Mitt Romney: "My first reponse to the Virginia Tech massacre was to pick up my Bible."

[Bluebear]

Well, isn't that special.

Seems a lot of Republicans leaders just love to read when catastrophe strikes.




====


...He expanded on that argument during Thursday's debate: "We don't choose our leader based on which church they go to. ... The people we're fighting, they're the ones who divide over faith and decide matters of this nature in the public forum."

Romney has been underscoring indirectly that the Old and New Testaments are part of LDS scripture. At a campaign event shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings, Romney said his first response "was to pick up my Bible and reread the account of the murder of Abel by his brother" and reflect on the nature of evil.

He recently cited the Bible as his favorite book, while also raising eyebrows by naming "Battlefield Earth," a novel by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, as his favorite piece of fiction. He said he in no way supported the religion.

In the next few weeks, the campaign will take a more direct approach, sending two of its evangelical supporters for meetings with pastors and others in key primary states.

Mark DeMoss, a public relations executive whose prominent client roster includes the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, said he volunteered to travel to South Carolina and Alabama on Romney's behalf....

http://english.gospelherald.com/article/society/1807/section/romney.pursues.christian.electorate/1.htm

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Wow - I don't mind the Mormonism, but I could never vote for a Battlefield Earth fan

What kind of person likes that book?

A person I don't want to be in charge of my country, that's who.

Sheesh.

[Bluebear]

2. He's a Mormontologist!

:crazy:

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. OMG! Evangelical Scientologists!

They knock on your door, and will give you a book of Mormon if you give them $1000 for it.

[david_vincent]

7. Exactly why I want him to get the Rethug nomination

can you imagine the consternation and dismay among them, especially the Christian theocratic types, if Romney becomes their man?? I'd wake up laughing every day. Romney is the guy we WANT them to go for.

[poverlay]

23. Heyyy, I like that book! It's not the world's finest literature, but an amusing enough story...

Guess when I run for Prez I won't have your vote!

~P

[C_U_L8R]

3. awwww... bullshit

what a bunch of sanctimonious, disingenuous, pandering bullshit.

[Bluebear]

5. :nodding:

[LibDemAlways]

32. Especially since his Holy Book is the Book of Mormon.

What a pathetic attempt to pander to the fundies.

When he said his favorite novel is Battlefield Earth, I laughed out loud. He's confusing it with the Left Behind fundie nonsense, and too stupid to know the difference.

Mitt Romney = Empty suit.

[FreeState]

34. The Bible is a Mormon Holy Book too

Just FYI - Mormons hold four Books of Scripture as equal weight. In all actuality Mormons study the bible more than the other books while growing up (2 years of bible and then a year of Book of Mormon and a year of Church History - which covers two other books. This would be high school aged students and the rotating sunday school schedules are the same church wide for adults.)

The four books are:

The Bible (King James Version).
The Book of Mormon (LDS Version).
Doctrine and Covenants.
The Pearl of Great Price.

here they all are on the Churches website if your interested: http://scriptures.lds.org/

If that's what Mitt wants to do fine - however I'd prefer a president that read his religious books on his own time and attended to the nation first and foremost - drawing on the Law of the Land - not the law of a church and its Holy books.

[slackmaster]

4. I don't think mine would stop a 9 mm bullet

I'd grab my 1911 and start shooting back.

[BurtWorm]

8. It probably would, actually, but not a semi-automatic round of them.

Or any fired at point blank range.

[slackmaster]

12. "a semi-automatic round" = one round

If we are talking about a single caliber, i.e. the popular 9 mm Parabellum, my experience is that it will easily penetrate a thick phone book even at significant range unless you use a hollow point or disintegrating bullet.

Against human targets, it tends to overpenetrate.

[BurtWorm]

27. I yield to your superior knowledge.

:toast:

I was under the misimpression that 9mm bullets were not much different from .22 caliber. Thanks for correcting me.

[slackmaster]

29. 9 mm = .38 caliber

The 9 mm Parabellum (a.k.a. Luger) round has a little less punch than the .38 Special, but because of its "rimless" design it functions well in semiautomatic and automatic firearms.

[BurtWorm]

30. Gotcha.

I did look into the question of "rounds" just to make sure I wasn't totally insane and off base and found that, although it has commonly come to be synonymous with "bullet," it technically means all the ammunition a weapon can hold.

[Deep13]

46. 0.356 caliber

9mm Luger, 0.380 ACP (a.k.a. 9mm kurtz) and .38 Super are all 0.356 caliber. 0.38 Special and 0.357 Magnum are 0.357 caliber. Equating these sizes as being .38 is a matter of convention, but it amounts to a bit of puffery in advertising. It would be more accurate to call all of them "0.36 caliber."

I did a quick check on ballistic information on 0.38 Special, the police round of choice for most of the 20th century versus the 9mm Luger (a.k.a. parabellum). The 9mm is actually substantially more powerful than the .38. The 9 is a smaller cartridge but is packed to a higher pressure than the .38. The .38 is left over from black powered days and when it went smokeless, it keep its original size case, but was loaded to low pressure to maintain similar pressure as the black powder. A 0.357 magnum is essentially a .38 loaded to modern pressures. There are high pressure 0.38 rounds called "+P" but one must be careful only to use them in revolvers that are rated for +P ammunition. The 9mm, by contrast was developed specifically for for smokeless powder.

Federal practice grade full metal jacket at muzzle.
9mm Luger 115 gr.: 1180 f.p.s. 356 ft./lbs.
0.38 Sp. 130 gr.: 810 f.p.s. 189 ft./lbs

Federal hydra-shock self-defense grade at muzzle.
9mm Luger 124 gr.: 1120 f.p.s. 345 ft./lbs.
0.38 Sp 110 gr.: 980 f.p.s. 235 ft./lbs.

[Deep13]

47. duplicate post.

[Deep13]

6. "...was to pick up my Bible--and grap the 0.380 Beretta inside it."

[WI_DEM]

9. Yeah, I'll bet it was

this guy will do or say anything to be president and kiss the butt of the fundie base. His whole career is nothing but a sham--he was a liberal on social issues when he wanted to be Gov of MA and now he is a conservative to appeal to the base.

[RedStateShame]

11. You mean to tell me he wasn't cuddling it in one arm while cuddling a rifle in the other?

How the hell's this guy gonna get the GOP yokel vote?

[Benhurst]

13. Yeah, if the Bible is big enough and thick enough it might be able

to stop a bullet. Beats ducking under a table.

[Solly Mack]

14. What a deep thinker!

LMAO

was to pick up my Bible and reread the account of the murder of Abel by his brother" and reflect on the nature of evil.

[Bluebear]

16. Yes, because he couldn't grasp the tragedy until put into perspective by the Abel story

:crazy:

Aside from the fact that the whole anecdote is utter bullcrap.

[magellan]

15. If God's in charge and so powerful

...why does he let these things happen? An invisible entity who supposedly is so powerful he's responsible for everything in the universe, yet lets innocent people die at the hands of alleged 'evil' which sprang from him in the first place, has never made sense to me. If God abhors evil so much he should wipe it out since he's responsible for it, instead of crying over it and judging us by its results.

Or maybe God should just decide that Free Will's as big a bust as Free Trade and start over! ;)

[Clark2008]

21. Aaaaa... what do you think Global Warming is?

[magellan]

35. God starting over?

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[stray cat]

18. I can't remember what I did that was anymore productive

[Bluebear]

22. Oh, I dunno, maybe he could have found out if there was an LDS chapter on campus

and call them, offering to do what he could do.

Or reflect on how he would react as the executive in charge of that campus.

Or think if he had any friends whose kids went there.

I don't buy that his FIRST impulse was to study the story of Cain and Abel, and if it was, I wonder what kind of President he would make, I guess.

[Lobster Martini]

19. Hey, leave him alone! He's willing to send "Mark DeMoss, a public relations executive"

Fine with me. Gives Romney more time to pick up his bible and use it to whack himself in the forehead for being such an idiot.

[AlCzervik]

20. my first response, i looked at Bernie and said "Thank God George Bush is president"

:sarcasm:

[Bluebear]

24. Who WRITES these little bon mots for them?

Paul Harvey?

[liberalitch]

25. My first repsonse was to start dailing my former AP US Hist. student's cell phone #....

He's fine.... Probably would've slept through the whole thing had some crazy high school teacher not distrubed his sleep.

[EVDebs]

26. An NSA Director of the WH Situation Room will be there to give him the book...

"Capt. Deborah Loewer, U.S. Navy, Director of the White House Situation Room, National Security Agency..."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x861278

[shenmue]

28. My first reaction...

was to think, "Another crazy person with a gun."

That's what's wrong in this country. Too many people relying on ancient folktales, just to make themselves feel good. Not enough dealing realistically with the problem.

The shooter's mother was deeply religious and used to take him to church all the time. She should have taken him to a mental hospital.

[zbdent]

31. Don't forget that Bush picked up that book in the classroom AFTER

he saw live footage of the first plane hitting the towers ... he claimed that ...

[orleans]

33. what a coinkidink. george picked up his bible on 9/11 and said

THANK YOU GOD!

[matcom]

36. BIBLE?

Mitt, you are going to hell. Why dost though forsake thy God?

[FreeState]

37. Mormons use the Bible

see above. They have four Books of Scripture all equal one of them is the Bible.

[Sequoia]

38. Cain and Abel!?

That was brother and brother. Maybe he should've chosen one of those old testament bits about how the Jews slaughered man, woman, child and animals in a mean old village.

[Virginia Dare]

39. Wow, what a great leader he'd make..

I'm sure there's lots of stuff in there about how to handle a crisis, how practical! That would especially come in handy during a major disaster such as a hurricane or an earthquake. :wtf:

How comforting to know that if Mittsy is our CIC, while we're drowning, burning, or otherwise suffering from some unknown catastrophe he'll be busily reading his bible. :eyes:

[Skidmore]

40. Quick, someone find a picture of Romney holding a religous book and

juxtaposition it next to * with "My Pet Goat." Quote that little gem and remind people let people know that this is how the man would handle a national crisis. Another gawdly RW man of action. The ultimate campaign poster.

[FreeState]

41. LOL

While I agree with your sentiment - and I am not sticking up for Mitt - he does not hold public office right now, so in reality there is little he probably could do as a citizen upon hearing the news. I doubt he read the Bible - he probably did what most of us did - he logged on and read the news, probably not on DU though:)

[Skidmore]

44. But he wants to hold public office real bad. The whole idea is to

prevent him from succeeding. I'm sure he's done this somewhere to pander to some group--one thing he does well--pander.

[FreeState]

45. Oh I agree with that part

Oh I agree with that part, I don't want him anywhere near the white house. However I'd rather attack his lame politics than him turning to his holy book at a time of need as a private citizen who is running for office :)

Either way he needs to get a better handler ASAP - he isn't going to win votes or change peoples opinions about his religious beliefs by saying he reads the Bible. If he was truly sincere he would have called the Red Cross and asked to help - or better yet sat down and began to write sensible gun control laws - but hey thats crazy talk for republicans:)

[JitterbugPerfume]

42. speaking as a lover of good Sci fi

:puke:

Did anyone else see the South Park episode about Mormonism? LOL

[regularguy]

43. I guess his first response to Katrina was pick up his Bible,

read the account of Noah, and reflect on the nature of water...this guy'll do a HECKUVA job as Pres, oh yeah!

[Virginia Dare]

48. I guess in a perverted way, it would be more productive..

than what we got..