The Saturday Five: Romney Knows Who His Opponent Is

1. A Boston Globe poll of New Hampshire out tomorrow morning will show Sen. John McCain within breathing distance of Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney, and Romney sure knows this:

Romney accuses McCain of 'failing' Reagan's legacy by opposing Bush's tax cuts

New Hampshire: Taking aim at a rallying John McCain, New Hampshire front-runner Mitt Romney said Saturday that his Republican presidential rival had failed to follow in the path of President Reagan by twice opposing President George W. Bush's tax cuts. Romney also sought to turn McCain's well-known maverick streak — a central theme in his campaign ads — against the Arizona senator. McCain's go-it-alone attitude, Romney suggested, will breed more divisiveness in Washington if he wins.

McCain's New Hampshire co-chair, ex-Rep. Chuck Douglass, responded later:

"From his claims of being a 'lifelong hunter' to receiving the NRA's endorsement to marching with Martin Luther King, Jr., it's clear that Mitt Romney has trouble with the truth. His latest attacks are yet another example of his complete inability to level with the voters of New Hampshire. The facts are clear: Romney refused to endorse the Bush tax cuts he now claims to champion, maybe because he was too busy raising taxes in Massachusetts by over $700 million per year -- more than any other state in his first year in office. New Hampshire voters expect and deserve integrity and authenticity in their leaders, not someone who changes his positions to fit the politics of the moment and can't seem to tell the truth."

2. The FEC will shut down, basically, as of the new year, as Congress clashes with the Bush administration of the Hans A. von Spakovsky nomination.

3. Hillary Clinton has dinner with her traveling press corps. Off the record. ,,,, Says Barack Obama:

In fact you could argue that there are a bunch of ex-Clintonites supporting me, in fact you could argue that there are more foreign policy experts from the clinton administratin supporting me than Senator Clinton should raise some pretty interesting questions. Why is the national security advisor, the secretary of the navy for Bill Clinton, the assistant secretary of state for Bill Clinton, why are all these people endorsing me? It's not just because I give a good speech. They apparently believe that my vision of foreign policy is better suited for the 21st century, and is not caught up in the politics of fear that we've been seeing out of George Bush for the last seven years.

The Clinton campaign releases a list of 85 names in response...

4. The New York Times' Michael Luo analyzes the semantics of Mitt Romney:

Indeed, with many of these instances, there has often been at least an element of truth in his claims. But for a candidate who has featured his business background and made much of his propensity for careful analysis of data, Mr. Romney is not always precise. Asked about it on Thursday, he said he would correct whatever was wrong.

5. A consortium of SEIU affiliates advised by former Edwards campaign manager Nick Baldick has purchased $750,000 worth of television ads in Iowa, and Sen. Barack Obama does not like the symbolism at all.

"I don't just talk the talk, I walk the walk, I've been doing this all my life, and John has not had that same record," he said. "John yesterday said that he didn't believe in 527s," he said. "We found out today that there's an outside group spending $750,000...and the individual who's running the group used to be John Edwards' campaign manager." "You can't say yesterday you don't believe in them and today you're having three quarters of a million dollars being spent for you," he said.

Playing umpire for a bit: in 2004, Jonathan Prince, currently an Edwards deputy campaign manager, left the campaign to run a 527 on Edwards's behalf. Baldick wouldn't tell me whether he contacted the SEIU or the SEIU contacted him, but he insists he's had no contact with the Edwards campaign for quite a while. Nevertheless, a pattern is developing, and Edwards, the reformer's champion, is being helped by independent groups who are advised by Edwards partisans.

Here is how Edwards responded today, courtesy of CBS's Aaron Lewis:

"The way the law operates as everyone here knows already... The way the law operates is we're not allowed to be involved in this. The campaign's not allowed to be involved, I'm not allowed to be involved. I found out about this probably after most of you did through the news media...

"I'll say a couple things about senator Obama. First, you know I guess he's seeing the same thing on the ground that we're seeing here which is why he's started talking about me, which is that we're moving."

"Second, I'm proud of the fact that I've never taken any money unlike senator obama - never taken any money from a washington lobbyist or a PAC.

"But from my perspective, this is not an academic or a philosophical question. This is about who has the toughness and fight to take on corporate greed and win. And I have been doing it my entire life"

6. Bonus: No more Borat.

7. US Magazine:

Everyone has an opinion on this week's news that Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. (Over 62,000 readers responded to an Usmagazine.com poll on whether Spears is setting a bad example; the results were split.)

Even Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee – a Baptist minister and the former governor of Arkansas – entered the fray.

"It's a tragedy when a 16-year-old who is not really prepared for all the responsibilities of adult life is going to be now faced with all the responsibilities of honest-to-goodness adult life," he told CBS News in Iowa.

"Apparently, she's going to have the child and I think that is the right decision, a good decision, and I respect that and appreciate it," Huckabee continued. "I hope it is not an encouragement to other 16-year-olds who think that is the best course of action."

"But at the same time I'm not going to condemn her," he said. "I just hope that she will make another right decision and that's to give that child all the love and kindness and care that she can."

Tell Us: Should Spears be commended for her decision?

Comments

MSNBC has a good rundown of those 85 names, some of whom don't seem to quite have the foreign policy credentials I think Obama/Hillary had in mind:

"For example, Lissa Muscatine is a speechwriter for Clinton, whose foreign policy experience is limited to covering the French Open and Wimbledon when she was a tennis writer for the Washington Post's sports section."

Posted by Dave | December 22, 2007 3:14 PM

Obama's argument is absurd. Hillary's and Clinton's 527s are not shady organizations (like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were) -- they are some of the most important unions and core constituencies of the Democratic Party. Hillary and Edwards receiving so much help because they were endorsed by big unions like the AFSCME, AFT, and SEIU. You bet that Obama would have loved to receive any of their endorsement and the 527 help that would have gone with it.
(Full analysis of the 527 situation is here).

Posted by Daniel | December 22, 2007 3:20 PM

So unregulated, undisclosed campaign financing is ok so long as its done by groups we like? I'm pretty sure that's the more absurd argument.

Posted by Dave | December 22, 2007 3:34 PM

Nevertheless, a pattern is developing, and Edwards, the reformer's champion, is being helped by independent groups who are advised by Edwards partisans.

The pattern is irrelevant. John Edwards didn't give himself SEIU's endorsement. What makes Obama's attack so really off the wall is that he's attacking a union -- who's endorsement he vigorously sought -- that made perfectly and publicly clear that it intended to back up its endorsement with independent expenditures to help mobilize its membership in support of its endorsee. This isn't shadowy. It's not Americans for Jobs, Health Care, and Progressive Values. These are open expenditures coming from a clear and open source. Why is Obama choosing now to run around making the implicit argument that unions shouldn't participate in the political process?

Posted by dry_fish | December 22, 2007 3:41 PM

Hillary's Campaign is playing to the perfect argument that the Obama's Campaign is trying to prove, and that is, they both rely on experts on the so called foreign policy experience, meaning, hillary does not have the foreign policy experience of her own, that she relies on the ex-clinton "85 foreign policy expert".

While Clienton's argument may be true, it brings her down to the same level of experience perception as Obama, thus, Obama may benefit from this argument.

Posted by TheDonald | December 22, 2007 3:47 PM

“According to today’s Washington Post, the Hillary campaign is planning to close out the Iowa and New Hampshire races with a ‘tight embrace’ of her husband’s legacy, an argument that only she is equipped to handle future foreign policy crises, and even an evocation of 9/11.” Classic Clinton: http://theseedsof9-11.com

Posted by Peggy McGilligan | December 22, 2007 3:48 PM

Romney slams McCain for dishonoring Reagan's legacy?

That's funny, because on last weeks' Meet the Press Mitt spoke with pride of how his father walked out on the '64 GOP convention because of Barry Goldwater's opposition to civil rights legislation.

But Ronald Reagan, as much as Goldwater, was the star of the '64 convention. Reagan's speech at the convention, as well as his vigorous campaigning for the nominee, and the principle of states' rights, established him as a major player in the conservative Republican movement.

George Romney walked out on Reagan to the same extent that he walked out on Goldwater. Does Mitt also repudiate Ronald Reagan for his sharing of Goldwater's anti-civil rights stance?

George Romney was a genuine admirer of Martin Luther King. Ronald Reagan never said a good word about Dr. King when he was alive. As president, Reagan made some obligatory platitudes, 20 years too late.

How about Vietnam? George Romney opposed the war in '68. Current conservative orthodoxy maintains that domestic opposition to American intervention in Vietnam encouraged North Vietnam to persist, and demoralized American troops. Reagan, on the other hand, was an enthusiastic Vietnam hawk. Will Mitt Romney condemn his father for failing to support U.S. troops?

So tell us, Mitt? George Romney or Ronald Reagan: these two men disagreed on everything. Which one do you follow?

George Romney seems to have been a man of conscience and principle. He sacrificed his political career by refusing to pander to the base of his party. His pampered son Mitt, not so much.

Posted by Dennis M | December 22, 2007 3:55 PM

Wait, Clinton has found more people to add to her list. There's Tom, who is wearing French cuffs. And Dick, who likes German chocolate cake. And Harry, who had Chinese last night.

When MSNBC pointed out that German chocolate cake isn't named for the European country but rather for an American company called German's Chocolate, the Clinton camp denounced Tim Russert and Chris Matthews as dirty tricksters for the vast Obama-supporters conspriracy.

Bill Clinton on the campaign trail told three Iowans that Hillary is the greatest diplomat in the history of the Western world, a force behind the scenes in averting World War III during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Posted by Paul | December 22, 2007 4:37 PM

If more people don't caucus in Iowa than voted in that US Magazine poll, I am up and moving to another country. Somewhere in the Caribbean, perhaps.

Posted by Jack | December 22, 2007 4:59 PM

Romney saw his father's example, if not his father's actual march, which is no longer in question. George Romney did march with Martin Luther King, and supported him when few government leaders would.

"Shirley Basore, 72, says she was sitting in the hairdressers chair in wealthy Grosse Pointe, Mich., back in 1963 when a rumpus started and she discovered that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and her governor, George Romney, were marching for civil rights" right past the window.

With the cape still around her neck, Basore went outside and joined the parade.

"They were hand in hand," recalled Basore, a former high-school English teacher. "They led the march. We all swung our hands, and they held their hands up above everybody else."

Another witness, Ashby Richardson, 64, of Massachusetts gave the campaign a similar account.

"I am just appalled that the news picks this stuff up and say it didn't happen," Richardson, now a data-collection consultant, said by phone. "They led the march. We all swung our hands, and they held their hands up above everybody else's."

Posted by Jed Merrill | December 22, 2007 7:06 PM

I am not sure of the two eyewitnesses. George Romney marched with a pile of King's co-Reverends and the ladies could have confused another black preacher marching in handshake with George Romney for King.

There is no doubt that both Mitt's parents "marched" with King in a metaphorical sense. They were strong backers and King was someone who had met with both on more than one occasion and also told SNCC members Romney would make a very good President. George Romney served as keynote speaker when King's movement arrived in Detroit and gathered before the marches, participated in the marches, and photos have come up of Lenore Romney introducing Mich students to King, and of the Romneys and supposedly Mitt in background to his Dad, at other civil rights rallies.

McCain can snarl back at Romney, but McCain's record on fixing financial messes the Senate helped cause, then tried to deal with, is fairly poor. Lots of McCain adopting a "maverick position" and running for the cameras with no other Senators of his Party won over to his point of view.
Both Romney and Giuliani did admirable solvency cleanups on Massachusetts and NYC, respectively, with Romney having a far superior record of turning around fiscal nightmares. But Rudy did a great job in NYC with costs and in attracting huge new business and revenue to his newly "livable" city ready to do business, ready to lead once again on a regained range of cultural attributes. Not McCain. Best he can say is he "warned" fellow Senators about spending too much, but no one listened to him or stood behind him.

Posted by Chris Ford | December 22, 2007 8:44 PM

Romney saw his father's example, if not his father's actual march, which is no longer in question. George Romney did march with Martin Luther King, and supported him when few government leaders would.

Many government leaders supported Dr. King.
Few Republican leaders supported Dr. King.

And despite the admirable example set by his father, Mitt could not find time to appear at the debate at historically black Morgan State University in Baltimore in September of this year. It might hurt his chances with the GOP base, you see.

George Romney had the guts to march in the streets for civil rights in 1963, but his son was afraid to show up at a black college to debate in 2007. This is progress? This is courage?

He refers to Irag as a "mess," but refused to criticize the man who bears responsibility for making the mess.

Here's the difference between Mitt and George: A Republican marching for civil rights in 1963 went against the GOP base. Opposing the Vietnam war in 1968 went against the GOP base. George Romney was a man of principle and courage. Mitt Romney is a man of expediency.

Posted by Dennis M | December 22, 2007 8:47 PM

"For example, Lissa Muscatine is a speechwriter for Clinton, whose foreign policy experience is limited to covering the French Open and Wimbledon when she was a tennis writer for the Washington Post's sports section."

A senior Hillary spokeswoman, ended a succession of sentences the other day with the word, at. At: a preposition used to indicate a point in time or space. I'm far from being the best writer; I don't have a staff. But if I did, you can bet I'd hire someone with at least a fourth grade education. Didn't we learn not to end a sentence with a preposition in third grade? The people who still end sentences with, at, are cops; and the good ones kick that habit.

The 527s: "some of the most important unions and core constituencies of the Democratic Party. Hillary ... receiving so much help because [she's] endorsed by big unions like the AFSCME, AFT, and SEIU." An endorsement from these means votes. The Clintons pandered to them throughout the 90s. Here's the price we paid: http://theseedsof9-11.com

Posted by Peggy McGilligan | December 22, 2007 9:40 PM

SYNOPSIS:…at least four historical Books about MLK and 1960s politics state that King and Romney did March together...George Romney was a guest at King's funeral along with RFK...as Governor and HUD Secretary Romney was a noted non-black Civil Rights leader of his day...George Romney was recognized along with King and RFK as one of four leaders popular among disadvantaged black youths in a 1967 survey...link below to photograph of MLK and Lenore Romney (Mitt's mother)...link below to photo of Romney being heckled by racist protesters in 1960s for HUD efforts... and most important, George Romney himself, led a march of 10,000 people through Detroit to protest after Bloody Sunday occurred in Selma, Alabama...see below

David S. Bernstein did a shabby and extremely slanted job researching and writing his article Was it All a Dream? which questions Mitt Romney’s assertion that his father, Governor George Romney marched with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dispensing with the issue of whether a teenage Romney ever actually saw his father marching arm-locked with King, Bernstein and the Phoenix have done an extremely one-sided job by insinuating that it is proven fact that the two never marched together and that Romney recently made up the story out of whole cloth. Either Bernstein failed to do basic research, or ignored the facts he found.

Bernstein's headline reads: “Mitt Romney claims that his father marched with MLK, but the record says otherwise”.

I ask, what record Mr. Bernstein? Where does your article show us one “record” that says Romney and King never marched together? Not having after hours access to libraries or archives, and just using google I have found three books, here, here, and here that state that the two did march together (and that's not counting David Broder's book, written four decades ago which would be number four!)

Unlike Bernstein and the Phoenix, I am not going to make grandiose assertions that a King-Romney march has been scientifically proven to have occurred, and it is evident that some writers have Romney marching on June 23, 1963, whereas others say that he issued a proclamation but avoided that particular March because it was held on his Sabbath. My point is that the whole thrust of Bernstein’s piece is to insinuate that Romney recently made the story up. That is hogwash. Take this extremely biased line: “Nor did Mitt Romney ever previously claim that this took place, until long after his father passed away in 1995 — not even when defending accusations of the Mormon church’s discriminatory past during his 1994 Senate campaign.” Basically, Bernstein is saying that if the story were true, then Romney would have bragged about it in the past. In other words, Bernstein is saying that Romney recently made the up the story to guild his "Faith in America" speech.

But the overwhelming weight of facts show that it is entirely reasonable for Romney to have believed his father did in fact march with King (and—barring proof otherwise, may have actually done so). Allow me to list just a few...I found today:

First, four published books by historians and reporters published long before 2007 say King and Romney marched together (see above). That would generally be good enough for a Presidential campaign to make a historical assertion without being accused of lying; second, Mitt’s older brother Scott Romney says he recalls his father saying he marched with King; third, George Romney himself led a Civil Rights march in Detroit to show solidarity with King after the defining Selma travesty (see here and here); fourth, Coretta Scott King's biography and other books indicate that George Romney, along with RFK, were guests at Martin Luther King's funeral (see here and here); fifth, I have not yet found a photo of George Romney and MLK together, but I did find this one of Mitt's mother, Lenore Romney with MLK; sixth, as HUD Secretary, Romney was a prime mover in making housing affordable for poor blacks (see here). In fact, when Romney sought to open white neighborhoods to blacks, like King before him he was heckled by racist protestors (check out the lower right-hand picture in this article, here); seventh, Romney visited Watts in 1967 (see here); eighth, Romney declared two days of statewide mourning for death of Viola Liuzzo during which time King went on Meet the Press to protest Viola Liuzzo’s murder by the KKK (see here and here); ninth, Coleman Young writes that Michigan blacks reached a Zenith when Romney was governor (see here) and another writer describes George Romney as a Civil Rights Republican (see here). Yet another historian says that Romney “believed that Civil Rights of black Americans, deserved the unwavering support of the Republican party…” (see here); tenth, disadvantaged black youths in a 1967 survey cited Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Nicholas Hood, Robert Kennedy and you guessed it...George Romney as their most popular leaders (see here).

I could go on, but my point is that Bernstein is insinuating that Romney is lying and is ignoring a huge amount of information that is easily obtainable on the internet or in a university library. If being a reporter were MY FULL TIME JOB, I would have already flown out to Lansing to see MSU's collection of 50,000 photographs, where (I have a hunch) the Mitt Romney campaign might find a lot more things to brag about. So the fact that Bernstein failed to even check those historical records readily available on the internet beats me!

That a 60 year old Romney (between the ages of 15-21 during King's marching years), familiar with all of the above background information, believes that his dad marched with MLK, is highly understandable. The record shows that his dad MARCHED FOR KING. I think Romney may get the last laugh on this one...

Basically, George Romney was one of the most progressive white leaders of his day. He probably belongs in the ranks of the Kennedy brothers, Everett Dirksen, LBJ and others.

In Sum: If in fact thorough research (which will take some time) shows that either 1) Romney and King did march together or 2)These historians and reporters were citing each other on a mistaken fact as to the June 23, 1963 march, the fact remains that George Romney did indeed lead a march for Civil Rights (whether or not King was with him at the time) and that George Romney was a Civil Rights leader in general and that he marched in solidarity with King in immediate response to Selma—the most defining Civil Rights episode of the era.

http://occidentalvalues.blogspot.com/2007/12/george-romney-and-martin-luther-king.html

Posted by Alan | December 23, 2007 12:23 AM

Marc, what is this? "Bonus: No more Borat."

The scene in the Borat movie where you wrestled with him was the funniest thing in any film this year. What has turned you against him?

Posted by MoeLarryAndJesus | December 23, 2007 12:32 AM

1. Borat was fabulous.
2. Jamie Lynn Spears can only be commended if she gives the thing up for adoption. Otherwise, scorn. She's 16 and unfit to raise a kid. And her mother has not won anybody's confidence in that department.

Posted by Phoebe | December 23, 2007 1:06 AM

CREDIBLE INFORMATION TO SUBSTANTIATE THE GEORGE ROMNEY DID MARCH WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING AS MITT ROMNEY STATED.

In 1963, George Romney Gave The Keynote Address At The Conference That Sparked The Martin Luther King "Freedom Marches" In Detroit. "The establishment of these human relations groups came in the wake of several major events (besides the embarrassing racist practices of such suburbs as Dearborn), which took place in 1963 and helped galvanize interracial support and cooperation for integrated housing. The first event was the Metropolitan Conference on Open Occupancy held in Detroit in January 1963. The second event was the Martin Luther King 'Freedom' March in June of the same year, the spin-offs of which were several Detroit NAACP-sponsored interracial marches into Detroit suburbs to dramatize the need for black housing. ... Governor George Romney gave the keynote speech at this conference, in which he pledged to use the power of the state to achieve housing equality in Michigan." (Joe T. Darden, Detroit, Race And Uneven Development, 1987, p. 132)

Governor Romney Marched In July 1963 In An NAACP-Sponsored March Through Grosse Pointe. "The next couple of NAACP marches into the suburbs were more pleasant. Both Grosse Pointe and Royal Oak Township welcomed the interracial marchers. Close to 500 black and white marchers, including many Grosse Pointers, marched in 'the Pointes' that July. Governor George Romney made a surprise appearance in his shirt sleeves and joined the parade leaders." (Joe T. Darden, Detroit, Race And Uneven Development, 1987, p. 132)

· Detroit Free Press: "With Gov. Romney a surprise arrival and marching in the front row, more than 500 Negroes and whites staged a peaceful antidiscrimination parade up Grosse Pointe's Kercheval Avenue Saturday. ... 'the elimination of human inequalities and injustices is our urgent and critical domestic problem,' the governor said. ... [Detroit NAACP President Edward M.] Turner told reporters, 'I think it is very significant that Governor Romney is here. We are very surprised.' Romney said, 'If they want me to lead the parade, I'll be glad to.'" ("Romney Joins Protest March Of 500 In Grosse Pointe," Detroit Free Press, 6/29/63)

· In Their 1967 Book, Stephen Hess And David Broder Wrote That George Romney "Marched With Martin Luther King Through The Exclusive Grosse Point Suburb Of Detroit." "He has marched with Martin Luther King through the exclusive Grosse Pointe suburb of Detroit and he is on record in support of full-coverage Federal open-housing legislation." (Stephen Hess And David Broder, The Republican Establishment: The Present And Future Of The G.O.P., 1967, p. 107)

FACT: As Governor Of Michigan, George Romney Fought For Civil Rights And Marched In Support Of Martin Luther King Jr.

George Romney Was A Strong Proponent Of Civil Rights And Created Michigan's First Civil Rights Commission. "The governor's record was one of supporting civil rights. He helped create the state's first civil rights commission and marched at the head of a protest parade in Detroit days after violence against civil rights marchers in Selma, Ala., in 1965." (Todd Sprangler, "Romney Fields Questions On King," Detroit Free Press, 12/20/07)

In 1967, George Romney Was Praised At A National Civil Rights Rally For His Leadership. "Michigan Gov. George Romney walked into a Negro Civil Rights rally in the heart of Atlanta to the chants of 'We Want Romney' and to hear protests from Negroes about city schools. 'They had invited me to come and I was interested in hearing things that would give me an insight into Atlanta,' the Michigan Republican said. Led by Hosea Williams, a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the all-Negro rally broke into shouts and song when Romney arrived. 'We're tired of Lyndon Baines Johnson,' Williams said from a pulpit in the Flipper Temple AME Church as Romney sat in a front row pew. 'Johnson is sending black boys to Vietnam to die for a freedom that never existed,' Williams said. Pointing to Romney, Williams brought the crowd of 200 to its feet when he said, 'He may be the fella with a little backbone.' Williams said Romney could be 'the next President if he acts right.' The potential GOP presidential nominee left the rally before it ended." ("Romney Praised At Civil Rights Rally In Atlanta," The Chicago Defender, 9/30/67)

Photograph: "Dr. Martin Luther King speaking to graduate student Laura L. Leichliter (center) and Michigan's First Lady Mrs. Lenore Romney in February 1965." (Instructional Media Center Collection At Michigan State University Archives And Historical Collections)

George Romney Fought Discrimination In Housing. "President Nixon tapped then Governor of Michigan, George Romney, for the post of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. While serving as Governor, Secretary Romney had successfully campaigned for ratification of a state constitutional provision that prohibited discrimination in housing." (U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development Official Web Site, www.hud.gov, Accessed 12/19/07)

Photograph: "More than 100 angry white protesters balked at efforts by then-Housing Secretary George Romney, in car, to open their new neighborhoods to blacks." (Gordon Trowbridge and Oralandar Brand-Williams, "A Policy Of Exclusion," Detroit News, 1/14/02)

FACT: In 1965, George Romney Led A March In Michigan To Protest Selma.
In 1965, George Romney Led A Protest Parade Of Some 10,000 People In Detroit. "Rarely has public opinion reacted so spontaneously and with such fury. In Detroit, Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh and Michigan's Governor George Romney led a protest parade of 10,000 people." ("Civil Rights - The Central Point," Time Magazine, www.time.com, 10/5/83)

· The Days Of Martin Luther King, Jr.: "In Detroit, Governor George Romney and Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh called for a march to protest what had happened in Selma." (Jim Bishop, The Days Of Martin Luther King, Jr., 1971, p. 385)
FACT: Martin Luther King Jr. "Spoke Positively" About The Possible Presidential Candidacy Of George Romney.

In His Pulitzer-Prize Winning Biography Of Dr. King, David Garrow Notes That King "Spoke Positively" About The Possible Presidential Candidacy Of George Romney. "King spoke positively about the possible candidacies of republicans George Romney, Charles Percy, and Nelson Rockefeller. He also stressed the need for greater Afro-American unity, including reaching out to segments of the black community that were not committed to nonviolence." (David J. Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 2006, p. 575)

FACT: George Romney Attended King's Funeral In 1968.

George Romney Attended King's Funeral In 1968. "Vice President Hubert Humphrey represented the White House. Senator and Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy; Mrs. John F. Kennedy; Governor and Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller of New York; the mayor of New York City, John V Lindsay; and Michigan's governor, George Romney, were present." (Octavia Vivian, Coretta: The Story of Coretta Scott King, 2006, p. 99)

· George Romney Joined Other Prominent Americans In Attending King's Funeral. "Inside was the greatest galaxy of prominent national figures there had ever been in Atlanta at one time: Robert Kennedy, George Romney, Mayor Carl Stokes of Cleveland, Nixon, Rockefeller, Harry Belafonte, and an endless array of others equally as famous. Coretta Scott King, sitting with her family front and center in front of the casket, looked lovely and courageous and dignified in a black mourning veil." (Franklin Miller Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, 1987, p. 517)

· After King's Assassination, George Romney Declared An Official Period Of Mourning, Ordered All Flags To Be Flown At Half Staff And Said King's Death Was "A Great National Tragedy." "On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated as he stood on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn., where he had gone to lead a civil rights march. The following day, Michigan Gov. George Romney declared an official period of mourning for King. The period extended through King's funeral. Romney ordered all flags on public buildings to be flown at half staff and asked that the same be done on private buildings. Gov. Romney, in an official statement, said: "The assassination of Martin Luther King is a great national tragedy. At a time when we need aggressive nonviolent leadership to peacefully achieve equal rights, equal opportunities and equal responsibilities for all, his leadership will be grievously missed." ("Rearview Mirror: Detroit Reacts To King's Assassination," The Detroit News, 4/4/07)

Posted by Kelly Warnick | December 23, 2007 2:18 AM

No one has questioned the late George Romney's fight against segregation, commitment to equal rights, and support of Dr. King.

Unfortunately, George Romney is not running for president. His much less impressive son Mitt is the candidate.

The issue is whether or not Mitt Romney engages in "resume inflation," as when, for example, he called himself a "lifelong hunter," an obvious pander to rural voters, and which his campaign spokespeople now acknowledge is untrue. Hearing Mitt say "varmint" is about as hilarious as if he had said "home boy."

But it now seems that Martin Luther King is the new hero of Republican primary voters. So, in honor of Dr. King and the senior Romney, when will Mitt speak out about the GOP voter caging operations designed to remove blacks from the voter rolls in Florida and Ohio? When will he condemn the Bush administration's corruption of the Justice Dept. Civil Rights division so that its priority is now to assist religious fundamentalists advance their agenda?

In other words, Mitt, stop bragging about your father's civil rights efforts unless you intend to continue his legacy. With apologies to Lloyd Bentsen, I knew George Romney. Governor, you're no George Romney.

Not even close.

Posted by Dennis M | December 23, 2007 12:18 PM

I love that I live in a world where Mike Huckabee condemns me to hell (a taxpaying, law-abiding, lawyer in a committed relationship who happens to be gay) and gives little Miss Spears and her 16 year old sexual life a pass.

In Mr. Huckabee's world, judgment is reserved for many, and compassion is limited to the few.

Merry Christmas Mike, you hypocritical ass.

Posted by Joe | December 23, 2007 1:50 PM

Fred has been in the game. Fred has been out. John and has been in the game. John has been out. Rudy has been in the game. Rudy has been out. Mike has been in the game. Mike has been out of the game. Mitt has been IN the game. Now there is a record to look at!

Posted by Wendy 73 | December 23, 2007 4:07 PM

Krugman just came out with his latest column and it is blasting Obama for the 527 fight. Krugman is really out to get Barack, no?

Posted by Daniel | December 24, 2007 10:24 AM

I think it is hilarious that the Anti-Romney folks use one lie to bolster another. The liberals created the "life-long" hunter story and now they are using it to bolster their next creation, the MLK Marching story. The FACT is Romney has hunted small game like rabbits every summer for much of his life. If hunting rabbits qualifies as hunting and doing it going back to your early teens qualifies as life-long, then he is in fact a life-long hunter. He had one uninformed campaign aid that said he had hunted rabbits twice, and that was later corrected but no one read the correction. Now this misinformed story has become legend and is being used to create another misinformed legend. Romney is a great man of great accomplishment, who can actually solve the great problems of the day.

Posted by HMH | December 24, 2007 1:16 PM

Folks, folks, folks -

The Mormon church released all of their last slaves in 1978. And George Romney shot MLK. Let's just leave it at that, and move on.

Posted by Democrats Against Hillary | December 24, 2007 3:34 PM

Yes, its a good thing that Spears kept her child, and didn't have an abortion - [have the child killed]. She should be commended for not having her child killed because of her bad decisions. Huckabee was saying he supports that. He is against abortion.
I doubt that Huckabee thinks 16 year olds should have sex. He thinks homosexuality is sinful - that's what Christians have always believed.
It wouldn't be hypocritical for him to say that he's glad a teenage mom doesn't have an abortion, while still thinking that homosexuality isn't a good lifestyle to choose. He's a supporter of marriage between one woman and one man for life.
Look at the context of Huckabe's comments: he's a prolife candidate for President.

Posted by voter | December 25, 2007 4:02 AM

Yes, but wasn't Huckabee pregnant a few years ago?

Posted by Democrats Against Hillary | December 25, 2007 2:41 PM

BREAKING! MIKE HUCKABEE A HYPOCRITE! THE SCANDAL THAT WILL ROCK THE ELECTION SEASON!

http://democratsagainsthillary.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-mike-huckabee-hypocrite.html

Posted by Democrats Against Hillary | December 25, 2007 2:59 PM