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Romney backs away from Hezbollah citation
Jewish Telegraphic Agency ^ | 08/02/2007 | JTA

Posted on 08/02/2007 6:40:41 PM PDT by indcons

Mitt Romney's campaign said Hezbollah was not a proper model for his vision of U.S. diplomacy, addressing a controversy arising from his earlier remarks.

The statement from the campaign for the former Massachusetts governor, a front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential candidacy, came in the wake of a weekend town hall meeting in Iowa in which he cited Hezbollah's social network as a model for reaching hearts and minds.

"Governor Romney believes that bloodthirsty terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas have smothered the progress of the people and nations where they have built their networks, Lebanon serving as an example," spokesman Kevin Madden said. "These terror organizations cannot and should not be allowed to gain an advantage with the citizenry in Muslim nations just because they mask their terror agenda with an offering of some vital services."

Romney had made the comparison in explaining why he would expand on President Bush's AIDS program in Africa, widely regarded as earning goodwill.

"Hezbollah went into southern Lebanon and provided health clinics to some of the people there, and schools. And they built their support there by having done so," Romney said. "That kind of diplomacy is something that would help America become stronger around the world and help people understand that our interest is an interest towards modernity and goodness and freedom for all people in the world."

The National Jewish Democratic Council slammed Romney for those remarks. "Any candidate for President should know that Hezbollah's social programs are inseparably tied to terrorism," it said.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: biggovernment; hamas; hezbollah; islamicrolemodels; israel; mittromney; romney; terrorists; wot
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To: TAdams8591
Really. Actions speak louder than words (even when the words are a major gaffe). Geez, you'd think he'd been married three times, or cheated on his wife, or had ties to the mob, or got caught wearing girls' clothes, or lobbied for an abortion client, or given his kids PAC money or hired a pro-Arab, soft on immigration guy to run his campaign or something!

He will survive some poorly chosen words. Nobody is perfect (except maybe Duncan Hunter).

61 posted on 08/02/2007 9:05:02 PM PDT by redgirlinabluestate (Mitt4Change ------->Proven Executive Leadership -------> Less Baggage)
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To: redgirlinabluestate

Were the words just “poorly chosen” or did they reflect his true views? Based on his tendency to support big government (then is whenever has political power), it is a safe bet that his words reflect the goals of a Mitt presidency e.g. a nanny state overseas and at home.


62 posted on 08/02/2007 9:07:44 PM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: redgirlinabluestate
Mitt's been criticized for being too smooth and perfect. Now that we learn Romney's human like the rest of us, he's not good enough.

There's no pleasing some people.

63 posted on 08/02/2007 9:13:06 PM PDT by TAdams8591 ( Guiliani is a Democrat in Republican drag. Mitt Romney for president in 2008! : ))
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To: TAdams8591

Human? I suppose you could spin it that way. I prefer to regard his comments as a rare case of honesty on his part. Mitt has been hiding his pro-big government views for so long that once in awhile the truth slips out.


64 posted on 08/02/2007 9:15:01 PM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: pissant
He’s as wet behind the ears as B. Hussein Obama

That's silly. That might be marginally believable if he hadn't said and done all of THIS. He is most definitely not clueless as to the Islamic threat as is B. Hussein Obama.

VDH (the most admirable) trusts him too:

Victor Davis Hanson on Mitt Romney: Well, we talk about history just like you and I talk about. We talk about foreign policy, he talked about the plan or the effort to democratize the Middle East, the shortfalls, the problems, the liabilities, and you know what? He [Gov. Romney] came to the Hoover Institution and got in front of 40 senior fellows. And in that room there were Nobel Prize winners, a lot of egos, too. And he held court with them, and there were a lot of hostile questions, and he went for an hour and a half, head to head, with these people. When he walked out of that room, I think everybody was impressed with him. He didn’t pull any punches, and he could argue and was as logical as any Hoover fellow, and I was more impressed with him than I was with my colleagues. (The Hugh Hewitt Show, March 13, 2007)

65 posted on 08/02/2007 9:15:31 PM PDT by redgirlinabluestate (Mitt4Change ------->Proven Executive Leadership -------> Less Baggage)
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To: indcons
It's difficult to be enthused about candidates who speak as though they intend to administer a global empire and to propose ideas for civic improvements in other countries.

There's entirely too much GOP enthusiasm for this Wilsonian internationalism. Normally, we'd have to wait for the Dims to suggest increased welfare in foreign countries.
66 posted on 08/02/2007 9:17:34 PM PDT by George W. Bush (Rudy: tough on terror, scared of Iowa, wets himself over YouTube)
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To: indcons

He sure phrased it badly.

It would have been quite another story if he had said, “We should take note of the disturbing ability of truly evil people like Hezb’allah to win the hearts and minds of the soft-headed, including in Europe and even here among our Leftists, by putting on a big ostentatious charity act while killing innocent people directly as well as indirectly by funnelling funds to al Qaeda and others. Perhaps the forces of peace and liberty could benefit from a charm offensive.”


67 posted on 08/02/2007 9:19:51 PM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast ([Thompson 2008!])
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To: redgirlinabluestate

I can’t understand why some treat Victor Davis Hanson as a god like figure here. His Pollyanna claims over the last four years that democracy, stability, and free markets are just around the corner in the Middle East have been repeatedly proven wrong. His predictive track record is on a par with Dick Morris.


68 posted on 08/02/2007 9:21:02 PM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: Captain Kirk
What? Big government? Hate to say it again -- but you don't know Mitt.

---In the four balanced budgets he signed into law, Governor Romney used the line-item veto or program reduction power to cut spending by nearly $1 Billion.

--- Over the course of four budgets, Governor Romney made over 300 line-item reductions, 350 line-item eliminations and struck language 150 times. (Romney signs no new tax budget in time for new fiscal year, June 30, 2003)

---Spending in the Governor's office dropped from $5.6 million in 2002 to $4.6 million in 2006.

--- Careful examination of the complete story of Mitt Romney’s record in managing the state budget of Massachusetts leads an honest reviewer to the conclusion that his term as Governor was a remarkable success story of fiscal conservatism in government. (Romney often casts himself as budget hero, Boston Globe, October 24, 2005)

---When Gov. Romney left office in 2007, there were 600 fewer government workers employed by the state of Massachusetts than at the beginning of his term.

--- Governor Mitt Romney pledges, if elected President, to cap non-defense, discretionary federal spending at inflation minus 1 percent. That would save $300 billion in ten years. Romney pledges to veto any federal budget that exceeds the cap.

--- Mitt Romney pledges to personally lead a top-to-bottom review of federal government programs, agencies, procurement and spending to eliminate waste, inefficiency and duplication.

Romney's Fiscally Conservative - Smaller Government Record

69 posted on 08/02/2007 9:27:43 PM PDT by redgirlinabluestate (Mitt4Change ------->Proven Executive Leadership -------> Less Baggage)
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To: Captain Kirk

Please, VDH and Dick Morris should not even be in the same sentence. But never said God-like. Love him though. Love Mark Steyn too.


70 posted on 08/02/2007 9:32:23 PM PDT by redgirlinabluestate (Mitt4Change ------->Proven Executive Leadership -------> Less Baggage)
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To: indcons; SJackson
The National Jewish Democratic Council slammed Romney for those remarks.

Hmm. When was the last time the National Jewish Democratic Council slammed any Dem politician for blatantly anti-Israel or antisemitic gestures or remarks? Do they remember Her Thighness' habitual antisemitic tirades in Arkansas described by Dick Morris and some Arkansas troopers? Do they remember her kissing Mrs. Arafat after listening to her anti-Israeli speech? Do they remember Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria to kneel before Assad? Do they remember the antisemitic literature handed out at a party meeting at DNC headquarters a few years ago? And do they criticize their party's Congressional "lose the war in Iraq" policy which will embolden anti-Israel, antisemitic and anti-American Islamofascist terrorists throughout the Middle East and the western world?

71 posted on 08/02/2007 9:32:43 PM PDT by justiceseeker93
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To: redgirlinabluestate

Heck, the stats show that Bill Clinton reduced big government dramatically compared to Bush. Does this mean that we should bring him back? As to Romney, he has gone on record in favor of compulsory health care at the point of a gun, for the Brady Bill, and for an assault weapons ban. Those are not the views of a small government candidate, no matter who you spin it.


72 posted on 08/02/2007 9:33:49 PM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: redgirlinabluestate

Steyn and VDH are too peas in a pod for getting it consistently wrong over the last four years in the Middle East predictions and prescriptions....but then misfired predictions don’t destroy careers, as Billy Kristol can attest.


73 posted on 08/02/2007 9:35:38 PM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: Captain Kirk
Oh, really? I've made off the cuff remarks, that don't nearly resemble what I truly think and believe.

The following from Freeper Unmarked Packages homepage, reflects a most fiscally conservative Mitt Romney as Governor, and is not at all reminiscent of big government proponent:

"Government Spending and Taxes

Governor Mitt Romney inherited a $3 billion deficit in Massachusetts upon taking office in 2003 and the state was losing thousands of jobs every month. Over the course of his administration, without raising taxes or increasing debt, he balanced the state budget each year with a 85% majority Democrat Legislature and erased the deficit by cutting wasteful spending and government jobs and enacting economic reforms to spur growth. The state had a $1 billion budget surplus in 2005 and new jobs in MA were up 60,000 from the low point by the end of his term. The unemployment rate in Massachusetts was averaging more than a full percentage point lower when he left office in 2007. (Mitt TV Clip)

In the four balanced budgets he signed into law, Governor Romney used the line-item veto or program reduction power to cut spending by nearly $1 Billion. Over the course of four budgets, Governor Romney made over 300 line-item reductions, 350 line-item eliminations and struck language 150 times. (Romney signs no new tax budget in time for new fiscal year, June 30, 2003) • (Romney signs $22.402b fiscal year 2005 'no new tax' budget, June 25, 2004) • (Governor Romney signs into law $23.8 billion budget for fiscal year '06, June 30, 2005) • (Governor Romney signs $25.2 billion fiscal year 2007 state budget, July 8, 2006)

Spending in the Governor's office dropped from $5.6 million in 2002 to $4.6 million in 2006. (Romney Transfers Funds From Governor's Office to Pay Military Benefit, November 3, 2006)

Careful examination of the complete story of Mitt Romney’s record in managing the state budget of Massachusetts leads an honest reviewer to the conclusion that his term as Governor was a remarkable success story of fiscal conservatism in government. (Romney often casts himself as budget hero, Boston Globe, October 24, 2005)

Gov. Romney was instrumental in passing a bill abolishing a retroactive capital gains tax in the state that would have forced nearly 50,000 taxpayers to pay an additional $200 million in state taxes and fees. The law also will result in refunds of between $225 million and $275 million over four years to an estimated 157,000 taxpayers. (Romney Signs Bill Abolishing Retroactive Tax, December 8, 2005) Video: On Fighting for Lower Taxes

Gov. Romney sought to cut the state income tax from 5.3% to 5% in the annual budget he submitted in each of his last three years in office. (Amid Record Revenues, Romney and Healey Renew Call for Tax Cut, May 2, 2006) • (Romney Calls for Tax Cut as Revenues Come Flooding In, October 3, 2005)

Gov. Romney’s administration permanently extended a 3% investment tax credit, passed sales tax holidays, and gave tax breaks to medical manufacturing companies. (Office of Gov. Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs Economic Stimulus, Supplemental Budget Bills," Press Release, November 26, 2003)

Gov. Romney’s administration gave real estate tax breaks to senior citizens, and expanded tax benefits for disabled veterans. (Romney Signs Bill to Give Seniors Tax Relief, November 20, 2005) (Romney Expands Tax Benefits for Disabled Veterans, August 14, 2006)

Mitt Romney never took a paycheck for his time as Governor of Massachusetts. (Romney passes up $135K governor salary, Boston Business Journal, December 31, 2002)

When Gov. Romney left office in 2007, there were 600 fewer government workers employed by the state of Massachusetts than at the beginning of his term.

Governor Mitt Romney signed Americans For Tax Reform's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" affirming as part of the pledge that he will "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates" and "oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits.” Romney signed on January 4, 2007 making him the first potential 2008 presidential candidate to sign the pledge. (Governor Mitt Romney Signs "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", Jan 4, 2007)"

74 posted on 08/02/2007 9:39:35 PM PDT by TAdams8591 ( Guiliani is a Democrat in Republican drag. Mitt Romney for president in 2008! : ))
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To: Captain Kirk
Yeah, I've heard all those talking points 100 times before. The facts are somewhat different. For every argument there is a counter-argument, but it's too late for that.

Quickly, though, requiring people to pay for private health insurance or prove they can afford medical costs is not the same thing as the government taxing the citizenry to assign you to a healthcare plan where it now controls the providers and care. Not even remotely close to compulsory healthcare at the point of a gun. Romney’s plan isn’t even close to Hillary’s, and no honest human-being with a degree of honest contemplation would suggest as much. And, the AWB is the same as Bush said he'd sign. And the great RR supported the BB. There are no perfect candidates. But Mitt is the most perfect electable one.

75 posted on 08/02/2007 9:44:25 PM PDT by redgirlinabluestate (LOVE those God-like guys VDH & Mark Steyn)
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To: TAdams8591

Goodnight TA! :-)


76 posted on 08/02/2007 9:45:54 PM PDT by redgirlinabluestate (LOVE those God-like guys VDH & Mark Steyn & Mitt Romney)
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To: indcons

The real Mitt just couldn’t disguise himself long enough to fool us. The truth comes out.


77 posted on 08/02/2007 9:50:57 PM PDT by Rockitz (This isn't rocket science- Follow the money and you'll find the truth.)
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To: indcons
The point was poorly stated, but logical:
Charity and humanitarian programs are integral elements of propaganda and pr needed in 4th generational warfare. Muslims have been practicing Dawa for centuries.
78 posted on 08/02/2007 10:01:14 PM PDT by rmlew (Build a wall, attrit the illegals, end the anchor babies, Americanize Immigrants)
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To: jedward
No. Backing away is stupid. Clarifying was necesary.
Romney's failure to deal with the press hear is far worse than his mis-statement.
79 posted on 08/02/2007 10:04:08 PM PDT by rmlew (Build a wall, attrit the illegals, end the anchor babies, Americanize Immigrants)
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To: justiceseeker93

Hopefully, there are Republicans with the guts to state the facts just as you just did. Democrats have a long history of antisemitic comments and actions. For whatever reason, the GOP has never had the gonads to publicize Liberal antisemitic remarks nor to point out their obvious support for the enemies of Israel. In order to expose and discredit a candidate, as corrupt and calculating as Hitlery, it’s time to take off the gloves and fight Hillary and her Liberal cohorts for the sake of our country, our children and grandchildren’s futures. Investigating and exposing the Clinton’s extensive list of “dead” associates would make a good first start with their ties to unsavory groups a close second.


80 posted on 08/02/2007 10:21:29 PM PDT by ExTexasRedhead
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