The Things That Are Important

BAIER: To hear several speakers in Charlotte … they were essentially saying that you don’t care about the U.S. military because you didn’t mention U.S. troops and the war in Afghanistan in your nomination acceptance speech. … Do you regret opening up this line of attack, now a recurring attack, by leaving out that issue in the speech.

ROMNEY: I only regret you’re repeating it day in and day out. When you give a speech you don’t go through a laundry list, you talk about the things that you think are important and I described in my speech, my commitment to a strong military unlike the president’s decision to cut our military. And I didn’t use the word troops, I used the word military. I think they refer to the same thing.

• Mitt Romney, September 7, 2012
• Source: Fox News (video)
• Context: During an interview with Fox News’ Brett Baier, Mitt Romney was asked about why he did not emphasize the role of American troops, to which he responded that during his speech he was only talking about things that he thought were important. Romney did mention the military, and he claims that to him the military and the troops are one and the same. The Democrats capitalized on the lack of acknowledgement for American troops during their convention, criticizing the Republicans for their perceived lack of support for the men and women serving in the military.

Stretching The Truth

“I think, from my perspective, what happened at this convention is that nobody is calling on it, or maybe a few people are calling on it. Paul Ryan, what he did in his speech, I think, so stretched the truth, and I like Paul Ryan, I have a lot of great respect for Paul Ryan, but the (INAUDIBLE) that he said about closing the GM plant, which closed before Barack Obama took president, about the Simpson-Bowles bill which — Simpson-Bowles, which he opposed, and then all of a sudden you see faults Barack Obama for, at some point the truth should matter.”

• Matthew Dowd, chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign, September 2, 2012
• Source: ABC’s This Week (video , transcript)
• Context: Matthew Dowd accuses both sides of stretching the truth, but he pointed out that they do not do it on the same scale. He criticized Paul Ryan for lying in his speech, specifically about a plant which closed under Bush’s presidency but which Ryan claimed closed because of Obama’s policies.

This Is How We Feed Animals

“This is how we feed animals.”

• August 28, 2012
• Source: Talking Points Memo
• Context: An attendee at the Republican National Convention allegedly threw nuts at a black camerawoman working for CNN while saying “this is how we feed animals.” It is unclear whether the attendee was a delegate. Although CNN did not get into the specifics they did confirm that an incident did occur: “CNN can confirm there was an incident directed at an employee inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum earlier this afternoon. CNN worked with convention officials to address this matter and will have no further comment.”

Not Letting Facts Dictate The Campaign

“Fact-checkers come to this with their own sets of thoughts and beliefs and you know what? We’re not going let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers.”

• Neil Newhouse, Romney campaign pollster, August 28, 2012
• Source: ABC News
• Context: During an ABC-Yahoo! News interview, which included Romney’s senior advisers Eric Fehrnstrom and Beth Myers, Neil Newhouse said that Romney’s ad attacking Obama for welfare reform has been the most effective for their campaign and he brushed off criticism that the ad is, in fact, false. The Washington Post, Factcheck.org, Politifact, and many other independent organizations have all rated Romney’s accusations as false.

The Race Card

Chris Mathews and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus got into a heated debate on the August 27 airing of Morning Joe when Chris Mathews criticized the use of the race card by the Republican Party against President Obama. Watch the video below:

A Vision Of The Future

“As America prepares to pick our president for the next four years — and as Florida prepares once again to play a decisive role — I’m confident that President Barack Obama is the right leader for our state and the nation. I applaud and share his vision of a future built by a strong and confident middle class in an economy that gives us the opportunity to reap prosperity through hard work and personal responsibility. It is a vision of the future proven right by our history.”

• Charlie Crist, former Republican Governor of Florida, August 26, 2012
• Source: Piece written for the Tampa Bay Times
• Context: Crist, a former Republican and now Independent, as come out and endorsed Barack Obama for President. His moderate positions put him at odds with the much more conservative Republican Party of Florida. In this piece, written for the Tampa Bay Times, he goes on to criticism what the Republican party has become:

“But an element of [the Republican Party] has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they’ve proven incapable of governing for the people. Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims. The truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve.”

• He praises Obama’s efforts and policies following the financial crisis which he inherited in 2009:

“We often remind ourselves to learn the lessons of the past, lest we risk repeating its mistakes. Yet nearly as often, our short-term memory fails us. Many have already forgotten how deep and daunting our shared crisis was in the winter of 2009, as President Obama was inaugurated. It was no ordinary challenge, and the president served as the nation’s calm through a historically turbulent storm.

The president’s response was swift, smart and farsighted. He kept his compass pointed due north and relentlessly focused on saving jobs, creating more and helping the many who felt trapped beneath the house of cards that had collapsed upon them.”

…

“President Obama has a strong record of doing what is best for America and Florida, and he built it by spending more time worrying about what his decisions would mean for the people than for his political fortunes. That’s what makes him the right leader for our times, and that’s why I’m proud to stand with him today.”

Wouldn’t Be My Speech

“It wouldn’t be my speech. That would undo everything I’ve done in the last 30 years. I don’t fully endorse him for president.”

• Ron Paul
• Source: New York Times
• Context: Ron Paul, in an interview, stated that the Republican convention planners had offered him a speaking role under two conditions, that he deliver remarks vetted by the Romney campaign, and that he give a full-fledged endorsement of Mr. Romney. Paul refused. This comes as tensions between Ron Paul supporters and the Republican Party are at their highest. The Republican Party denied Paul delegates he had won during the primaries. Although he has not endorsed Romney, his son, Senator Rand Paul, has.

A Human Life Amendment

“Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.”

• Republican Party platform, August 20, 2012
• Source: CNN
• Context: CNN has recently attained a copy of the Republican Party’s platform draft language, which includes a tough stance against abortion. The platform does not make any exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or when the mothers life is in danger. The statement still needs to be approved by the full platform committee on Tuesday and by delegates to the Republican National Convention next week. This leak comes at a bad time for the Republican Party, which is facing tough criticism over Todd Akin’s recent comments on rape.