Cry your tears Utahns. Flip-flopper Romney is finally out of the race. I am not surprised. I am surprised to see how quickly the local Republicans are trying to spin support towards McCain. It is almost as if the local Utah Republicans like Garry Herbert are afraid that Utahns may actually vote Democratic this year.
On a much more promising note, Barack Obama won in my home state on Tuesday. Good times!
Romney started off the interview very well. The beginning of the Russert grilling was focused exclusively on Religion. Romney did a very good job of setting a context of religious people and their interaction with Government. Romney addressed the “Freedom requires Religion” argument well by suggesting that freedom require moral individuals. It was a bit of a stretch from what he said before, but it was a dialog that I thought was appropriate.
Next on to Abortion. Here is where the flip flops began. Romney became very uncomfortable, and began using very complex descriptions to talk his way out of changing his mind. His policy beliefs on Stem cell were somewhat more straightforward.
Next, gun control, a careful bit of dancing and spin by Romney. He did a better job of dancing, but was ultimately uncomfortable.
Next on to illegal immigration. Russert brought up some statements by Romney showing strongly implied support for the Bush / McCain comprehensive immigration reform proposals. Romney began dancing away from his support of this position. Instead of focusing on his exact beliefs and policy decisions on illegal immigration he started to focus on employment verification. That is all good and dandy, but it is very wishy washy.
Towards the end of the interview Russert pulled out the full flip flop smack down. Abortion, gay rights, health care, gun rights, ect. Russert asked a very telling question: Would you be elected Governor of Massachusetts with your policy beliefs today? We all know damn well that the answer is a huge NO!
Ultimately Romney did not end as strong as he started. I think the net effect of this interview is zero.
This morning I learned about details of Governor John Huntsman’s budget and I was very happy. No tax cuts, increased spending on education and health care, and increased focus on fighting global climate change. Once again I am praising my Republican Governor. What planet am I on?
I am very happy to see the defeat of school vouchers. I see it as a way to prohibit the privatization of education in our State. I strongly believe in the ability of the public schools in Utah to educate our children. Key to the success of public or private schools is the involvement of a child’s parents. It is for that reason that the Utah public schools are able to achieve so much from while being so poorly funded.
I found this excerpt from Wednesday’s Salt Lake Tribune interesting:
Voucher supporter Overstock.com chief executive Patrick Byrne – who bankrolled the voucher effort – called the referendum a “statewide IQ test” that Utahns failed.
“They don’t care enough about their kids. They care an awful lot about this system, this bureaucracy, but they don’t care enough about their kids to think outside the box,” Byrne said.
I say this to Mr. Byrne: The people of Utah care deeply about their kids. As a member of the majority of the state who does not support vouchers I can honestly say that I voted that way because I care deeply about my child. I want my daughter to go to the highest quality public school. If for some reason I feel compelled to place my daughter in private school I am willing to do so of my own expense, without asking a cashed strapped system for some sort of welfare check. Mr Byrne: show me compelling evidence that the people of this state don’t care about their children.
For all of those Romney fans who feel super cool about the win in Iowa consider the following:
The three top contenders in the race, Giuliani, McCain, and Thompson chose not to participate. Romney was competing with the likes of Huckabee and Brownback, names that garner a couple percentage points each in national polls.
Romney outspent his nearest competitor by 10-1. Add on top of that the fact that this was a vote at a Republican fundraiser, not a vote of all Republicans.
Romney’s victory doesn’t seem that great to me.
It was a messy, nasty debate. At times I could barely stand to watch, because of the disorder. However, through the whole debate we saw a couple constant themes appear:
Rocky Anderson:Â Stuck to the facts, attacked the president based on his facts.
Sean Hannity:Â Attacked Rocky Anderson, called to “Support the Troops.” and avoided defending the president.
I wasn’t really surprised by the tone of the debate, however, I think Hannity may have been surprised by the veracity of the crowd. The crowd was surprisingly about equally divided between supporters and skeptics of the war in Iraq.
Tonight the wife and I watched part one of “The Mormons,” a PBS documentary about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a fairly interesting 2 hours that appeared to try to honestly be fair and balanced. My great question is what did actual mormons think about this documentary?
I am happy to see that Utah’s attorney general, Mark Shurtleff is in line with the Republican hacks who believe things are going well in Iraq. In a really useful speech the attorney general referred to Senate Majority leader as “Hezbolla Harry.” He also compared Mayor Rocky Anderson to World War II traitors. Thanks Mark Shurtleff for showing the close minded people of Utah that is it unpatriotic to see reality. You know the bible says something like thou shalt not kill, but I guess God is just a weak minded idiot who would gladly surrender to terrorists.
It is awesome to see the government function now that Democrats are in power. Alberto Gonzales looks like he is sinking, as his department has flat out lied about its political firings. The senate also appears to be resuming the war debate, which is a very good thing! I want to see an official date for withdrawal from Iraq.
I am so excited for the possible Democratic victory. I believe that is is becoming necessary that regardless of our political persuasions we elect a Democratic majority in both houses to check the power that George Bush has exerted into our political system. One man should not have the power to suspend habeas corpus for any reasons he or she deems fit. An administration should be accountable for its mistakes.
I am going to work at the polls on November 7. Democracy is cool!
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