" LEAVE IT TO Mitt Romney to shoot himself in the foot with a gun he doesn't own. "
Funny one...one of the right's psychotic 3Gs in full display.
Al
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Guns, trust, and Romney
By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist | April 8, 2007
LEAVE IT TO Mitt Romney to shoot himself in the foot with a gun he doesn't own.
The former Massachusetts governor last week began basking in the positive publicity that comes from raking in an impressive $20 million in contributions in the first quarter, more than any rival for the Republican nomination.
He ended the week trying to explain a discrepancy between assertion and fact when it comes to hunting credentials. It hurt because it's a reminder of discrepancies between assertion and fact when it comes to Romney's overall conservative credentials.
This week in Keene, N.H., Romney told a man in an NRA hat that he had "been a hunter pretty much all of my life," the Associated Press reported. The Romney campaign later acknowledged that Romney, 60, hunted one summer as a teenager and once in his late 50s. Earlier this year, Romney said, "I have a gun of my own." It turned out his son owns guns, not Romney. After boasting about his membership in the National Rifle Association, Romney later admitted he joined the group less than a year ago.
Of course, Romney is not alone when it comes to trying to woo the hunting crowd. During the 2004 campaign, John Kerry asked store owners in Ohio, "Can I get me a hunting license here?" He was further lampooned after he emerged from a cornfield, wearing a camouflage jacket and holding a dead goose. But Kerry actually owns guns.
Romney's effort to portray himself as a gun-loving hunter is part of a larger, well-documented strategy to present a conservative persona to Republican primary voters. So, Romney, the presidential candidate, brags about easing restrictions on gun owners. Yet, the Romney who ran for Senate in Massachusetts supported two gun-control measures strongly opposed by the NRA. As governor, he supported the state's strict gun control laws and signed into law new restrictions on assault weapons.
Romney, the presidential candidate, is against abortion; Romney, the Massachusetts candidate, said he believed abortion "should be safe and legal." Romney, the presidential candidate, opposes gay marriage; Romney, the Massachusetts candidate, sought and received the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republican Club, which promotes gay rights. As a gubernatorial candidate, Romney was open to stem cell research; as a governor planning a GOP presidential run, he called for restrictions on such research.
These are generally described as "flip-flops," and in that spirit, a man dressed as Flipper the dolphin occasionally shows up at some Romney events. But, when do flip-flops turn into something more ominous?
Changing from pro-gun control to anti-gun control is a flip-flop. Saying you are a longtime hunter when you hunted twice is an exaggeration. Saying you own a gun when you don't is a lie.
OK , it's a small lie, and Americans are used to whoppers from politicians. If you're a Republican, it doesn't measure up to President Bill Clinton saying, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." If you're a Democrat, it is nothing compared with the major discrepancies between assertion and fact made by President Bush regarding weapons of mass destruction as a trigger for war with Iraq.
But it does raise the trust issue, which is the main thing that stands between Romney and the Republican nomination. The Republican right wants to believe Romney is the passionate conservative he now insists he is. To believe it, conservative voters must dismiss much of what Romney espoused on social issues during two previous political campaigns.
To do that, conservatives must accept one of two possibilities: Romney lied to Massachusetts voters when he ran for office here, or he underwent a dramatic political conversion over the past five years, which just happened to coincide with his presidential run. Either scenario undercuts Romney's trustworthiness.
Like fish tales about the one that got away, Romney is ramping up his hunting anecdotes. When the subject is guns, he is also adopting a Yosemite Mitt style of talking. Campaigning in Indianapolis, he said "I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. Small varmints if you will. I began when I was 15 or so and I have hunted those kinds of varmints since then. More than two times."
On Friday, The New York Times published an article that asked "Is Romney a hunter? Depends on what hunt is."
The more dangerous question for Romney is whether he is a straight shooter.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. |
