Romney's tall tale about MLK
By Steve Benen Wednesday Dec 19, 2007 9:15pm
Download | play wmv only MTP transcript:
Romney: ...And I'm not going to distance myself in any way from my faith. But you can see what I believed and what my family believed by looking at, at our lives. My dad marched with Martin Luther King.
Mitt Romney has defended his position on civil rights, in multiple high-profile settings, by insisting that his father marched with Martin Luther King during his tenure as governor of Michigan in the 1960s. Pressed for specifics, the Romney campaign pointed to an event that occurred in Grosse Point, Mich.
The claim appears to be false — Romney’s father did not march with King. Unfortunately, the campaign has come up with an unpersuasive defense.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he watched his father, the late Michigan Gov. George Romney, in a 1960s civil rights march in Michigan with Martin Luther King Jr.
On Wednesday, Romney’s campaign said his recollections of watching his father, an ardent civil rights supporter, march with King were meant to be figurative.
“He was speaking figuratively, not literally,” Eric Fehrnstrom, spokesman for the Romney campaign, said of the candidate.
C’mon, Romney campaign, you can do better than this. Romney told two national television audiences, “I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.” That was a “figurative” claim?
I wonder what might have happened to Al Gore seven years ago if, confronted with the manufactured controversy about “inventing the Internet,” he said, “I meant that figuratively.”
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Maybe it's like that Book of Mormon parallel bible thing, you know, Jesus was in North America hanging with the Indians...
If you've ever read "Under the Banner of Heaven" there's an interesting part in there about Mormon's philosophy about lying, essentially that it's perfectly fine and not a sin if they feel the ends justify the means. Sorry I can't remember the details, it may only apply to leaders of the church.
This always smelled like BS. Nice to see the truth's come out. Boy, what a lame explanation by the Romney campaign.
oooops
Dear Romney Campaign, If it's meant figuratively then what the f*ck is the symbolism of a march that never happened in Grosse Point, Michigan?
well god bless a man whos willing to sacrifice his sons in the battle to elect him!!!!!!!!!!
I still find comfort knowing that his sons "figuratively" served their country while manning the campaign bus for Mitt.
Romney is a liar. I mean that literally.
Gore wouldn't have had to say 'figuratively' because he never said what the liars continue to say He said.
I had sex with Angelina Jolie.
Figuratively.
Grosse Point, Mich.
Hmmm..
That should have been the first clue.
Give me a break with these idiots.
Lets see if anybody shows up at the next Romney Rally with a poster that has a picture of Romney with a white moustache that says:
"GOT MLK?"
Mitt is a proven liar.
Not only by the testimony of Steve Benson, ex-Mormon, but by common-sense observation.
Either he's lying when he says, as president, he will not follow the dictates of the Mormon church, or he lying when he says he is a good and true Mormon.
Those two concepts are incompatible.
And I'm gonna ball Sharon Stone, and ignore what she tells me she'd like.
"10 myiq2xu Says:
I had sex with Angelina Jolie.
Figuratively."
I know, i was watching her figure at the time too.
The Romney/Huckabee ticket should be a real hoot.
Bishop Romney! I bet your freinds at Communist Martyrs High School at mighty proud of you, now....
17 Paul Says:
Bishop Romney! I bet your freinds at Communist Martyrs High School at mighty proud of you, now….
It's Mit not Porgy!
For his next trick, Romney will state that he and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and Bill O'Reilly were in the same unit in Vietnam engaged in ferocious hand to hand combat with the Viet Cong. It was only through the grace of God that they all managed to make it out of the jungle alive.
Oh, sorry. He went to All Science High, didn't he?
Let's give Romney a break.
Of the thousands of lies he's told so far, only one was about his father (so far as we know).
The rest were about himself.
And if a presidential candidate can't lie about himself, what's he gonna do with all those lies he has stored up?
"My daddy helped Jesus carry the cross"
~herr dubyah
My dad was the first to step foot on the moon. Also invented braille. Well, figuratively, not literally.
My dad can beat up everyone's dad.
"he was talking figuratively"
Yeah, sure he was. If he had been talking figuratively, he could have said any number of things at the time to explain that he was. But, no. He said his father marched with MLK and expected this pile of bullshit to stand on its own merit.
Why do the republicans constantly underestimate the intelligence of the American people.
I grew up in Grosse Point and I'm thinking free Grosse Ile.
I'm sure that's exactly the demographic Romney had in mind.
NOT.
duh @ 11:
MLK marching in an extremely white, wealthy, and affluent area of Michigan....yeah, sounds about right.
Oh you bunch of nay hay sayers,
Next your going to smear Romney when he tells the story when his Grandfather was first in space with the Sputnik monkey....!
Or try to dismiss Romneys Great-Great-Greatest Grandpappy that sailed the 7 seas with Sinbad on his Golden Voyage.
Your just mean spirited if you can't accept Romney word for it. Even if he meant it all figuratively misleading.
You animals ought to be placed in a sorority.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have pity on Mitt.
Think of all the things he's missed.
He's never caught a small fish, never hit a ball that wasn't a home run, never slept with an unbeautiful woman, never had an impure thought, never woke up with a woodie, never knew the joy of masturbation....................
Ya know, I don't think he's experienced enough to be president.
My father helped God on the 5th day....figuratively, not literally, of course.
Dr. Matt @ 24:
Thank goodness that I have two mommies, then.
- "Heather"
Gore never said he invented the internet.
David Hawes wrote:
Gore wouldn’t have had to say ‘figuratively’ because he never said what the liars continue to say He said.
Exactly David, even this post propagates the lie, change this post because it looks like you are to lazy to come up with real facts. Steve Benen you are propagating a republican / media lie manufactured about Gore to help knock him down. Nice work Steve Benen!
Once you believe Jesus was an American, you'll believe anything.
Is this the same Mitt Romney that demonstrated AGAINST pro-democracy demonstrators during the 1960s at his college in California?
The thing that's funny...and I'm not going to bother reading the Pro Mitt blogs...but they will say that Liberals didn't like it when Al Gore got picked on for it so why pick on Mitt now.
Though Al Gore never claimed to have "invented" the internet. That wording was the Repubs lie, picked up by the press and late night comics.
What Gore did claim credit for (correctly) was taking a limited government/defense/university network, and making it available to the rest of us.
there is something seriously wrong with the repuglican candidates and for that matter the entire rnc. they believe that lies and deception is a real moral value. this the group that stands for
family values, whatever that really means,compassionandequalityfor all (as long as you are white, fat and rich man).a blow-up sex doll has more compassion than any repuglican.
Dr. Matt @ 27:
'Course, that bit about being born in a manger, and waking up with donkey poop all around him, and seeing a tall guy with a beard hanging around outside the stable door, looking sheepish, and having his beautiful mother Mary cursing at the guy, and throwing donkey turds at him...
and, later, the three bearded guys in the beautiful costumes, with the three stars in the background, bringing him a pony, and some good-smelling stuff...
well, that all had a ring of truth to it, and it would be interesting to hear more. From an historical perspective.
(But it was mean of them to bring him an electric train, when there was no place to plug it in)
xoites defends Constitution @ 18:
Sorry, I'm working a 36 hour shift and am having a flashback.
The acursed will take the stand!!
Dr. Matt,
Not sure what happened above with the quotes but I was trying to respond.
Is this "figuratively" in the commonly accepted sense, or the Mormon sense?
Because by Mormon standards, having an imaginary walk with Martin Luther King is pretty tame stuff. The whole saga of Joseph Smith and Moroni and the Golden Plates and the celestial sunglasses sent by God so a human could translate the Book of Mormon - it's doesn't even qualify as good science fiction, let alone the founding myth of a religion.
Jed Clampett striking oil with a blast from his varmint gun is more plausible than anything that comes out of Mitt's piehole.
BUSTED!
duh @ 42:
NP. I figured it out. :)
I'll be up there this weekend. I'll see if I can retrace MLK's steps.
It's too bad Coretta Scott King died. Wouldn't it be great if she were here to say, 'I don't think so, Mitt. Evidence, please. When and where did George Romney march with MLK?'
I figuratively saw the Mitt-meister boning Lady Liberty up the tailpipe. That has far more literal truth than his MLK claptrap.
"Hello seeker! Now don't feel alone here in the New Age, because there's a seeker born every minute."
Firesign Theatre
How ironic. I remember seeing Mitt Romney solicit sex from black transvestite hookers when he was Governor. But only figuratively.
I know the song Mitt's daddy sang while he marched, that old Mormon favorite:
Choir: We're marching, marching to Shibboleth,
With the Eagle and the Sword!
We're praising Zion 'til her death,
Until we meet our last reward!
Men: Our Lord's reward!
Women: Zion! Oh happy Zion!
O'er wrapp'd, but not detained!
Men: Lion, f'rocious Lion!
His beard our mighty mane!
Women: At First and Main!
Men: Oh, we;ll go marching, marching to Omaha,
With the Buckram and the Cord!
Women: You'll hear us "boom" our State!
Men: Ha, ha! As we cross the final ford!
Women: The flaming Ford!
Choir: Zion! Oh mighty Zion!
Your bison now are dust!
As your cornflakes rise
"Gainst the rust-red skies,
Then our blood requires us must
Go ...
Men: Marching, marching to Shibboleth,
With the Eagle and the ...
Women: The Buckram and the Cord!
Men: Sword! Praising Zion 'til her death!
Women: Ha, ha!
Men: Until we eat our last reward!
Women: The flaming Ford!
Choir: Zion! Oh righteous Zion!
There is no one to blame!
For the homespun pies
'Neath the cracking skies
Shall release the fulsome rain!
Tenor: Shall release!
Men: Shall release!
Soprano: Shall release!
Women: Shall release!
Choir: Shall release the vinyl rein!
It really is as if the satyrical characters from Firesign Theatre have taken over the world.
From the top secret government training film:
Gentlemen, I have something awesome to reveal to you.
Go ahead sir.
Two flying saucers just landed on my plate.
You mean the eggs, sir?
Let's just call them the phenomena.
Well, sir, I think you've got your phenomena scrambled.
Sir, uh, pass the syrup, general?
That's a good idea, Chuck, but syrup won't stop them. Next?
Uh, pardon me, sir, but are you nuts?
Ha ha, that's just what they want you to think.
Xoites,
They seem prescient at this point. I wonder if this whole trip would be more tolerable witrh a couple of hits of orange sunshine? Nah...it would prolly be a bum trip out of hell.
...right next door to the tomb of the unregistered voter.
Orange Sunshine...brings back distrorted memories.
Indeed....
When you can't get the black vote you bring up MLK...another instance of waiving the bloody shirt, it doesn't just have to be about proselytizing a war it can refer to a civil rights battle. What's next? SHIT! I better get some of those Log Cabin votes, uh...uh... "My Daddy attended Harvey Milk's funeral"?
So, if Romney supported blacks against the wisdom of his church does that mean he would walk in a gay-pride parade?
That's why they are lame because is there audio of Mitt saying this? Yes. Is there audio of Al Gore sayin what they claimed he said? No. And who cares what a pro mitt blog writes anyway. seriously will they still be writing in about 5 months? Gore isn't ever going to be a candidate and there will always be pro Gore blogs. Why is that?
I'll be voting for Mitt. I mean that figuratively of course...
:P
This is truly the best idea I've ever read in the past hour and a half:
Da Spyda @ 12:
Jay Severin Has a Small Pen1s @ 58:
No, it means he is a heritic an liable to be burned at the stake!
He's a greedily ambitious lying SOS.
How DARE he try to pull that one off?
Repiglicans can only ever make themselves look "good" by frantically trying to align themselves with the better aspects of the history of the left.
What an absolute, unmitigated, piece of animal-abusing GARBAGE.
And he's ugly and plastic.
*
FYI: It is fairly well documented that Dr. King gave a speech on March 14, 1968 at Grosse Pointe High School. My parents lived in "the city" (Detroit) at the time and my Mom tells stories of hearing the tanks at night. Weird.
and here's a link:
http://www.gphistorical.org/mlk/index.htm
Somebody likes Fireside Theater too... Anyway, Remember how brutal the Right was in insisting that Al Gore said that he 'invented' the internet?? I would love to see people everywhere ask Romney when and where he marched with 'MLK' and to supply photos and documentation. As a lifelong Michigander I believe that George Romney was a good man and a good governor of Michigan. Mitt is a shadow of his father, a mere flash in the pan.
This tendency of Mitt's started at an early age.
His father, the Governor, delighted in repeating the tale of how he had caught Mitt, at the age of thirteen or so, crouched over in a chair with a pair of tweezers, picking a whole bunch of splinters out of his palms.
'And the boy looked at me', the Governor used to say, 'And said, with a straight face, that he'd never had a woodie. He'll make a hell of a politician'.
"Speak Out, Don't Sit In" was the slogan Romney displayed during an interview today where he was describing his actions during college in the 1960s. He seemed to be pretty proud of demonstrating against the hippies. Whatever.
xoites defends Constitution @ 15:
That was you? How did my figure look? Did you make a video?
I have to agree with some of the folks here, the linkage to al gore has little value and inherently flawed
I've been seeing the ad that Mitt has been running (over and over and...) attacking Hillary because she hasn't run so much as a corner store and he proudly pointed to his running, among other things, the Olympics. That seemed odd to me and brought a nagging memory to the surface - is THIS the Olympics he is so proud of having "run"
2002 Olympic Investigation
The U.S. Justice Department brought a 15 count indictment against former SLOC leaders Tom Welch and Dave Johnson in connection with Salt Lake City's bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
I'm sure Mitt will graciously accept your apology:
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)
Um, no they can't. That actually is the best they can do in this situation. They have 3 alternatives:
1. Tell the truth. HA HA HA HA uh, almost coughed up a lung.
2. "Mittny misspoke on three separate occasions. He never intended to mislead anyone with his complete and utter fiction." That is almost as funny as number 1.
3. "Mittny was under the influence of GOD when he spoke and GOD told him to say the part about MLK. You don't want him to defy GOD do you?" This would work with the 20% of the public who are delusional chi$tofacists and would believe anything with the word GOD in it. But the other 80% who, though may be quite stupid, aren't THAT stupid.
So Steve, yes this is the best they could do.
Romney's an aqua net hairspray using pinocchioist
gws @ 71:
Quoth Mitt Romney: "My dad marched with Martin Luther King."
So where does this account mention MLK? Maybe this site will graciously accept YOUR apology.
JasonS @ 34:
Once you believe Jesus exists, you'll believe anything.
And a politician like Mitt damn well knows you will, sucker.
gws @ 71:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
When you link all the revelations and observations above with
his despicable treatment of the poor family dog Seamus tells you everything you need to know about the man.
That it never even occured to him that strapping the family dog to the roof in a crate was NOT AN OPTION, well,what can you say? Bastard.
Same for The Huckster, and his pschopathic son,and his awful killing of an innocent stray dog. The huckster got sonny out
of that one,being the Guv and all.
What is it with these people? you can tell a LOT about a person by how they treat animals, domestic, or WILD.
Disgusting bastards.
Dnurse
Funny how a religion [mormonism] which until 1978, banned blacks, and only due too a law suit ceased and desisted in its descrimination of them, is some how a civil rights advocate for blacks..? Funny how their church doctrine for decades stated blacks had the mark of "cain" and were cursed.....! I would venture too bet daddy Romney and his son, who are life long devotees of the mormon cult [I refuse too call it a christian religion], are about as fake as their mystical golden tablets....
One thing Mitt Romney and Huckster Huckabee have in common both sold their souls long ago too a master whom is opposite of Jesus Christ..., they are what Jesus warned us all of false prophets and modern day phairsees......who pretend too honor god and bible and only apply the parts they like and that will suit their agenda and greed, ambition for power...., but one consolation, they can both gain all the worldly wealth, power they wish, but Jesus very nicely described how hard it will be for these two rich men too enter heaven, as hard as it will be for a camel too go thru the eye of a needle....both claim righteousness in Jesus name both preach the opposite of what Jesus preached, he will not know neither man on judgment day, I venture the blind biblical goats whom dominate the republican party have a rude awakening on judgment day...., as well as some democrats who play that same game.....
The incident in 1978 requires further study and is very revealing how the Mormon Faith invoked the word of God to avoid law suits from minorities.
As I recall what happened before 1978, the ACLU and the Justice Department were investigating the Mormon Church for discrimination practices.
The heat was really coming down on the Church leaders to do something to avoid further scrutiny. The Mormon President is the only one on earth that has direct contact with God,perhaps Pat Robertson would disagree. The reason that God will only communicate with the Mormon President is because all other sects of Christian faiths are corrupt and God has disenfranchised them. So the President as of 1978, I believe it was Spencer W. Kimble went into some inner chamber and was told by God that he made a mistake and now it was time to allow Black People the full fellowship of the faith. As God might say timing is everything.
BTW the Mormons believe that Native Americans are descended from the lost tribe of Israel..........I wonder if Native Americans in Utah enjoy their honored status among their bretheren?
It depends on the definition of the word "saw"
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2007/12/20/governor-romney-faces-tough-q...
I'd like to see this video played a few million times
He'll get away with it. He's republican, after all. Republicans expect their leaders to lie, they don't mind it. They enjoy it when their leaders lie to them. They hunker down with the liar and tell everyone else to go to hell.
Democratic leaders lie too. Remember this oldy but goody: "We are going to show Bush that he doesn't have rubber stamp congress anymore"? Or how about "We're going to clean out the swamp"? Now the question is, are we going to be like the republican supporters and continue to support our liars, or are we going to throw them out on their asses and demand new leaders with the courage and the principles to stand up for the American people, and the Constitution? Are we going to demand new leaders who have the wisdom and bravery to stand up to George Bush and tell him loud and clear NO!!!! NO more war!!! NO more tax cuts for the rich!!! NO more immunity for law breakers!!!! NO more abuses of power!!!
We need our Washington's and our Jefferson's, our Franklin's and our Hancocks. We need men and women with courage and conviction that started this expirement called America over 200 years ago. We need our great minds, like Edison, Franklin, Einstein. We need to understand that education and learning and intelligence are what built this country, and the embrace of the last 8 years of ignorance and willful stupidity is killing our country. We were once world leaders and now we aren't even good followers. If this country is to go on, we must begin to take back and respect the things that this country was founded on. Intelligence, courage, determination, curiosity, invention, good education for all. We have a lot of work to do and we can't be held back by cowards and toadies. It's time to get rid of the people who think they have something to gain by compromising with evil, law breaking, greedy neocons. These people are responsible for taking us backwards into the dark as much as George Bush is. Let's not just embrace someone because they they are a democrat. That is dangerous and we can see now where that has gotten us.
Matters not. He's losing and will continue to do so. Even Republicans can barely stand him.
If Al Gore had told an outright LIE like that you'd never hear the end of it. The rethug media would use it as their foil for years to come even finding ways to spin it as the big reason he didn't 'win' the presidency in '00. [Which he did and you'll never convince me otherwise.]
Yet ritt momney and the thuglican crew spew garbage like this all day long and no one seems to bloody care! It's ok to lie your way into the presidency now thanks to the worthless, lying scumbags who set the bar so low you'd need a pressure gauge and a scuba tank to find it.
Some people just can't tell the difference between fact and fiction. That's one of the things wrong with Romney. We don't need another liar in the White House.
Romney seems to have forgotten that when he speaks, people take notes. They then turn those notes into articles, which are published. Then somebody who is not too lazy may check up on what he says and, poof! He's found to be a liar. Or a figurative liar. Or someone who just doesn't notice that people write down the things he says.
http://13martyrs.blogspot.com/
Don @ 81:
Thanks for the link.
No real surprise that another "holier than thou" Rethug preacher, irrespective of which religion/cult to which he belongs, tries to lie himself into office, is it?
A great Xmas would be if Jesus called these charlatans Home early, or cast them where they really belong...
So now I'm sure when he said an agnostic or atheist could have a place in his cabinet if they were the most highly qualified he meant that figuratively, too. No one can trust this guy. He's playing at being a slick politician but failing miserably and the mainstream media will not make that the message on Romney.
"I hope my cock & bull story was enough to make the blacks forget my religion didn't even consider them human until 1978"
_Mitt Romney
abob @ 89:
"Well, "figuratively" of course..."
Just another GOP liar.
When Republicans act like Republicans America loses.
Next thing you know, Mitt's gonna claim he's legally married.
Another one with a fantasy life like Reagan. No wonder they worship him.
GOP candidates have to practice their lying just in case they win.
I LITERALLY hate rethugs.
myiq2xu @ 10:
Keep doing that, and you'll go blind.
Dr. Acula @ 95:
Just to cover all bases, I hate 'em figuratively too...
And DICK was speaking figuratively when he said
"we will be greeted as Liberators."
"We know he (Saddam) has in fact reconstituted nuclear weapons"
"They are in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency"
"I'm the guy who pulled the trigger that shot the gun that fired the shot that hit Harry" (which is STILL not a fuckin' apology, punditary vidiots!)
Wow, you have some problems I did a little research and here is the truth about Romney:
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)
Also I have found an eye witness that was at the even