Romney's Ag statements reminiscent of Kerry
During one of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's many sojourns to Iowa in the 2004 Democrat primary, Matt Drudge made a big deal about statements Kerry made in 1996 in support of gutting the Department of Agriculture. "I think we can reduce the size of Washington. Get rid of the Energy Department, Get rid of the Ag department or at least render it three-quarters the size it is today," Kerry said. (You can see the enormous original Drudge banner headline here. Clearly there was considerable coverage dedicated to this revelation.)
As Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney makes his presidential announcement in Iowa tomorrow it will be interesting to see if he is held to that same standard. In 1994 Romney made statements almost identical to Kerry's. In that race Romney also supported drastic cuts to the department of ag and he also expressed his opposition to farm subsidies. Take a look.
As Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney makes his presidential announcement in Iowa tomorrow it will be interesting to see if he is held to that same standard. In 1994 Romney made statements almost identical to Kerry's. In that race Romney also supported drastic cuts to the department of ag and he also expressed his opposition to farm subsidies. Take a look.
"Romney Backed the virtual elimination of the Energy and Agriculture departments to cut the deficit." (Boston Herald 7/13/94). In a different article that same year Romney said that "federal farm subsidies should be cut." (Boston Globe 11/6/94)
These positions will definitely not endear him to many folks in the farm lobby here in Iowa and elsewhere. While there are certainly fiscal hawks that this type of rhetoric appeals to, eliminating the Department of Ag is not a sustainable position for a presidential candidate. If Romney decides to change his tune on this it will be particularly noteworthy since the issues that he has flipped on to-date have been from a generally more liberal position to a more conservative one. A switch on this topic would be a pander in the other direction.
John McCain has gotten a lot of ink for his opposition to farm subsidies, but to our knowledge Mitt Romney has gone unchallenged on this topic. It will be interesting to see whether he gets pressured on this by the local media or by Matt Drudge as he announces his bid for the presidency in the Hawkeye state tomorrow.
We'd ask that everyone show respect in the comments section of this post regarding Gov. Romney and the previous post regarding Sen. McCain. -CC
posted by Caucus Cooler at 2/12/2007
36 Comments:
Big deal. Lot's of candidates over the years have proposed eliminating federal departments. Agriculture, Energy, Education, Commerce have all been on the hit list. I remember in 1980 Phil Crane proposed relocating the Department of Agriculture to Des Moines. Now that's pandering.
Is it true that Huckleberry got the Governor of South Carolina's endorse?
the cooler sucks
the cooler does suck!
blaaaah cooler
booooo cooler
cooler sucks
cooler sucks like WHOA
hey, who thinks the cooler sucks
i do, i do!
i see you found a way to dodge those campaign finance laws cooler...nice job
Anon 151/152.
Are you a fan of the Cooler?
dude, cooler is the bomb!...if it's opposite day
we love the cooler!
we love Romney!
they don't anymore
We love Romney!
Maturity sure lasted long around here.
^^ Right...
Anyway. I think it's something that candidates just say from time to time. It's an arguable position, but in reality, could he ever actually swing that one? I dunno... maybe it doesn't even matter. *shrug*
What a complete display of stupidity. How embarrassing to Iowa and Iowa Republicans. It is unbelievable that we cannot have one forum to have an intelligent adult discussion about the issues and the candidates. You people are a complete embarrassment as individuals and for the candidates that you represent. I knew there was a reason that I went out of my way to keep my friends restricted to non-political (or Democrat in special cases) only. Grow the fuck up!
I don't think these are staffers. I think someone had study hall and decided to post.
Outsiders, please don't judge Iowa Republicans by the blogs.
apollo,
what are you thinking this is no place for a legitimate policy discussion
ps...the cooler sux
Speaking of Romney:
HUMAN EVENTS
Washington, D.C.
February 10, 2007
by John Gizzi
Sacramento, Calif. -- One of the leaders in the nation's oldest and
best-known gay Republican organization signaled tonight that the
favorite GOP presidential candidate for his group in '08 was Rudy
Giuliani.
"How could we not like Rudy? ... He has always been openly supportive of the gay agenda and won't
apologize," said Vaughn, who served as the liaison to gay and lesbian
Los Angeleans.
Of Gov. Romney, Vaughn said
he "was very pro-gay while governor... [and now] he's trying to be something he's not. Rudy
Giuliani once wore a dress [in a comedy skit in New York], but no one would believe he's a woman. Mitt Romney is now going out in
conservative drag, but no one will believe he's a conservative."
so um... Romney's people don't like the cooler because the cooler dosen't print their propaganda???
You got a real problem here CC. Crazies posting comments.
One idea is to NOT ALLOW ANONYMOUS COMMENTS.
Still . . . I do think it's a bit shameful that this blog is run by McCain people but there is no up front honesty of such.
So....I'd appreciate if one of you enightened insiders would help this obvoius outsider out here.
I keep seeing comments referencing that this site is run by McCain people. I'm a little confused because the post about McCain's problems with his own campaign finance laws seems like something the McCain people would rather sweep under the rug.
If this site IS run by McCain people can someone explain to me why they would allow posts like that one? Wouldn't that be kind of like a site run by Romney people posting all of the flip-flop stories?
Some of know that it is just staffers that make this blog feel like a mccain blog, more importantly the romney camp is cracking and they do not want it to become public. Their "volunteers" are tired of constantly explaining that romnay was pro-choice and had a "sudden" revelation when he decided to run for president that he is pro-life. this is the big one couple by constant flip-flops by romney. What we are really seeing is the death of the Romney campaign.
Like "Jeff Fuller" couldnt be a fake name?
Mitt Romney vs. John McCain: The choice is clear.
Mitt Romney is opposed to having sex with farm animals.
And John McCain?
BLOGGER PROFILES should be used . . . and only those with them could be used. You can ban specific profiles if they get out of hand. Would be fewer comments . . . but would solve CCs problem.
Oh, and Jeff Fuller really is me (link to my profile at work).
I agree with Jeff even though we both like different candidates. :)
Cooler, the crazy anons are really out of control and make responsible blog-lovers look bad as well as themselves.
Maybe they could actually take the time to make profiles and take some responsibility for what they say as well?
Oh, and my name is Peter. ;)
3:58 and 4:14-
Thank God! There is intelligent life out there!
Good pic of Mitt, Cooler. Some self-tanning lotion and crest white strips; he looks sharp! Who cares if he has a rational thought as long as he looks like George Hamilton? That's what we need in a president!
More than 50% of the Ag Dept Budget goes to social programs, such food stamps, that is a direct subsidy to the poorer of our society. Does that mean that every liberal's hero John Kerry and Mitt Romney, both are opposed to the poor??
CC wouldn't have problems if they didn't initiate the bashing themselves. There is no excuse for their reprehensible behavior. There are many explanations, probably relating to bad childhoods, but, not excuse.
The Cooler SUCKS the SHIT they SPEW!
Sorry, but you actually really may judge the RPI and associated campaign's paid staffers by this blog and also krustys. The really cool ones that have all the knowledge and wisdom about winning and are at the top of the pay chain - $30,000 a year, are in charge of these blogs.
It's a shame because they really do hurt our party and our candidates. Now, we see it live.
Before Krusty and Cooler, it was not visible. Now we can see a major reason why lose year after year. The same circle jerkers run things and ruin what little unity we had. They are drunks that haven't bottomed out - to the detriment of our state. We suffer because of their immaturity and hatred toward others.
In the private sector, you'd get fired for being this crappy to the customer. The volunteers and voters are your customer. You have forgotten that.
They have caused their candidates to lose by their nasty behavior. They must go!
I'm telling everyone in my calling tree to avoid helping either Romney or McCain due to the nasty staff they have chosen to employ and whose nasty behavior toward others continues unabated and without judgement from their superiors.
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