(AP Photo/Jessica Hill
Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks at the Connecuticut GOP Prescott Bush Awards dinner in Stamford, Conn., on the eve of Connecticut's primary Monday, April 23, 2012. Ann Romney told the packed crowd she believes her husband Mitt Romney has the right message to win the Democratic leaning state.
A few weeks after Democratic strategist Hillary Rosen criticized Ann Romney for having "never worked a day in her life" (obviously Rosen was referring to the workplace), the wife of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has apparently stepped in it herself.
During a speech last night at the Connecticut Republican Party’s Prescott Bush Awards Dinner in Stamford, the wife of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke about the difficulty of motherhood and life on the campaign trail.
"I love the fact that there are also women out there that don’t have a choice and they must go to work and they still have to raise the kids,” Mrs. Romney said. "Thank goodness that we value those people too. And sometimes life isn’t easy for any of us."
That's just mah-velous Ann!
Mrs. Romney was apparently trying to express empathy for women who don’t have the option to stay at home. But her choice of words (including "those people" and "us") could lead to a new round of charges that the wealthy Romneys don’t understand average Americans.
What do you think?
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"Open your mouth, and exchange your foot". It seems that the Romneys can't say anything without stepping into some doo-doo. They sure don't act and talk like "one of Us".
It was just a matter of time when the Mrs. would say something demeaning about working women. I just wonder if they ever had to live from paycheck to paycheck, and hope that nothing went wrong so that the budget wouldn't get messed up.
It's obvious neither one of them have any tact about ANYTHING when they open their mouths. If this is what being wealthy turns you into, I'm glad I'm poor. What a bunch of fools those Romneys are!
MJB, Can you believe this woman? She put her silver foot in her mouth this time. Does anyone really want these two elitists in the white house except their 1% peer group? Barack Obama and his wife at least know what it is like to be an average American! They had student loans just like me (which were awful!)
They're not just out of touch with average Americans, they're from another damn planet!
My profile page is still all messed up in spite of Sally's best efforts to help me, but at least I can comment, and vote tonight.
I turned yellow and my profile is back and all my friends are back!!!!!!!
Thank you, Sally!!! God bless you!!
if you believe what the mormon religion tells us, mitt and ann will be the god and godess of another planet after they die, if all requirements are met here on earth.
the presidency of the united states would give mitt the most "points" for achieving that goal, in one way or another.
I would love to see Annie scrubbing toilets and floors on her hands and knees. That would be a sight for sore eyes. She probably wouldn't have the first idea of how to go about that, being waited on hand and foot her whole life. What a sad excuse for a life. No wonder they can't relate... to anyone!
Suzette, Unfortunately, lying is one of the things that prevent them from ruling their own planet. It is against Mormonism to lie.
Poor Mitt. Poor Ann. He's also not going to rule THIS country!
"But her choice of words (including "those people" and "us) could lead to a new round of charges that the wealthy Romneys don't understand average Americans."
You mean from the class warfare fighting left? And by saying "could" lead to new charges, you actually meant already "did" lead to new charges (hence the post above). How did you want Mrs. Romney to put it? There are "those people" that work and "those people" that don't...pretty simple.
Why not let's talk about some real issues like:
Housing Prices down 3.5%!!!
Housing prices down for the 6th Straight Month!!!
Home prices have plunged to the LOWEST in nearly a decade
melindapurcell, They will distract us until the fifth of November. They know their policies won't get them into the white house. There aren't enough wealthy people in their upper 1% class who can vote them in when the average American realizes what their plans are.
In case you didn't know, their plan is to help the rich, only the rich and the rest of us can fend for ourselves with what little is left for us. It is welfare for the rich and free markets for everyone else!
I'll take sanity and reasonableness: OBAMA 2012
It doesnt affect her and she has no clue!
well if these radicals take over our Government all I can say is " Mrs. Romney it's a good thing I like cake." LOL
Penny siegel, LOL, Me too! Cake is great. You know what's funny? Marie Antoinette never actually said that!
Loose Cannon, are you saying that being a mother of five children isn't work?
How exactly do you think it is a defense of this woman to say that she doesn't work?
Do you not remember how she got in the national spotlight in the first place?
I just have to say again, "out of the abundance of the heart (or head), the mouth speaketh." This serves her right for twisting Rosen's words around & it's coming back to bite her. It's obvious "these" people can't relate to "us."
hey loose,
how is it even possible that you all think the left is declaring war on the rich, when the democrats, AND THE MAJORITY of the american people, hell, the majority of repubs in america, think it is fair that the rich pay A LITTLE MORE in taxes.
class warfare on the rich: AN OXYMORON!
w. bush took us to war in afghanistan, and then he stopped the hunt for bin laden at the tora bora mountains there, when they had bin laden in their sites, to go after saddam hussein instead. the same month bush invaded iraq, march of 2003, he signed the second part of the bush tax cuts into law.
never has this country been to one war, let alone two, without raising taxes on the american people. instead we were told to go shopping, while a small fraction of american people fought, WERE SENT TO SEVERAL DEPLOYMENTS, were disabled, or died, while their families back home raised children and did everything else.
none of mitt romney's sons fought in the war, just another example of how the rich have more power and clout, making rules that protect their children from war. oh yeah, the repubs LOVE war, BUT NOT FOR THEIR CHILDREN. war is meant for those who can't influence an election with power or money. OUT OF TOUCH! the repubs get to make the decision to go to war, while sending others in to do their dirty work in wars based on lies. and mitt romney wants to build up the military, and go back into iraq, and send more troops to afghanistan, deploying the same troops over and over and over.
IT IS THE REPUBS WHO LOVE WAR. they are fighting a war against women, against gays, against minorities, AGAINST ANYONE WHO ISN'T A WHITE REPUBLICAN MAN.
ann romney probably doesn't even know how she could have said it better, with more empathy. but it really isn't all her fault. this is the way she has lived. she is saying and responding to things based on the way she has lived.
she really doesn't have a clue, just like mitt.
she doesn't know anybetter, and clearly doesn't care to learn.
I think I may love you. Was just about to write something very close to this, (possibly & probably not as nicely as you wrote it) so thank you for saving me the trouble! Like the "wacky liberal left" is at fault for everything going on? I don't consider myself anything but a person, trying to survive month to month, and with common sense. If that throws me to the left (which seems to be the way it is), then so be it I guess!
Heather,
as our President, President Barack Hussein Obama would say, and has said many times, "I love you, back".
Suzette - your right, the real "war" isn't on the rich - it is on the gullible who believe that all of these made up "wars" actually exist. Remember, you should be more concerned with how Obama spends your money, than how Romney spends his own.
remember, you SHOULD be more concerned with how Obama spends your money, than how romney spends his own
i agree, loose. mitt can spend his money the way he wants.
i have no comment on that.
but don't tell me what i SHOULD be more concerned about. repubs are responsible for more of the debt/deficit than democrats are. the only time repubs care about the deficit, is when a democrat holds the office of the Presidency. do some research, from nixon on, repubs are responsible for more of the debt. but they like the way they spend money, it is acceptable-that's why we never hear about the deficit when repubs are in charge.
i don't like the way repubs spend our money, giving tax cuts to the rich, and going to war.
i trust President Obama.
Suzette - why is there this push to show how rich Romney is? Posts on his car elevator, or homes, or whatever? What was the point of this story? In my opinion it was to paint the Romney as the enemy because of their wealth (in my opinion the class warfare tactic) - rather than his politics.
In terms of debt, Obama has run of more in his term then any of his predecessors and he wants to spend more. It can't go on like this - spending has been out of control for a long time now, by both parties...I agree there.
why is there a push to show how rich romney is?
BECAUSE HE IS TRYING TO HIDE IT!
but you think its OK to paint Barack Obama as a muslim, as a socialist, as a communist, as "stupid", and as a "liar"? all the dems are trying to do is to get mitt romney to show his tax returns. he wants to be President of the united states, show us where you keep your money, and how jmuch you have paid in taxes.
part of the reason they want to paint mitt romney as a rich man (they aren't LYING ya know, as the repubs have done in regard to the president) is BECAUSE HE IS A RICH MAN. if he wasn't trying to hide something, he would put on his big boy panties and "man-up". since he is running for president, he should just do like his daddy did, and go back 12 years of tax returns.
his money is an issue, because he has proven he is out of touch. to a large degree this is part of the reason, i guess. he hasn't bothered to find out or at least express how the rest of america lives, and he has proven by his "severe" move to the right (supporting ryan and etc) that he is CLEARLY OUT OF TOUCH. everytime he and ann open their mouths they further prove how
out of touch" they really are. the fact that he does not want to release his tax returns for the past twelve years, tells me that he thinks he's better than we are, and will try to get by with as much as he can.
because of his mitt-flops, I DO NOT TRUST MITT ROMNEY.
President Obama has spent money, but MOST of what he has spent has gone to bills that bush put on the credit card, not to mention the 2 wars which w. never mentioned when he reported the defict to the american people. all of a sudden the war deficit is President Obama's responsibility, and he reports it to the american people, adding it to the deficit, and he gets blamed.
revenues need to be on the agenda to reduce the deficit. a majority of the american people, a majority of repubs agree with this. we cannot take care of the deficit without rasing taxes, especially after w. cut taxes for the second time, the very month we invaded iraq (march) in 2003. going to war at the same time giving tax cuts: stupid and irresponsible.
President Obama is responding to the bills that w. put on the credit card. much of that is the cost of the 2 wars that w. didn't add to the deficit when reporting it to the american people.
so blame President Obama, right?
Very well said!
Loose Cannon,
Obama has not caused more debt than any of his predecessors. You not only don't know the difference between you're and your, you have absolutely no idea of what the actual facts are:
Debt on the day Obama took office:
$10.7 trillion
Debt today:
$15.6 trillion
Projected annual debt before Obama took office:
$1.7 trillion
Projected deficit this year:
$1.3 trillion
Debt when Bush took office:
$5.7 trillion
Debt when he left office:
$10.7 trillion
Projected SURPLUS when he took office:
$125 billion
Projected DEFICIT when he left office:
$1.7 trillion
So Bush took a small surplus to a record deficit, and increased the debt by $5 trillion dollars.
Obama took a record deficit in the midst of the greatest economic downturn in 70 years and reduced it by 33%. The total increase in debt over his time is $4.9 trillion, which is less than the $5 trillion increase under Bush.
What's more, talking straight numbers is obviously unfair, as we currently pay $400 billion a year in interest alone on our debt, and of course there is that pesky inflation, so let's look at PERCENTAGE increase of debt over terms:
Carter: 42% increase (9% per year) (10% first year to 10% last year)
Reagan: 189% increase (14% per year) (11% first year to 10% last year)
Bush 1: 55.6% increase (12% per year) (10% first year to 10% last year)
Clinton: 36% increase (4% per year) (9% first year to -2% last year)
Bush 2: 89% increase (8% per year) (5% first year to 16% last year)
Obama: 41% increase (12% per year) (15% first year to 8% in 2011)
So under even the most unfavorable reading of these statistics, Obama is not even close the the worst debt President in recent history. Under even the most favorable reading of these statistics, Republicans have still been far worse with budgets than their Democratic counterparts.
Under a true, logical, rational reading of this, Republicans have been DISASTROUS for the federal budget. They have spent more and taxed less, causing us to leave RIDICULOUS debt for our children to deal with. Both Clinton and Obama improved the debt outlook over their time in office, and Carter did no damage, though he was also unable to improve conditions. Unfortunately, no Democrat was able to make up for the disastrous budgeting of the Republicans that preceded them. Apparently bad management is far more damaging than good management is helpful.
Why would she love the fact that some people don't have a choice that they must work and raise children why couldnt she feel some sort of empathy for them and hope that they would soon have a choice to stay home and raise their children like she was given a choice by her husband
bocwheel, you hit the nail on the head with your comment. A better choice of words would have been that she was sorry that some women DOESN'T have a choice other than to work outside and raise children at the same time.
Clueless, and could care less about the working women and their struggles mixing motherhood and being in the workforce. What boggles the mind is those who are really the poor and vote religion rather then their pocketbooks. Keep talking Ann you did good with this statement. Get it out there.
Didn't know she was running for President, oh wait, she's not, so who cares what she says?
I listen to her as much as I listened to Barbara, Hillary, or Michelle, which is not at all.
Actually, that's the first time I've actually seen her picture. Good job, author, of choosing the most unflattering you could find. Kind of looks and sounds like some rather biased reporting/picture presentation for a recent Florida case.
concerned memphian,
and just what is it you are so concerned about?
are you concerned about the way the repub party portrayed our President as a muslim, a kenyan, unamerican, curious george? as hitler, as a communist, a socialist, as STUPID, as a LIAR?
if this is the first time you have seen ann's picture, apparently you don't listen to what the wives have to say, you only listen to the repub men. does that include bill oreilly, rush limbaugh, sean hannity?
she is helping her husband get elected, for christ's sake. whether you like it or believe it or not, she is an extension of her husband, and she lets us know as mitt's wife, how they live, how they feel, what they believe and how they re-act. i feel like i am getting a clearer picture of how the two of them feel about american families who do not have benefit of the riches that they have always had, never having to struggle to make ends meet.
the reason that we pay attention to wives is that they help to balance, to soften, if you will, their husbands professionality, their rough edges. as a general rule, they lend a human touch to the campaign, they help us to see why mitt might be lovable, too.
except in this case, we are finding that ann is as out-of-touch as mitt.
if it weren't for the voter suppression and the redistricting that is occuring in repub led states, i wouldn't worry about this election. but the repubs are doing everything they can to prevent President Obama from being re-elected.
and you know what else? they are unembarassable in their persuit to destroy President Obama. they don't even care that everyone can see what they are doing. and they even make it obvious by calling the President stupid and a liar. they don't even care that its obvious.
repubs are out to ruin this President and ruin our country.
i hope you are concerned about THAT.
Yup. I'm positive. I do love you!
SURPRISE !SURPRISE! They only know how the rich live...and really dont care about anyone else..the more they talk ;the more they prove it!
It seems like she is saying she loves the fact that she had it better than other people
I am most definitely suspicious of anyone who refers to a demographic (especially one that includes me) as "those people." I mean, really?
I have no love for the Romneys or any Republican candidate for that matter. But just like Rosen, we all know what she meant. So I am not going to blast her for this, like they did Rosen, and we all know what she meant by not working. I think the right blasted her for that for a week. Loose Cannon has the talking points down "class warfare", they love to use that term, when in reality we are all asking for the rich to pay the same % we all have to pay and stop the tax breaks. Even the rich agree they should be paying more, but Republicans as usual say no to everything.
I appreciate that you are willing to look behind all the hoopla to what she was really trying to say. If only more people were so reasonable! Having said that, I must confess I am not clear what you hear her saying. I am having a hard time getting past "those" people (remember the civil rights days and how African-Americans were referred to as "those people"?). What exactly do you think she meant about loving that those people have to work, leave their kids behind etc.? Thank you.
I will blast her even though I know what she meant. When Ann Romney talks she is always talking down to people like she is so much better then they are. Her arrogance can't be hidden in her looks or words.
At this rate, the winner is going to be the first one to stop talking. By the way Memphian, if this is the first picture you've seen, how do you know it's the worst they could find? I think I'll second pretty much all of what Bette has to say...
I was going to ask him that also. I always thought you needed something to compare to to get the "worst".
women belong in the home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids.
women belong in the home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids.
Wish I COULD stay home and take care of the family. Would be a nice change.
No wonder drugs are Illegal. The politicians are taking all of them.
There's no reason we couldn't go back to the 1950's, 1960's, and let one person without a high school education support his/her family on one income.
Of course, I'm not talking about working at walmart or the McDonalds drive thru either.
I work over 60 hours a week, every week at my job. Its cheaper to pay overtime than it is to hire more people and pay their benifits. Management has come out and said, paying overtime saves the company money. One reason Unemployment is so high
All I can say, is if Romney's elected, please let there be a good shooter out there somewhere.
Personally I really think this woman has NO IDEA how the average person lives!! Her husband got 1 million from his Dad and then went on to buy companies and fire everyone and take the profits. Oh sure there must be some companies he worked with. They must have been a really good bet. So These two dont know what its like to not have enough education..not because we didn't want them but because we had kids and it was too hard on 2 paycheck to find the time, energy and money for more schooling! Oh and lets throw in my husbands Electric Engineer job that he's been layed off 3 x in the last 30 years. Lotta fun raising 4 kids when hubby is out of work for over a year!! Get a grip, the ultra rich really don't know what its like to roll nickles, dimes, penny's and quarters for some milk and bread!!!
Ann, sweetie - there is nothing to love about a parent having "no choice" between being a work outside the home parent or being a stay-at-home parent. They should always have a choice. Too bad the 1% don't understand that.
Why do the Romney's try so hard to pretend that they have dealt with the same middle class realities as the rest of us when it seems clear that they haven't.......Ann why does your husband not know 7-11 isn't a bakery?
Which cadilac do you think she drives to grocery store?
Do think when they unload the groceries that their car elevator can take them all the way up the kitchen?
Obama Biden 2012!!!We dont want" those people" in the White House!!!!
I can’t decide if her tone is mocking, throwing me a bone, completely insincere, or just patronizing. I’m not sure why she ‘loves’ that some women have no choice but to work and raise the kids —again I love how she puts her foot in her mouth lol
What do I think? That with any Romney, there is no there there. Those people are ciphers.
Let’s put aside the fact that ‘we’ as a society don’t value women who have to work outside the home** and tackle the last sentence that I quoted. Yes, Ann, life isn’t easy for any of us, but it’s a hell of a lot easier when you know you can pay the mortgage every month, aren’t going to be homeless, and have top-notch health insurance that covers ailments such as MS. It only adds insult to injury that her husband is part of the party that wants to ensure that life remains freakingg hard for most Americans.
To me, the thing that galls me the most about statements such as this one is how removed from most people’s realities someone like Ann Romney has to be in order to say something like this. If she had ever had to work outside the home as well as inside it, there is no way in hell she would ‘love’ it that she was in that position. It’s all abstract for her, and it’s insulting to all the women who do it on a daily basis. Ann Romney wants respect for her decision to be a stay-at-home mom, but she seems to have forgotten that respect is a two-way street. How about showing some real respect for women who work outside the home, Ann, and getting your husband to do the same?
Why are Republicans working so hard to get Obama re-elected? Can they actually be that stupid??? Or is just that they think WE'RE to stupid to notice all their faux pas? Pardonez moi Francais, Mittens!