Mitt Romney was giving a speech at Regents University on May 5 that included this tidbit [underlining added]:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660218144,00.html
If that’s true, it’s the first I’ve ever heard of it. Can anyone verify this?
Notice the qualifier ‘I’m told’. It’s the sort of thing that allows politicians to make almost any statement, then when called on it, they can say ‘I guess I was told wrong.’
famously, recently:
“I’m told the Iraqies are trying to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger.”
Yeah, I noticed that. The whole speech smells of a political boogeyman story.
While I’m not versed in French law, I thought that somewhere in the course of studying French for six years, taking courses on modern French history in college, and a lifetime of talking with the half of my family that actually lives there, I might have heard someone mention this.
I think what strikes me most is the irony of a Mormon spreading false stories about another culture’s marriage practices.
Of course, I could be completely wrong on all of this. If anyone knows the facts, please educate me.
I’m told that Mormons have seven wives.
Hell, I think a renewable, seven-year marriage contract is a potentially great idea.
The website Working for Change isn’t annoyed at Mitt for making this bizarre claim, but at the Washington Post for not catching it and commenting on it:
I seem to remember this being the plot of a French film a couple of years ago. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if this was where he or his speech writer was getting this information.
He wants to be president and he can’t discern obvious misinformation?
I site I link to above says the same thing.
I’m told he spends an hour every morning sniffing paint.
I got married in France in 2005 and can assure you that there was no mention of a 7-year ‘contract’ in the process.
Obviously you weren’t told, then.
Since when has that been a desiderata for presidents?
True, kind of a government-sanctioned handfasting.
Big deal. Most American marriages don’t last 7 years.
Including the many marriages of those Republican candidates on that debate stage recently. What’s the average length of those?
Renault: What in heaven’s name brought you to Casablanca?
Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Renault: The waters? What waters? We’re in the desert.
Rick: I was misinformed.
From what I’ve read on the net the only support for this claim comes from a movie titled 7 ans de mariage, which was a comedy.
I’d be very genuinely surprised if Romney was remotely correct on this. A French court struck down a homosexual marriage earlier this year, stating that under French law marriage exists only between a man and a woman.
That doesn’t suggest a liberal stance on marriage in France (link.)
I was going to guess he’d been nibbling at the idiot cheese.
Maybe he’s misremembering Gale Garnett’s only hit?
"I will never love you
The cost of love’s too dear
But though I’ll never love you
I’ll stay with you one year
And we can sing in the sunshine
We’ll laugh every da-a-y
We’ll sing in the sunshine
Then I’ll be on my way."
But whats the difference between a renewable seven-year marriage contract and an open-ended contract that can be ended by either party for any reason?
This is one of those science fiction ideas that don’t make any sense. A renewable term marriage sounds so future-y! Except nowadays we have no-fault divorce. It’s hard to understand how a writer could imagine term marriage, but not easy divorce, or cohabitation without marriage.