Posted on 03/27/2012 8:07:46 PM PDT by BobL
SAN DIEGO — At Mitt Romney’s proposed California beach house, the cars will have their own separate elevator.
There’s also a planned outdoor shower and a 3,600-square foot basement — a room with more floor space than the existing home’s entire living quarters.
Those are just some of the amenities planned for the massive renovation of the Romneys’ home in the tony La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, according to plans on file with the city.
A project this ambitious comes with another feature you don’t always find with the typical fixer-upper: its own lobbyist, hired by Romney to push the plan through the approval process.
Work on the project has not yet begun.
But it may not help Romney — whose wealth has caused him trouble connecting with average folks — to be seen building a split-level, four-vehicle garage that comes with a “car lift” to transport automobiles between floors, according to 2008 schematic plans for the renovation obtained by POLITICO that are on file with the city of San Diego.
The documents were provided to POLITICO by a rival campaign, but authenticated independently by POLITICO with San Diego officials.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74518.html#ixzz1qNOg5wgk
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
The problem is ARROGANCE. Why build it now, in the middle of a campaign season? This is no different than President Obama taking vacation after vacation, often with huge numbers of travelers, and essentially telling the public that they can stuff it, if they don't approve.
If Mitt wants to build (or upgrade) a house in a still-nice area of California, how about waiting until AFTER THE ELECTION, when it won't be fodder for Obama and his bunch (assuming he gets the nomination)? Does he REALLY think he's got this all sowed up, already?
I could go on about how former President Bush was about to take a victory lap of Texas two days BEFORE the 2000 election, even as Algore was letting it all hang out and going for broke. Someone finally shook some sense into him (or his campaign) and told him that Zogby was showing him down in the popular vote (which ended up being the case). Bush instead campaigned in West Virginia and Tennessee and managed to win both by a squeaker...you just have to wonder about how much COMMON SENSE some of these campaigns have.
Whoops, meant to say NOT subsidizing it.
If I had his money, I would need a 6 level garage with elevator and a full time mechanic for the collection, Leno like of cars I would have.
This is stupidity, everyone of these bastards in politics live better than we do, who gives a rats ass. Jealousy is so not pretty.
WOW
his own pagan temple...
“This is stupidity, everyone of these bastards in politics live better than we do, who gives a rats ass. Jealousy is so not pretty.”
But politics is images. I’m not exactly hurting for garage and concrete space myself, but then I’m not running for office, and I sure as heck would not be indulging just as the most important campaign of my life was about to take off.
It just seems that wants to “lose the good fight”, just like Dole and McCain.
I hate to say it but it wouldn’t surprise me if the city planning board is making him install the car-lift to comply with some zoning ordinance.
This is California we’re talking about.
Quite frankly, I don’t even see Rats griping about what he has. one thing both sides agree upon ... Romney is an arrogant p**** who is as bad a serious candidate as I have ever seen. His presence is annoying. His haughtiness profound. His connection with simple folk non-existent. And his basic intellect wanting.
This is going to be one brutal election for us unless something changes.
Santorum 2012
Well if he became POTUS, then built it, he would be accused of being royally opulent. Better to build it as a private citizen.
Especially lately with class-envy articles like these popping up all over the place.
From reading this article, you would think that Republican candidates for president are supposed to be ashamed of their wealth and should pay penance by dressing in sackcloth, driving around in beat-up Chevrolets and living in trailer parks.
So I’m supposed to think that an outdoor shower is supposed to be some sort of extravagance at a beach house?
I’ve been to a lot of beach houses, most of them quite modest, and they all had outdoor showers. Who wants a bunch of kids tracking sand into the house? You just attach a shower head to an outside wall, install some sort of drain, and there you go. A hundred bucks ought to do it.
I remember in Dr Zhivago, the commies would take one look at Tom Hanks’ house and say how wonderful it could house so many other families in there. And then relegate Tom and his family to a corner of the kitchen.
Wonder if he and Gore are neighbors? Wish he had twice that house.
Pray for America
Small garage, one of my best friends has a 5,000’ garage with 3 hoists, 3- 18’ overhead doors with an 200’ long 8’ wide storage platform for his car “toys”!
Even if you don't have a problem with this, though, you can't help but agree that it couldn't come at a worse time. Between Romney's numerous gaffes and the picture of him with dollar bills in his mouth, do we really need to give the libs more class warfare ammunition?
Maybe you can’t relate to Mitt’s actions. There are wealthy people who can relate to his lifestyle choices. There are also people who want to be wealthy who can relate to his lifestyle.
(wealthy+want to be wealthy) > everybody else
I’d rather have a President who loves cars than one who hates them.
“I hate to say it but it wouldn’t surprise me if the city planning board is making him install the car-lift to comply with some zoning ordinance. This is California we’re talking about.”
Certainly possible, but WHY THE HURRY? How about he waits 8 months, just to maintain some credibility in November?
“Well if he became POTUS, then built it, he would be accused of being royally opulent. Better to build it as a private citizen.”
Then do it a few years ago - he wasn’t exactly broke back then either.
As I understand it, our current president has his own house in Chicago...HEY! How was it he came about to buying that again?
“Especially lately with class-envy articles like these popping up all over the place. “
It’s IMAGES and STUPIDITY that bothers me. Why do this now? He might as well get his wife the Hope Diamond and have her tease the rest of the country for being too poor to be able to afford it.
The guy is (supposedly) trying to WIN AN ELECTION. As I said before, it’s his money, and he can spend it as he wishes. But it is OUR COUNTRY, and if he is going to represent us in November and try to appeal to people that have, maybe, 1% of his wealth, he should starting thinking a bit about appearances.
He is building now because construction is cheap due to the destruction bt Obama regarding the economy.
I would think a 4 car garage in a 3600 sq foot home anywhere would be a tiny home for him.
Be glad he is making more shovel ready jobs by himself than Obama made all his years in the private sector.
“So I’m supposed to think that an outdoor shower is supposed to be some sort of extravagance at a beach house?”
I’ll give you that. But just the fact that he now has to explain it away tells you just HOW STUPID he is for splurging in an election year.
“Small garage, one of my best friends has a 5,000’ garage with 3 hoists, 3- 18’ overhead doors with an 200’ long 8’ wide storage platform for his car “toys”!”
Like I said, I could give Romney a run for his money on the garage side (although I wouldn’t stand a chance against your friend)...but then neither of us is running for president.
I would have built a much fancier house if I had earned $250 Million.
You must be a Ron Paul fan.
Who cares what kind of house Mitt Romney is building with HIS OWN MONEY? If you want class envy, go somewhere else.
You must be a Ron Paul fan.
Who cares what kind of house Mitt Romney is building with HIS OWN MONEY? If you want class envy, go somewhere else.
“Maybe you can’t relate to Mitt’s actions. There are wealthy people who can relate to his lifestyle choices. There are also people who want to be wealthy who can relate to his lifestyle. (wealthy+want to be wealthy) > everybody else”
Like I say, I don’t exactly live hand-to-mouth myself and I have a damn good garage and lots of concrete outside of it. So, yes, I can relate. But then I’m not running for president and I don’t have to make a case that I can relate to the victims of Obama.
They could have just said he hired an Architect
“I’d rather have a President who loves cars than one who hates them.”
Then you want Jay Leno. I have NO CLUE what Romney really thinks of cars (or anything else, for that matter).
Hanks preaches environmentalism to his fans and lives in a house that consumes more energy than my neighborhood.
“He is building now because construction is cheap due to the destruction bt Obama regarding the economy. I would think a 4 car garage in a 3600 sq foot home anywhere would be a tiny home for him. Be glad he is making more shovel ready jobs by himself than Obama made all his years in the private sector.”
I agree that construction is cheap now, but at his level of wealth, the cost is not a major factor, particularly for a house that (relatively) small. Not much different than building one of us adding a shed in our backyard - yes, it’s always nice to get it a bit cheaper, but if we save $100 or not, it’s not the end of the world, and it certainly shouldn’t be worth putting a presidential election (or even city council election) at risk.
“You must be a Ron Paul fan. Who cares what kind of house Mitt Romney is building with HIS OWN MONEY? If you want class envy, go somewhere else.”
LOL. That explains my tag-line. My support has been Cain, then Newt, and now Rick.
But it might help if you understand that Romney is running for president now...he’s NO LONGER a private citizen in the sense that you’re saying. If he so much as gets a parking ticket, it will be splashed on the front pages of newspapers around the country.
“They could have just said he hired an Architect (rather than a lobbyist)”
But I doubt the guy is a lobbyist in the typical sense of the term. He’s more likely an “expediter” that makes a living of guiding rich people through the maze that is the California approval process. Makes perfect sense for anyone with the money to hire someone like that.
The problem is that the media turns him into a “lobbyist” and Romney winds up looking like crap to the GENERAL PUBLIC...in an election year.
Gore had no chance of winning WV. I could have told the Bush campaign that after seeing two petitions in as many convenience stores. Likewise Charleton Heston wasted his time coming to WV.
BTW, neither Kerry nor Obama won WV.
Libs won’t vote for Mitt anyway. Who wants to live a life based on what a liberal might think or say? Screw them.
You're probably right. The description just struck me as funny because I work for an Architect and spend a lot of time helping clients through various approval processes.
Never thought to market my services as a "lobbyist" maybe I could charge a larger fee if I did. LOL
Even a wealthy person is wise to build now. You get more for your money and get to conserve your wealth.
“Gore had no chance of winning WV. I could have told the Bush campaign that after seeing two petitions in as many convenience stores. Likewise Charleton Heston wasted his time coming to WV.”
My point is about stupidity when you’re running for high office. In the case of Bush doing his victory lap in Texas, I could write a headline and a few lines of text that would have cost him the race. Behold:
Headline: “Governor Bush Heads Back to Texas, Certain that He’ll Win the Election”
“Governor Bush, confident of victory on Tuesday, spend last weekend in Texas thanking his supporters. With most polls showing him with a slight lead in the popular vote, the governor saw no need to continue his campaigning. Meanwhile, Vice President Gore continued his full-throttle campaign throughout the country, not ready at all to concede defeat...”
In CA people are spending a lot of money on old houses just to have the lot. Then they need to maximize the house on it by have basements and even elevators for cars. The price of the lot is one thing..just finding one is another. Then the approval process takes months..maybe years. So you must plan ahead. I assume that Mitt is intending this for a secondary home to be used by his kids and grandkids for a generation.
And maybe a Western WH. He will be lucky to see it finished 36 months from now. I wish I had his money, but it is his money. Obama got his big house in Chicago with the help of a friend who is now in jail for corruption. Which is better?
In CA people are spending a lot of money on old houses just to have the lot. Then they need to maximize the house on it by have basements and even elevators for cars. The price of the lot is one thing..just finding one is another. Then the approval process takes months..maybe years. So you must plan ahead. I assume that Mitt is intending this for a secondary home to be used by his kids and grandkids for a generation.
And maybe a Western WH. He will be lucky to see it finished 36 months from now. I wish I had his money, but it is his money. Obama got his big house in Chicago with the help of a friend who is now in jail for corruption. Which is better?
Try to look at it this way: he's putting Americans to work... home builders, roofers, landscapers, artisans, craftsman using his own money.
“Try to look at it this way: he’s putting Americans to work... home builders, roofers, landscapers, artisans, craftsman using his own money. “
I’m cool with him spending his money, it’s just the timing. He’s already getting nailed by hiring a so-called “lobbyist” (i.e., a permit expediter), which is probably done by just about everyone else in that situation. He just doesn’t need that this campaign season.
I think it is just fine if he is building/remodeling a house in La Jolla NOW. If he is elected, then he would have a western “white house” like Nixon did in San Clemente. I’m sure all the extras would be to accommodate for his LARGE family as well as Secret Service. At least he has the money to build his own place, which would make it a lot cheaper for the taxpayers when he went there. Much better than the Obama’s opulent vacations together and apart.
I do not begrudge him or any other wealthy person who has made their money by working for it. I don’t even care about people who have inherited money who have made it grow. I pity those fools, many of them sports stars or film stars, who have made a ton of money and pissed it away.
The lobbyist would be necessary to get the thing built before the election. So what? It wouldn’t be the first time a business or individual has done that very thing.
Good for Romney!
My support was Sarah, but she never got in. Briefly it was Michelle, then Cain and then Newt. I toyed with supporting Rick but by the time my state (Illinois) had its primary I voted for Newt.
People on the left are going to criticize anyone with money for having money. We would be better off debating reactions to Obama’s communist tendencies and his support of the Muslim Brotherhood at any turn, and his embracing of the Cloward-Piven strategy of overwhelming the system. I think it is nothing but self-destructive for us to focus on the kinds of houses that the candidates live in. I never saw this country so filled with class envy (I was born in the 1950s) and I am sickened to see similar criticism emanating from supposed conservatives such as yourself.
I would recommend he get four elevators - one for each car! (And maybe an extra one in case guests stop by)
I was just trying to poke a funny jab (unsuccessfully) at the Politico writer for being a drama queen.
Thanks for explaining the complications in the building approval process in CA, we don't run into that here often in the Midwest so I was unfimiliar
Why doesn’t Romney just retire to his house, and leave republicans alone? Triple for conservatives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.