# "Kiss my ass" \[Romney and the press\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 31, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962 "2012-07-31T15:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/1 "2012-07-31T15:51:00Z")
> **[Romney Aide To Reporter: 'Kiss My A--'](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/romney-aide-rick-gorka-reporters_n_1722806)** > > Romney Aide To Reporter: 'Kiss My A--' > [@Huff Po](#): > > Gorka, Romney’s traveling press secretary, told reporters, “Kiss my ass, this is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.” He told Politico’s Jonathan Martin to “shove it.” Lol. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/2 "2012-07-31T16:03:24Z")
Heh. Not sure pissing off the press is a good idea, but it doesn’t really bother me. Yelling questions at somebody that clearly isn’t answering them is just stupid . ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/3 "2012-07-31T16:13:28Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Yelling questions at somebody that clearly isn’t answering them is just stupid . What do you do when they won’t take questions anywhere? ‘Sorry, we changed our minds - this event is not open to the media.’ ‘Governor Romney can’t take questions here.’ ‘Governor Romney won’t be making himself available for questions.’ ‘Everybody knows you can’t ask questions at a tomb, so kiss my ass.’ ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/4 "2012-07-31T16:22:04Z")
I would include that in every press report. “Mr. Romney refused to answer any questions.” “It has been X days since he last spoke to the press”, etc. What good does it do to shout questions at the press lackeys? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/5 "2012-07-31T16:27:42Z")
Because the press lackeys are the ones who talk to the press. You do sometimes see analysis of how long it’s been since the candidate spoke to the press, but it tends to be confined to media-centric stories unless someone calls a reporter an asshole or tells them to kiss his ass or something. During the primaries Romney went months between stops with the press. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/6 "2012-07-31T16:28:58Z")
If Romney wins this, his Admin is gonna have a positively Nixonian relationship with the press. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/7 "2012-07-31T16:29:36Z")
_Gorka, Romney’s traveling press secretary, told reporters, “Kiss my ass, **this is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect**.” He told Politico’s Jonathan Martin to "shove it_." Good for Gorka. The media can be really, really obnoxious at times. It was obvious that some members of the media were not be respectful of their surroundings. The media’s badgering could have waited until everyone had moved to a different location. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/8 "2012-07-31T16:37:59Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > The media’s badgering could have waited until everyone had moved to a different location. Bullshit. The campaign hadn’t taken questions since Thursday, and if he’d told them there would be time for questions later nobody would have “badgered” him. And for that matter if Romney wasn’t fucking up left and right on this trip, his spokesman probably would have been in a better mood. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/9 "2012-07-31T16:39:17Z")
Replying: to doorhinge Except for the fact that it appears that Romney refuses to talk to them even when they are in a different location. ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/10 "2012-07-31T16:40:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And for that matter if Romney wasn’t fucking up left and right on this trip, his spokesman probably would have been in a better mood. Word. On a tangent, I doubt his trip to Europe will hurt him. It’ll probably help him. The average Republican voter will ignore all the gaffes (or more likely, not even hear about them, because it’s still well before November) and will likely think “Wow! Look at Mitt! He’s so Presidential, meeting with all those people!” Mitt Romney’s trip to Europe: political theater at its finest. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/11 "2012-07-31T16:40:59Z")
Good to know that questions are disrespectful, but “Kiss my ass” is totally appropriate. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/12 "2012-07-31T16:43:49Z")
I have to say putting _“kiss my ass”_ and _“this is a holy site for the Polish people”_ together in the same sentence isn’t a great move from somebody who’s supposed to be a professional communicator. _“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a holy site for the Polish people so please stop shouting and show a little respect”_ would have sounded better. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/13 "2012-07-31T16:44:49Z")
Am I the only one imagining Gorka as that character from Office Space played by Richard Riehle? The one who goes off in a rage when they don’t immediately understand and respect how good he is at dealing with people? Well-well look. I already told you: Show some god damn respect to the fucking Poles while we’re here at their holy site! Kiss my ass!! ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/14 "2012-07-31T16:48:14Z")
‘AssGate’. LOL. > [@](#): > > Mitt Romney has not taken questions from the press since answering three of them outside 10 Downing St on Thursday. But then it’s not like he’s running for office or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/15 "2012-07-31T16:50:01Z")
> [@IceQube](#): > > On a tangent, I doubt his trip to Europe will hurt him. It’ll probably help him. It won’t help him, but it’s not going to hurt much. The election is a few months away, and the most it does is undercut Romney’s claim that he can be a good diplomat and that he’ll repair the relationships with these countries Obama has supposedly neglected. (This is being discussed in the ‘Mr Candidate Goes to London’ thread; maybe this one should be about this incident and Romney’s relationship with the press?) ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/16 "2012-07-31T16:51:04Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > ‘AssGate’. LOL. The name’s been taken. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GAhJjYTgsq4/hqdefault.jpg "Barack Obama caught looking at some ASS!!!!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAhJjYTgsq4) ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/17 "2012-07-31T17:20:36Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Except for the fact that it appears that Romney refuses to talk to them even when they are in a different location. Romney and correspondents from the New York Times, CNN and Washington Post were visiting the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That would normally be considered a solemn occasion. Would you expect these reporters to be shouting questions at someone’s funeral? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/18 "2012-07-31T17:43:27Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Romney and correspondents from the New York Times, CNN and Washington Post were visiting the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That would normally be considered a solemn occasion. Would you expect these reporters to be shouting questions at someone’s funeral? What’s the radius of a “holy” site? Because the clip showed Romney at his car on a street and the press was on the other side of that street. The only reason why Romney would go to the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is for a photo op. Being annoyed by the presence of press at a photo op and handling them badly is not a good thing for a campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/19 "2012-07-31T17:50:24Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Romney and correspondents from the New York Times, CNN and Washington Post were visiting the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That would normally be considered a solemn occasion. Would you expect these reporters to be shouting questions at someone’s funeral? First off, it’s a public monument, not a funeral. Yes, it’s a solemn place. Second, it looks to me like they were hundreds of feet away from the monument and I think the questions sounded louder than they were because the reporters were near a microphone for one of the cameras. And third and most importantly, if Romney and his spokespeople had spoken to the press in the previous couple of days or communicated to the press that he would take questions later, this would have been avoided. The reporters shouted questions because _that was the closest thing they got to access to the candidate._ ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962/20 "2012-07-31T17:53:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I have to say putting _“kiss my ass”_ and _“this is a holy site for the Polish people”_ together in the same sentence isn’t a great move from somebody who’s supposed to be a professional communicator. _“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a holy site for the Polish people so please stop shouting and show a little respect”_ would have sounded better. That’s it. Does he have to take questions from the press, of course not. Are the press obnoxious, yep, that’s their job. If you don’t like it, don’t be famous. But when correcting someones manners, it’s usually best to at least pretend you have some of your own. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-my-ass-romney-and-the-press/629962.md?page=2)