The Marquis de Mittens’ former Lt. Governor Kerry Healey went on CNN yesterday to counter charges that her old running mate is a heartless prick. As evidence, she cited his reaction during a GOP debate when a certain goofy bastard could not remember all three of the government agencies he vowed to abolish as president:
In defending Romney as “deeply compassionate” and “unfailingly kind,” she pointed to moments during the GOP primary when Romney was “being attacked from every side.”
“His response was always professional, calm, civil,” she pointed out. “In fact, he even intervened on behalf [of] — to try to help — Gov. Perry when he was stumbling [in attempting to remember a talking point during a debate]. His impulses are very kind impulses and there should be no debate about whether or not Gov. Romney is a bully.”
For some reason, I was reminded of this scene from “There’s Something About Mary:”
Matt Dillon’s character is a lot like Romney, only without the gazillions of dollars. He’s a liar who tries hard to be ingratiating but kind of sucks at it.
[X-posted at Rumproast]
dmsilev
And then he turned around and went all alpha-male on Perry, including offering to bet him $10K for something.
Yes, a real mensch there.
amk
“corporations are people, my friend” – That alone should have killed his campaign.
Kay
Here’s principled libertarian Rand Paul:
He’s a nasty piece of work. I watched his senate debates and he’s all arrogance and sneering disdain. I love that he isn’t embarrassed that his dad spends a good part of every day promoting sonny-boy. Nothing like making it on merit, Rand.
Baud
Healey’s got a valid point here. I think Romney has a good chance of locking up the stupid douchebag Republican governor vote.
Arm The Homeless
@Kay: When one of the legs falls off the GOP stool, it’s going to be hilarious to watch the Goldbugs follow Aqua Buddah over a cliff. Right after they sell off that damn Bodhi tree and the mineral-rights beneath it, of course
RSA
…except to dogs and boys with blond hair.
MattF
I think that in a better world “Mitt’s A Prick” would be the perfect bumpersticker. Kinda over the top in this one, though, sad to say.
MattF
I think that in a better world “Mitt’s A Prick” would be the perfect bumpersticker. Kinda over the top in this one, though, sad to say.
MattF
Oops. Regret the duplication.
Chyron HR
@RSA:
Hey, just wait until he goes to campaign someplace where the trees are the wrong height…
Kay
@Arm The Homeless:
He was personally offensive to me, because Rand Paul doesn’t know anything about law, and his opponent was a state AG, and Paul kept lecturing him. Just overwhelming arrogance. He’s unteachable. Nothing gets past that giant ego. Ron Paul raised a real winner.
Kirbster
Mitt shouldn’t have to apologize for anything, ever. His book is called No Apologies, for pete’s sake!
Arm The Homeless
@Kay: It runs in the family. Dr. Paul vs. Dr. Paul will remain a potent weapon against the glibertarians which infest certain quarters of my BookFace.
It is my Greek Fire!
HRA
Really? If it were true about his helping Perry, how does that compare to assaulting a student for not liking his hair style?
Note: I saw Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich helping Perry. Was Willard using telepathy?
kerFuFFler
How odd….I remember Romney often coming off as testy, impatient and domineering. I don’t remember which candidate he was sparring with, but I do remember Romney repeatedly interrupting someone saying something along the lines of, “Can I speak now?” or “Let me finish”. This episode went on for way too long and then Romney started bickering with the moderator. He was rattled and his deportment could hardly be described as “civil”.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I can’t stand Baby Doc, and not solely for his odious political views — he comes across as such an entitled, arrogant prick. Did you see that lecture he delivered about how healthcare reform would “enslave” him as a doctor? Gyad, what a douchenozzle.
Papa Doc is just as crazy, and there’s the creepy racist associations, etc., but somehow he’s less off-putting. At least to me.
Betty Cracker
@kerFuFFler: I got the same impression, particularly when Mittens brought the hammer down on Gingrich. Not that I minded watching Gingrich squirm, mind you, but Romney did seem like a snippy prick. (It was kind of like watching Florida State play Tennessee — I was rooting for maximum carnage. Figuratively, of course.)
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out in the presidential debates, particularly if Mittens feels like he has to really go after Obama. And it’s hard to imagine he won’t feel that way since he needs to maximize the wingnut turnout. He seems to get rattled when anyone questions or criticizes him, and no wonder, considering that never happens to him in real life.
Arm The Homeless
@Betty Cracker: It’s hard to find ‘existential threat’ emanating from a guy who looks like the nice man with dementia who stands at the bus shelter all day.
If you ignore the eery arm positioning and the red walls. YMMV
Southern Beale
I have posted an item about the Great Republican Riddle. It’s not just their base who votes against their own economic self interest, it’s their Sugar Daddies, too.
I don’t get it. Can anyone explain why Republicans are able to get people to damage themselves over and over again? Is it a party of masochists?
Arm The Homeless
@Southern Beale: It’s a cult of flagellation. As long as you humbly accept liberal incursion on the economy, popular culture, courts; you’re only expression of civil disobedience is by voting to hurt yourself. Y’know, so everyone realizes you care.
/dime-store psychoanalyst
Hal
It never ceases to amaze me how Romney needs others to constantly remind the general public he’s a human being, not an Android missing and emotion chip.
What amazes me is Al Gore was savaged by the press for not being emotive enough, especially compared to Bill Clinton, while Romney gets more of the serious business man treatment.
But hey, at least according to Rasmussen, Romney is 7 points ahead of Obama on their daily tracker, Romney 50 (hahahaha) Obama 43.
Conveniently at the end of a week in which Romney was trumped by Obama’s gay marriage endorsement and the bullying story. Pure coincidence.
Suffern ACE
@kerFuFFler: I believe he comes off as whiny more than uncivil. I’m sure he’ll bet the president a million dollars on something.
Smiling Mortician
“I work with retards . . . Not a cage really, more like an enclosure . . . ”
Perfect choice of video, Betty. Except you can still see a hint of a soul when you look in Matt Dillon’s eyes.
mai naem
@Kay: I heard that “joke.” It just went over my head and I still don’t get it. Rand Paul totally comes across as one one of those people who’ll be brought down by some stupid personal sexual affair or gay affair or even some silly bribing scandal. There’s just a something very Duke Cunninghamish/Jack Abramoffish about him. Hubris? As far as Daddy Paul, I have a feeling Daddy Paul was just as big a prick when he was younger. Older people can be just as hateful but its easier to hide it in that dodderish way.
Also too, Dr. Free Market Rand refused to state how much money his practice had made how much off Medicare/Medicaid and somebody managed to get hold of the numbers and it was some ridiculous percentage.
Southern Beale
@Arm The Homeless:
Well, I guess I need to read The Republican Brain. I have it on my bookshelf so … perhaps the answers are there.
Anya
Even the villagers can see what a callous prick Romney is.
Kane
The example of Romney coming to the defense of Gov. Perry during the debate kind of underscores the criticism towards Romney. He is “deeply compassionate” when it comes to defending a rich and powerful individual like himself, but he is silent during those same debates when a gay soldier is booed and when the members of OWS are mocked.
It’s easy for Romney to show compassion towards those who share the same status as he does, but he doesn’t appear to have that same level of compassion towards those who are different than him.
President Obama often speaks about the invaluable lessons of walking in someone else’s shoes. Mitt Romney seems to have difficulty getting beyond the thought of wearing someone else’s shoes.
Cacti
I think it’s awfully funny that Stu White told ABC that Willard’s been feverishly calling up the Cranbrook crowd, to try and get someone to say something nice about him.
If he really was such a swell guy, he wouldn’t have to ask “friends” to say so.
They never really liked you, Mitt. They just knew you were the governor’s whelp and didn’t want to get on your bad side.
Kay
@mai naem:
Oh, God, I don’t think so. That would be human. Rand Paul is better than that. He so clearly thought he was the intellectual and moral better of his opponent in that senate race, watching the debates. Conway, his opponent, is a bit of a brawler, but it comes naturally, and he’s quick and smart. He likes to fight. Rand Paul couldn’t be bothered to engage on that lowly, ordinary-human level. He pronounces these fucked up libertarian theories like they’re actual law, which they’re not. It was impossible to engage him in an actual fight, because he simply doesn’t recognize opposition. Beneath him.
LanceThruster
@MattF: How about…
Don’t fall for this Mitt
or
Please America – I Mitt you not
or
Don’t let the Mitt hit the fan
or
Don’t want no Mitt, don’t start no Mitt
or
Mitt happens? I hope not.
or
Another Mitty day in paradise?
LanceThruster
Don’t give Mitt a bully pulpit.
Kane
While much of the attention to the WaPo article has focused on how Romney bullied and assaulted a gay student, little attention has been given to his cruelty towards his teacher who had a physical disability of diminished eyesight. Does Romney not remember those acts of cruelty either?
LanceThruster
There’s some things Mitt “won’t stand for”…make sure there are some things you won’t either.
LanceThruster
@Kane: Great point. Is the teacher still alive? Is this just a silly prank of youth or is indicative of the inbred cruelty of an entitled fopdoodle (thank you Charles Pearce)
Mike in NC
@Kane:
Mitt prefers his $5000 hand-made Italian loafers to go with his blue jeans. Just a regular guy.
Hill Dweller
@Kane: The Republicans on Maher’s show last night tried using a Romney story about going to look for his co-worker’s child in NY as an example of his ‘compassion’. David Kay Johnston rightly pointed out that Romney is willing to help people if they are like him. If you’re poor, gay, foreign, etc., Romney couldn’t care less.
JCT
@Kay: And as a physician, Rand Paul pisses me off beyond all belief. Cute trick, that circumventing the certification boards by making up your “own” medical board. And of course his utter hypocrisy on Medicare.
This is a guy who, like Romney, was handed everything — maybe not enormous wealth, but everything else. He probably had a leg up getting into med school.
And he repays his good fortune by becoming a complete asshole. Good work, Ron.
Frankensteinbeck
@Southern Beale:
It’s a culture of narcissists and (often dry) alcoholics. They’re not making decisions based on their self-interest. They’re making decisions based on what they want, emotionally, in an extreme short-term sense. How they feel RIGHT NOW is the sacred basis of the entire world. Boil all decisions through that system, then apply a paper thin rationalization on top. Note that in particular they support every policy which allows them to act on their short term emotions. ‘Freedom of Religion’ is the rationalization cover for ‘spouting all my bigotries and expressing my religious beliefs any time I want in any way I want, even and especially if it crushes other people’s religious beliefs because it’s a mild nuisance for me to acknowledge those exist’.
LanceThruster
Gott Mitt Uns.
Tonal Crow
@LanceThruster: How about “BullMitt!”
WereBear
@Frankensteinbeck: Yes; they really are mentally unstable. The books Republican Gomorrah, and now The Republican Brain; it’s simply a fact.
jl
@Smiling Mortician:
I’d feel a little safer with Pat Healy than Mitt. Not much, but a little bit.