I have posed a couple of questions, via Facebook, in an effort to truly find out what my friends were thinking, if they were voting for Mitt Romney for president. It's a less-than ideal forum; if you do answer my query, someone else might come along to argue with you. I have some very intelligent friends, so the opinions can be quite interesting, and the back-and-forth can be entertaining, but it's an intimidating place to "speak" your mind. I offered the chance to have messages sent to me in private, but nobody took me up on that offer.
After reading this, if you have something you would like to share, please do so. If you want the remark to remain between you and me, just let me know.
But I'm truly, in all sincerity, trying to understand why people are choosing to vote for Mitt Romney. So far, I've not read a compelling reason.
Here's what I know to be true, and why it makes it so hard to understand why anyone I know would indeed vote for Mitt Romney:
- Mitt Romney is worth approximately $260,000,000. His net worth is more than the Presidents Nixon through Barack Obama COMBINED. He would be one of the richest men ever elected president. Of course, we don't know for sure, because Mitt Romney, ironically, thinks he has a right to privacy in his personal life, and thinks his tax returns are between he and the IRS only. I say "ironically" because that same right to privacy does not extend to women who want to control their health care choices, or to those who wish to quietly marry those they love. But that's an argument for another column. That he's rich doesn't necessarily mean anything; certainly most of our national elected officials are millionaires (although some would argue that therein lies the problem). I would have to say that having that much money would make it hard for you to understand people who live paycheck to paycheck, when their paychecks are less than $2000/month. It would make it hard for you to put yourself in the shoes of those who have student loan debt, medical bills, or who are struggling to afford life-saving prescription drugs. You really have never lived in the world they do. But that doesn't mean he's not worthy to be president; heck, many of you reading this blog do not understand the choices some people have to make. I am of the opinion that having that much net worth makes you utterly incapable of caring about the poor and the nearly-poor; I do not live under the illusion that I too can be just like Mitt someday. If you believe that, grow up. Be smart. It will never happen to you either. But let's move on, shall we?
- Mitt Romney is 65 years old. But he really hasn't worked, at a "job", since he finished his term as Massachusetts governor in 2005. I know many people who have retired "early", and I am happy for them. But admit it--aren't you a little skeptical of an able-bodied guy who hasn't done anything "productive" for 7 years? Except run for president? To my knowledge, Mitt Romney hasn't really done anything else. I don't really want to help him out (in case he decides to run again in 2016), but if I were Mitt Romney, and I had been defeated in the presidential primaries, and if I had all his money, I would start a foundation like Bill Clinton's. I would put a little bit of money toward helping people start companies, build wells in poor countries, vaccinate little kids, and (if I wanted to particularly appeal to women voters) educate women and help them become financially independent. Yes, it would take some of my time too, but then when I ran again, I could say, proudly, "Look at all the good things I've been doing since I ran last time!" If you're going to vote for Mitt Romney, have you asked yourself what he's been doing the past 4 years? Why not? Doesn't it interest you at all? Does the man have any hobbies? Care about anything---REALLY? It gets back to the question I've asked before--how much money does one person NEED? The Koch Brothers are worth billions<--with a "B", and yet they seem to need to hold on to every last bit, to the point of wanting to deprive others. How much money does Mitt Romney need? Clearly, he needs at least $260,000,000 in order to feel safe; otherwise, he would have donated more of it to others who might do good things with it.
- Which brings me to my last point--it's the most important one, and the one I haven't heard anyone defend. Mitt Romney (and his wife) have a LOT of money in offshore accounts. Let me put it more clearly. Mitt Romney, who wants to be president of the United States, who says he's concerned for the "little people" and the poor, working class--MITT ROMNEY KEEPS HIS MONEY OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. IN a foreign country. Where it doesn't help people in the United States very much at all. How un-American is that? Really? A man who wants to be president does not have his money in American banks. Where, presumably, it would be loaned to American people to help them start businesses, pay employees, you know--stimulate our horrible economy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we buy foreign stuff all the time; go abroad for vacations. Yeah, yeah, yeah--it's a global economy now; it's all for one, and one for all. And, yeah, yeah, yeah--you could say that foreign banks invest in American companies, and vice versa, but really. What kind of subversive message does it send to "us"--you know, the not-so-rich-that-we-avoid-paying-taxes? What message does it send to a country who is slowly recovering from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression? Other very rich guys (think Carnegie) built stuff to help their fellow Americans--public schools, public libraries, public universities. Who in the world would vote for someone who doesn't love his country enough to want to support it, and its' people?
