Remember the movie "Memento" from a few years back about the man who
completely lost his short term memory and could only keep track of what
he had done an hour before by writing notes to himself?
Mitt
Romney needs to start writing notes to himself. He becomes ever more
incoherent as he says things that just don't connect to any threads of
what he has said before. I think the Etch-a-Sketch metaphor may be even more
apt than we realized. It goes far deeper than just the recognition of the
political reality that you try to appeal to the party base to win the
primary and then move back toward the center for the general.
I think there's just no there, there. No core, no real beliefs other than what he thinks he needs to say at the moment. I don't mean that Romney has no religious or moral beliefs. But there is nothing that seems to guide his political, operational beliefs other than expediency. He certainly doesn't show any continuity of reasoning. And that means you have to remember what you said -- or else you just don't try and take the wrap for incoherent flip-floping.
Take
this: On Fox News, commenting on Obama's announcing his support for
gay marriage, Romney said: “You don’t change your positions to try and
win states or certain
sub-groups of Americans. You have the positions you have."
Anyone with his record of blatant flip-flops shouldn't say that. It only reminds us of how untrue it is of him.
So what is his position on gay marriage? Well, he's against it and he thinks it should be left up to the states to decide. But he also favors a U. S. Constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. But it's ok for same-sex couples to have all the legal rights, including permission to adopt babies ("that's fine," he said); just don't call it marriage. But he also is opposed to civil union legislation.
Go figure.
It's going to be fun watching him and the GOP try to use Obama's support for gay marriage against him -- and tie themselves in knots of contradiction.
Ralph
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I just don't get why Romney doesn't get his incoherence on gay families.
ReplyDeleteHe doubled down today, claiming that his opposition to gay marriage is not a religious decision. Rather, he says, society is better off encouraging heterosexual families so kids have a mother and a father.
But at the same time, he's okay with same-sex couples adopting kids. Why? They can adopt somebody else's kids, but if they want to marry and then have their own kids --- NO, NO; can't do that.