Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons’ decision not to enlist in the military.
August 8th, 2007
Ya right. I don’t know about you but this guy reminds me of a shyster.
Written by GussRepublican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons’ decision not to enlist in the military, saying they’re showing their support for the country by “helping me get elected.”
Romney, who did not serve in Vietnam due to his Mormon missionary work and a high draft lottery number, was asked the question by an anti-war activist after a speech in which he called for “a surge of support” for U.S. forces in Iraq.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, also saluted a uniformed soldier in the crowd and called for donations to military support organizations. Last week, he donated $25,000 to seven such organizations.
“The good news is that we have a volunteer Army and that’s the way we’re going to keep it,” Romney told some 200 people gathered in an abbey near the Mississippi River that had been converted into a hotel. “My sons are all adults and they’ve made decisions about their careers and they’ve chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard.”
He added: “One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I’d be a great president.”
Romney’s five sons range in age from 37 to 26 and have worked as real estate developers, sports marketers and advertising executives. They are now actively campaigning for their father and have a “Five Brothers” blog on Romney’s campaign Web site.
Romney noted that his middle son, 36-year-old Josh, was completing a recreational vehicle tour of all 99 Iowa counties on Wednesday and said, “I respect that and respect all those and the way they serve this great country.”
The woman who asked the question, Rachel Griffiths, 41, of Milan, Ill., identified herself as a member of Quad City Progressive Action for the Common Good, as well as the sister of an Army major who had served in Iraq.
Posted in 14 Responses to “Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons’ decision not to enlist in the military.”
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I have mixed feelings about this. As a veteran, I know military service was not only beneficial to my country but tremendously beneficial to me personally in a myriad of ways. On the other hand, can I blame a parent from discouraging his/her child from joining at this time? I am a Vietnam vet, but I do admit I saw military service as a means to obtain an education. I did not serve without selfish motives. I’ll have to think about this, Guss. I did not encourage my nephew to join the military when he visited me over the weekend. I guess I’m on the fence. However, helping Romney get elected is the most pathetic excuse I’ve ever heard. I’d be entirely understanding if he said: “I don’t want to risk the life of one of my sons”, but that wouldn’t be pc would it?
I can’t say anything either, David, as neither my son nor my son in law served.
My husband served during Viet Nam, but it was either volunteer or be drafted and he decided to volunteer so we could get on with our lives.
It’s always nice to have someone else fight your battles. When I was a child I used to take on the biggest bully’s and take up for kids that couldn’t take up for themselves. Do you know what happened? The kids that couldn’t take up for themselves would go around starting fights because they knew they didn’t have to do the fighting. I guess adults do it also.
This is yet another reason why you should always take what media reports with a healthy dose of suspicion. Here’s the unexpurgated text of what Romney said (via admitted Romney partisan Hugh Hewitt):
“The good news is that we have a volunteer Army and that’s the way we’re going to keep it. My sons are all adults and they’ve made decisions about their careers and they’ve chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard.
“I also respect and value very very highly those who make the decision to serve in the military. And I think we ought to show an outpouring of support just as I suggested, a surge of support for those families and for those individuals who are serving. My niece, for instance, just to tell you what a neighborhood can do and how touching it can be, my niece Misha –living out west– her husband, I think he got a call on a Tuesday, he’s in the National Guard, he got a call on a Tuesday that he was going to be called up and shipped overseas on a Thursday, and they’d just bought a home, they hadn’t landscaped it, but the rules in the neighborhood were that unless you got your home landscaped within a year of the time that you bought your home, they began fining you because they didn’t want people having mudholes in front of their homes. And she was very worried, and just before the year expired, she woke up one morning and looked out the window and all the neighbors were out there rolling out sod, putting up trees, getting it all done. It is remarkable how we can show our support for our nation.
“One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected because they think’d I be a great president (laughter) and my son Josh bought the family Winnibago and has visited 99 counties most of them with his three kids and his wife, and I respect that and all of those and the way they serve this great country.”
The bit about his sons helping him to get elected was said as a laugh line, not as something deadly serious.
Thanks for the clarification, Big Mo.
You can explain it away all you want but it doesn’t change anything. Here is the video you decide. Just because people laugh doesn’t mean he meant it to be funny
Since it was a still shot of Romney in the “video” I read what Big Mo posted as I listened. Word for word what Mo said.
There are many people who have not served. We have an all volunteer military. Is it a requirement for our children to be in the military in order to run for president? If so, when was that put into the Constitution?
I don’t support Mitt Romney, but I think the whole truth should be told in context just as you felt Hillary’s statement should be taken in context.
What Romney’s boys are doing is as relevant as what Chelsea Clinton is doing.
I know some people think otherwise, but this is just the old offensive “chickenhawk” argument: if you support a war, then either you or your immediate family must be there on the front lines. That’s a highly offeisive and just plain idiotic meme that libs started throwing around in the last few years as a slimy tactic to shut down debate.
My response is: OK, fine, then if you support the police, then why aren’t you a police officer? If you support fire fighters, then why aren’t you a fire fighter? and so on.
The gross lack of basic, fundamental understanding of how this country works on the constitutional level, and WHY, is simply appalling in this day and age.
All of the above comments were not directed at you Guss, so please don’t take offense.
But this one is: Could you, as a lefty, explain why on the one hand lefties so opposed the Vietnam War and wanted nothing to do with the military, but now seem to demand that anyone who supports a war effort either serves or has family serving?
Big Mo,
That’s a good question and I don’t have an answer I will always believe that if you are willing to send someone else’s child to die, then you should at least be willing to sacrifice equally. Let’s face it. I don’t like the guy and nothing he could do would please me. Now you be honest with me. Do you really think it’s OK for Romney to say that his children’s service to his candidacy is as important as fighting in Iraq, for this country?
I still think he is a shyster.
whatever, Guss.
And until you’ve actually been president of the United States, I refuse to take you as an authority on whether it is “awfully easy” to “sacrifice” someone else’s child.
Big Mo,
Sorry, Guss – was there another comment here from you that was deleted? If so, please ignore #11 – or delete it!
I just spoke to Guss and he says he didn’t delete anything but added some comments to his last post.