# Ann Romney's RNC Speech **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 29, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005 "2012-08-29T04:21:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/41 "2012-08-30T08:30:52Z")
I’ve only seen snippets of the speech but I find the focus on the financial struggles of the Romnrys ridiculous. Like everybody in grad school, they probably lived more modestly than they had before and after. But as someone who has worked fairly exclusively as a public educator and went to Harvard, I’m not going to try to sell some line about being destitute during that time. I took out loans and the wife and I worked etc. but one knows that the value of the degree makes any short term pain bearable. Any HBS/HLS grad who claims otherwise is being disingenuous. Someone somewhere asked “why didn’t the Kennedys get this much shit for being rich?” Well, I think they were all groomed for public office from an early age. They also served in the military (at least Joe and John did). Most importantly, they all came from a legacy of service. Romney could have made a number of decisions in his life that would have muted the accusations of excessive privilege. It’s as if the guy decided he wanted to be president a few weeks ago, rather than a lifetime goal. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/42 "2012-08-30T08:50:33Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Romney could have made a number of decisions in his life that would have muted the accusations of excessive privilege. It’s as if the guy decided he wanted to be president a few weeks ago, rather than a lifetime goal. That is totally unfair. His willingness to release his 2011 tax return indicates that he decided he wanted to be President over a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/43 "2012-08-30T12:57:38Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > I just watched this speech, and all I have to say is: Wow. Ann Romney is so out of touch, she doesn’t even realize how out of touch she is. Unbelievable. The first draft of her speech, before the pros made her change it: “I want to tell you about a girl who came from a very poor family. The father was poor, the mother was poor, the butler was poor, and the maid was poor.” ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/44 "2012-08-30T19:44:18Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I’ve only seen snippets of the speech but I find the focus on the financial struggles of the Romnrys ridiculous. Like everybody in grad school, they probably lived more modestly than they had before and after. But as someone who has worked fairly exclusively as a public educator and went to Harvard, I’m not going to try to sell some line about being destitute during that time. I took out loans and the wife and I worked etc. but one knows that the value of the degree makes any short term pain bearable. Any HBS/HLS grad who claims otherwise is being disingenuous. > > Someone somewhere asked “why didn’t the Kennedys get this much shit for being rich?” Well, I think they were all groomed for public office from an early age. They also served in the military (at least Joe and John did). Most importantly, they all came from a legacy of service. Oh, so now making oneself stinking rich from bootlegging qualifies as “service”. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/45 "2012-08-30T19:47:09Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Given that Mitt and Ann are attempting to present themselves as oridinary Americans I think my criticism is wholly deserved. Ann gave a speech in which her basic message was she’s one of us. She isn’t. > > She and Mitt did not make it on their own.They didn’t take out student loans. They didn’t delay childbearing because they couldn’t afford the neighborhood with the good schools. They didn’t have one parent work the opposite shift from the other so they don’t have to put the kids in daycare. > > I’m so tired today. The baby did not go to bed last night until 1 am and then she woke up three times. She woke up for good at 6:30 am. But I went to work today because I have to. Because my government worker husband who is just as smart as Mitty does not make the kind of money hers does. Because unlike her, we actually pay our taxes here in America and not there in Switzerland. Because the Republican governor raised my fucking property taxes. Because my fucking employer today, the fucking assholes who call me a temp even though I’ve worked for this fucking company for ten fucking years, give not a day of paid time off and one lousy raise in ten years. And because greedy, useless, pigs like Mitt Romney think that’s just fine. > > When I’m sitting here on my break completely exhausted because of people like the Romneys who have so much money they don’t know what to do with it yet they whine about taxes I’m really just disgusted that Ann doesn’t even the grace to admit that she isn’t one of us; that she leads an insanely privileged life. > > The speech was an insult to every real working women and every real stay at home mom. Ann Romney hasn’t the slightest clue about our lives. She should have the fucking conojes to say so. :rolleyes: So sorry that there are rich people for you to be jealous of. My heart goes out to you. You and your no-doubt smarter then Romney and any other rich guy husband. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/46 "2012-08-30T20:50:20Z")
Ann Romney seems unable to avoid using the phrase “you people.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/47 "2012-08-30T21:04:38Z")
> [@Ann Romney](#): > > I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a storybook marriage. Well, let me tell you something. In the storybooks I read, there never were long, long rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once, and those storybooks never seemed to have chapter’s called M.S. or breast cancer. A storybook marriage? Nope, not at all. Somehow I doubt the Romneys had to make the choice between treating the MS and feeding the family. Somehow I doubt they had to make the choice between cancer treatments and making the rent. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/48 "2012-08-30T21:34:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Somehow I doubt the Romneys had to make the choice between treating the MS and feeding the family. Somehow I doubt they had to make the choice between cancer treatments and making the rent. Oh, so no biggie then. Kinda like Steve Jobs not having to decide on trying to save his life and paying his cell phone bill. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/49 "2012-08-30T21:36:36Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Oh, so now making oneself stinking rich from bootlegging qualifies as “service”. Interesting. You forgot to mention “Nazi sympathizer”. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/50 "2012-08-30T22:07:10Z")
Also “Chappaquiddick.” He’s hardly trying. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/51 "2012-08-30T22:13:06Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Oh, so no biggie then. Kinda like Steve Jobs not having to decide on trying to save his life and paying his cell phone bill. I don’t think Jobs ever ran for President by making the case that he was “just like everybody else”. Fail. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/52 "2012-08-30T22:14:59Z")
You beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/53 "2012-08-30T22:18:45Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Also “Chappaquiddick.” He’s hardly trying. I see no reason to bring up Mary Jo Kopechne and how Teddy Kennedy was more interested in saving his own reputation than the young woman’s life. This was about the Kennedy family wealth, and pointing out the fact that it came from bootlegging is both on point and sufficient to knock the family’s reputation off of their polo pony. I guess his insider trading could be brought up, as well. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/54 "2012-08-30T22:21:10Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I see no reason to bring up Mary Jo Kopechne and how Teddy Kennedy was more interested in saving his own reputation than the young woman’s life. This was about the Kennedy family wealth, and pointing out the fact that it came from bootlegging is both on point and sufficient to knock the family’s reputation off of their polo pony. I guess his insider trading could be brought up, as well. TIL: John, Bobby and Teddy were bootleggers. Thanks magellan. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/55 "2012-08-30T22:22:04Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I see no reason to bring up Mary Jo Kopechne and how Teddy Kennedy was more interested in saving his own reputation than the young woman’s life. This was about the Kennedy family wealth, and pointing out the fact that it came from bootlegging is both on point and sufficient to knock the family’s reputation off of their polo pony. I guess his insider trading could be brought up, as well. Yep Kennedy was rich and rich off of illegal activity. Point conceded, so…I won’t be voting for that guy. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/56 "2012-08-30T22:24:02Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I see no reason to bring up Mary Jo Kopechne and how Teddy Kennedy was more interested in saving his own reputation than the young woman’s life. This was about the Kennedy family wealth, and pointing out the fact that it came from bootlegging is both on point and sufficient to knock the family’s reputation off of their polo pony. I guess his insider trading could be brought up, as well. Right, because this thread is all about the Kennedy family. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/57 "2012-08-30T22:24:48Z")
Glad we could stay on topic. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/58 "2012-08-30T22:24:51Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > :rolleyes: So sorry that there are rich people for you to be jealous of. My heart goes out to you. You and your no-doubt smarter then Romney and any other rich guy husband. :rolleyes: You just don’t get it, do you? It’s not jealousy. It’s disgust. Romney’s speech was absurd. It’s not just that she’s a scion of wealth who married another scion of wealth. It’s that she doesn’t have the guts to admit it. I’m proud that I am not a lazy, spoiled brat like Ann Romney. I’m proud that my husband, unlike hers, pays his taxes here in America instead of Switzerland. I’m proud that I wasn’t born an heiress and owe my accomplishments to my own brains and hard work. I’m proud that my husband and I believe firmly that a woman’s body is hers and hers alone and not the province of old men. I’m proud that my husband and I have never outsourced any jobs overseas, never argued that others should fight in a war but we and our children should not, never argued that we were poor when we had 400k in the bank. Most women are trying desperately hard to earn a living and raise a family and keep the house from falling apart all at the same time. Most women, if diagnosed with breast cancer or MS, would find it hard to survive fiscally without dire consequences. They would not have dancing horses at their disposal. Meanwhile Ann Romney tells us to vote for a guy who wants to add to our burdens so she and her family can be relieved even more of theirs. Mitt would use her as an advisor as women’s issues. That’s absurd. She has nothing in common with almost any woman anywhere. One of my dear friends is on food stamps and disability because she has stage 4 breast cancer. Frankly it’s a miracle she’s still alive to be with her children two and half years after her diagnosis. Ann and Mitt would literally (LITERALLY :eek:) do everything they can to make her life harder so that Mitt and his fellow greedy piggies can pay even less in taxes. And all you and your fellow Reps have to say to that argument is that we’re jealous. That’s pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/59 "2012-08-30T22:29:30Z")
Teddy Kennedy’s running for president right now. Who knew? Who’s his running mate? JFK? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005/60 "2012-08-30T22:34:44Z")
A whole bunch of dead Kennedys. Hey, band name! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ann-romneys-rnc-speech/633005.md?page=4)