real reason got lost.
I have to get better at allegorical writing.
SiubhanDuinne
@Aaron Baker:
Absolutely.
Mike G
“That is, I’m a rich guy who buys a lot of stuff.”