Rmoney is not a nice man...

[monmouth]

The Romney Olympics is not a joke, but in fact a for-real documented-by-witnesses official thing, and it will take place this week as the Romney family vacations at their New Hampshire home. Further, the incident in which Romney tripped his daughter-in-law so he'd beat her in the triathlon is not urban legend, but something multiple members of the Romney family have spoken publicly about. What is odd about Romney's cheating in a family sports tournament isn't that he cheats -- we all played kickball against that kid, right? -- but that his family thinks his cheating is a charming quirk. The triathlon is no longer a main event in the Romney Olympics, The Washington Post's Philip Rucker reports. After the tripping incident, Romney "expanded the games to give himself a better shot."

Rucker didn't have to dig too much to find out about the time Romney tripped the mother of his grandchild, because Craig Romney told the story in Iowa as if it would make people more likely to vote for his dad for president.

CRAIG ROMNEY: ...And it was down to my wife and my dad over here.

ROMNEY: I tripped her.

Much more on this weirdness at: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/07/do-not-play-sports-mitt-romney/54122/

[JustAnotherGen]

1. The Dictator clip

Is sooooooooooooo appropo!

His character is of 'ill repute'.

[WI_DEM]

2. the thing is they all think it's funny.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

3. Then he has a family of enablers.

[ecstatic]

4. I can't say this enough:

Romney is REALLY weird!!!! His entire family is weird because they recount these stories as if it will make people warm up to him. Ultimate fail!

[treestar]

7. Yes, that amazes me too!

Do they think they are helping his cause? I wonder if these children of his really don't want him to be President for some reason.

[catbyte]

19. I was thinking that myself, treestar

His own son broke the whole "Seamus on the car roof" story. And THAT was supposed to be an example of his problem-solving skills?!? Seriously? I think they are subconsciously trying to torpedo his chances because they know he would be a disaster. Or maybe they are all just nuts.



Diane
Anishinaabe in MI & mom to Taz, Nigel, and new baby brother Sammy, members of Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division
"Dogs Aren’t Luggage--HISS!”

[treestar]

20. you know catbyte, I wonder if they realize subconsciously that if he wins

His head will be REALLY big and their lives will be turned upside down and commandeered for the entire 4 years, too.

[catbyte]

21. Good observation. It seems like it's always been All About Mitt

Remember that creepy comment Romney made during the 2008 primary about what his kids did to be patriotic and to help the country and he said they were helping him run for president. WTF?!?



Diane
Anishinaabe in MI & mom to Taz, Nigel, and new baby brother Sammy, members of Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division
"Dogs Aren’t Luggage--HISS!”

[awoke_in_2003]

55. He will be a big ego...

backed up by the Secret Service

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

14. Not only greed is good but weird is good in their world

They've got kind of a backwards value system like a real life Addams Family, where evil and weirdness are prized. We've never heard stories about Romney's adolescence but I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't like Pugsley, setting charges of dynamite throughout the house as fun pranks.

[progressivebydesign]

15. Shhhh! Don't tell them!

They think that telling stories of the man pushing his children's faces into a plate of butter, or his grandchild's face into a plate of whipped cream, is adorable and makes him seem almost human! LOL.

I think the issue is that these stories.. of his scissor attack, dressing up like a State Trooper and pulling people over, and showing up at a biz in a firefighter's uniform screaming "where is the fire???" and now tripping his DIL and adding more games so he could win, does MORE than just tell us what a narcissistic bully, but that he is NOTHING like the rest of us. We actually have JOBS... we don't have Romney Olympics at our vacation home in New Hampshire.

They keep saying "family vacation" but the dude is always on vacation. These stories, in this climate, come off as a bunch of vapid rich bullies who have nothing to do all day. It creeps people out and makes them realize what a useless elitist he is. He is Frazier Crane without the wit or self-doubt.

But please.. don't tell the Romney camp what a fail whale this is. It's amusing as hell.

[Rozlee]

41. Some families have different standards of competitiveness

than others. My thankfully EX-brother-in-law and his family were into sports like a religion. Her ex husband's father had been a high school football coach and they didn't see sports as relaxation, fun and a chance to unwind. They saw it as combat. They were into racing, baseball, football, basketball, everything. They watched sports on TV endlessly. And like Mitt Romney once, my sister's ex's younger brother once tried to knock me out of a picnic race. I had just announced I was pregnant! These people picked fights after high school games with fans of the opposing teams if they lost. Also, like Mitt Romney, none of them had ever been military and called our family a bunch of wusses even though we had several soldiers and Marines in ours. A ferociously competitive, power-hungry patriarch (or matriarch) will raise a family that mirrors his values. To them, winning is everything and collateral damage isn't something they concern themselves with.

[progressivebydesign]

17. and at some point the voters will ask "where are the stories of Romney doing something important?"

Notice.. all of the stories involve Romney and his family PLAYING or vacationing! Where are the stories of Romney doing anything worthwhile in his life? When he's not busy playing on permanent vacation at one of his estates, he's managing his investments in companies that sent jobs to India and China. Other than giving money to his church (which doesn't count in my book, ) wtf has that guy done to make the world more bearable for others? Where has he demonstrated real tenacity or gone through ANY tough times? I'd much rather have people like Obama or Clinton, who overcame things.. not like Bush and Romney, who born on third and thought they hit a triple.

[DCKit]

25. They "struggled" in college. Don't ever forget that.

It's pretty much all they've got.

In the meantime, their horses make more than you and I.

[Atman]

27. Oh, the struggles!

"Which blue chip stock Daddy gave us shall we sell this month, Ann? Oh, and shall I pick up a couple of filets on the way home from class?"

[DCKit]

29. Geez, you don't have to be a dick about it...

but I appreciate the effort. You're funny.

What's a filet?

[Atman]

38. Wow, what flew up your skirt?

How was I being a dick? I was just making a comment. It certainly wasn't directed at you. Chill, man! You're sounding as uptight as Mittens!

[DCKit]

39. I was making a joke.

Jeebus, as if we haven't known each other long enough to crack a joke.

[Atman]

46. Isn't that always the trouble with message boards?

You seemed serious, and I couldn't figure out why. Peace!

[DCKit]

54. We're cool. nt

[awoke_in_2003]

57. You two quit being dicks...

[DCKit]

61. Asshole.

OMG, this could escalate to epic proportions.

[awoke_in_2003]

65. an asshole of...

epic proportions.

[DCKit]

66. OMG, I'm going to have to get a bigger dick.

[Atman]

68. I can't believe one of the humor-impaired hasn't alerted!

[awoke_in_2003]

71. Neither can I...

when I read it I was glad I wasn't drinking something.

[DCKit]

62. Despite the agititator, I don think we'll ever have an issue.

[awoke_in_2003]

56. $70k a year on horse clothes...

I bust my ass for $67k, and am the only bread winner.

[dmr]

34. Ann says he has compassion. He saved the Olympics.

I'd be a much better woman today if only I had such compassion .......

[DCKit]

40. I so want to buy you a pedastal.

I think all the women on DU deserve that.

[karynnj]

30. Either that or they are passive aggresive against their dad

It is odd that ALL their stories end up making him look like a jerk. Surely they are that stupid - and there have to have been nicer moments to speak of.

I don't think these moments make all that much difference, but I know an elderly Republican neighbor who voted for Kerry in 2004 because of his daughters' comments on their values and their stories of their dad - and her dislike of Bush as a person.

[grantcart]

47. They are trying to show that he isn't a 'goody two shoes'.

Instead he is just an insufferable bore.

[tularetom]

5. A rich kid who enjoyed hurting and humiliating other kids

and never grew out of it and then wanted to be president.

What could possibly go wrong? That's never happened before.

[lunatica]

6. He's a very strange man

And he gets creepier with every new disclosure of his personality.

[SoutherDem]

8. I wonder when Mitt and Ann are dead and gone

And the kids have all of Mitt's money will someone come out and tell all of the horror stories? You know when they are not blackmailed to "keep silent or your out of the will".

[monmouth]

9. I know of one daughter-in-law who might be looking for a publisher when the time comes. I do

wish someone would ask her how she felt being treated like this or does she go along with the rest of the family. I would be outraged.

[dmr]

35. Hope she's got a good video camera & a

good secret hiding place for it.

Which gets me to thinking, wasn't it Marvin's ex-wife who wanted to write a Bush book, but somehow got convinced otherwise?

[xxqqqzme]

45. I wonder if it was her son's face

rmoney plastered w/ the plate of whipped cream?

[demtenjeep]

50. she enjoys easy living due to rMoney's money. She won't talk

they all have it easy

[progressivebydesign]

16. They'll be on Dr. Phil no doubt. n/t

[surrealAmerican]

22. I imagine not.

I suspect these parents have so encouraged "competition" among the kids that they will keep one another from going public.

[awoke_in_2003]

58. No, the dominant child...

will assume being head dick

[LynneSin]

10. He did fucking WHAT during a family fun games?

This fuckwad is nothing more than a bully!

[awoke_in_2003]

59. Crazy, huh?...

I know that if I ever cheated during family games, it was to allow one of the grandchildren to win (I am a big softie when it comes to them)

[whathehell]

11. Just what we need in the White House -- A mean-streaked bully unburdened by the concept of fairness!

Could it get much worse?

[Kablooie]

12. He'd be a great "Most Powerful Person In The World".

He'd give America a great reputation.

[progressivebydesign]

13. Daddy Romney controls the fortune, he's obviously funny as hell...

..charming, witty, perfect, etc. In families with extreme wealth, the guy who controls the money they'll inherit, he becomes hilarious, and quirky, and amazing. They all know he's a petty, arrogant, childish, bully, but if you had a father like that who also sat on hundreds of millions of dollars, do you think they'd call him out??? He's petty and narcissistic enough to cut them out of the family fortune.

"The Romney Olympics" Yeah.. he's JUST like the rest of us.

[cojoel]

18. To the (conservative portions of the) 1% cheating is perfectly OK

This just shows it in a somewhat lighter context.

It is pretty clear that

I think there are three types of wealthy people:
1) People who got wealthy through some extreme good fortune, admittedly including some hard work and difficult times. These people tend to know reality. I think people like athletes and other entertainment stars fit into this category, and people who otherwise just stumbled into good luck, like a lottery winner, a mineral prospector, or a Jed Clampett type with natural resource wealth they somehow just didn't know about.. Some business people do also, but it depends totally on how they conducted their business (see the next one). I think these people remain good after accumulating wealth, and acknowledge the good fortune with which they were blessed.
2) People who got wealthy by cheating. These people are inherently divorced from reality, because they have a character flaw that allows them think somehow that cheating is OK for them, but nobody else. They are extremely suspicious of everybody else (who must think the same as they do), and are very vigilant to point out anytime they suspect someone is cheating them, even if it is purely illusion. They they score big as a result of cheating, the same character flaw somehow causes them to interpret their efforts is hard work. It may be, in a sense, hard work because it is not easy. But it is not honest either. I think Willard Romney falls into this category, and he is a dishonorable man.
3) People who got wealthy by inheritance. Then it totally depends on how they were raised, and what values were instilled. There are examples of both types.

I readily admit this is a simplistic model. Nobody is perfect and it is too complex to get the whole picture into such a simple one. But I think it is illustrative.

If Barack Obama is considered wealthy, he would be in first category as his wealth came mostly from book royalties. He appears to conduct his business honestly. I don't always agree with him, but I think he is a relatively honorable man.

There is little doubt as to the nature of Mitt Romney's wealth, he would be in the second category. If he is willing to cheat in a family game (reminds me of the Martin Mull character in Mr. Mom), then he no doubt cheated in his business dealings (and there certainly evidence to suggest that he did), and he would no doubt cheat to become President, and cheat once he was there. I think he is a relatively dishonorable man.

The choice in November is really weather we want a relatively honorable man or a relatively dishonorable man to be President for the next four years.

[Bluerthanblue]

23. made me think of this character-

from Cheaper By the Dozen 2

[Bozita]

24. "He does like pranks but he doesn't like to get pranked. We've learned that the hard way," Josh said

Sounds like a bully to me!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002838222

Mitt Romney's sons have described their father's taste for aggressive horseplay, explaining how he enjoyed pushing their heads into plates of butter and wrestling them as children.

The Republican presidential candidate dispatched his five adult sons onto a late night television show where they jokingly told stories of their father's pranks in an effort to humanise the former businessman who critics accuse of being boring.

But the light-hearted anecdotes carried an uncomfortable echo of earlier allegations that Mr Romney had been a bully while at prep school and has a long history of uncaring behaviour.

Matt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor's second son, told how his father would present his children with a stick of butter, telling them "it's so rotten you have to smell it". When they leaned down he would gleefully shove their faces into the plate.

Mr Romney apparently repeated the trick recently with one of his grandsons, pushing the shocked child's head into a platter of whipped cream.


read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9347495/US-election-2012-Mitt-Romney-pushed-sons-faces-into-plates-of-butter.html

[liberal N proud]

26. The whole family is full sadists

They enjoy pain inflicted on others. Even when they are family.


Machiavelli plays a role as well, anything to win.

[DCKit]

42. that's not fair. Ann and the kids aren't 'enjoying" it.

Nor are the grandkids.

[Atman]

28. One of the "events"...and I am not making this up...

Is hammering nails into a piece of wood.

I can just picture it..."No, I believe you're supposed to grasp the other end of the pounding device!"

.

[kimbutgar]

31. Perfect metaphor as to what he would do to this country if elected President

rmoney has a cruel streak. I can't wait for him to lose it on the campaign trail and show the people who he really is.

[gopiscrap]

33. Me too!

at least with Bush Junior he seemd to be more of a parrot then inately evil....

[gopiscrap]

32. Fucking Willard thinks people are his toys

just think what he'll be like if he would win the presidency

[Zoeisright]

36. That little weasel is a fucking bully.

Apologies to weasels.

[Marrah_G]

37. He is an asshole, so is his wife.

[valerief]

43. Robme is an asshole's asshole. nt

[madokie]

44. punk comes readily to mind when I see or hear rMoney

more so as time goes on too.

[grantcart]

48. She was lucky that he didn't have a pair of scissors.

[RufusTFirefly]

49. Amoral people admire unapologetic ruthlessness and winning at any cost

Unfortunately, I know people like this.

In fairness, suggesting that RMoney is "not nice" is a little like saying a shark is "not nice." As a human being (??), he would appear to behave in a fashion similar to that of a corporation. It's no wonder he's so rich. He lacks the sense of compassion and decency that serve as a braking mechanism for most of us.

[patrice]

51. That's quite consistent with assumed privilege. As is also their whole lack of perception of what

that behavior means to O-T-H-E-R people.

[patrice]

52. Also consistent with Mitt deviously ordering Bain employees to LIE to competing capitalists.

[patrice]

53. And, of course, the troopers uniform and Ann's drugging her horse - all consistent.

[TomClash]

60. Expect war

Because if Romney is elected that is what you will get.

[gtar100]

63. I always thought that was a Hollywood gag. I didn't think some moron would actually do it!

You can always count on the worst of the worst rising to the top in the Republican party.

[CoffeeCat]

64. Reminds me of the scene in Mr. Mom...

...where Michael Keaton is participating in a big corporate race against his wife's boss and others.

Keaton is told at the beginning of the race that the CEO *always* wins. Keaton is winning the race
and everyone is screaming and shouting at him to stop. He takes a dive and allows the CEO to
win.

At least the CEO didn't trip Keaton, but you're right--usually junk like this only happens in slapstick
comedies and everyone laughs because no person/CEO is that pathetic or egotistical.

Turns out, Romney is. What a joke that man is. The more you learn about him, the more you really
have to wonder if he's playing with a full deck.

[Scootaloo]

67. This dude doesn't need an elected office; he needs an INTERVENTION. n/t

[CanonRay]

69. Typical rich guy behavior

Win all costs; if you can't win, change the rules so you and only you can win, if you still can't win, cheat.

[Rhiannon12866]

70. Tripping?

That would certainly go over well with leaders in the Middle East and Russia...

[JI7]

72. They Don't want to be Left out of the Inheritance so they will go along with

whatever the fuck makes him feel good about himself.