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.
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.”
: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.
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.
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.
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.