# Romney for President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080 "2007-02-13T21:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/41 "2007-02-18T09:51:33Z")
OK, Quartz, you can stand up with Louis Farrakhan & John Walker Lindh & “be counted.” Meanwhile, I’ll be over here with the Painite Deists, who at least aren’t _in popular perception_ calling for the extermination of Western culture. Isn’t it radical enough for this year that Barack Obama goes to a “black church,” before we start trying to get a Muslim into office? I mean, we’ve still only had one _Catholic_ President. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/42 "2007-02-18T13:19:17Z")
[Not just a church with largely black membership, though.](http://www.tucc.org/about.htm) > [@](#): > > We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian… Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain “true to our native land,” the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community. > > Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee chaired by Vallmer Jordan in 1981. We believe in the following 12 precepts and covenantal statements. These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They must reflect on the following concepts: > > Commitment to God > Commitment to the Black Community > Commitment to the Black Family > Dedication to the Pursuit of Education > Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence > Adherence to the Black Work Ethic > Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect > Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness” > Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the Black Community > Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions > Pledge allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System > Personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System. > > The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision: > A congregation committed to ADORATION. > A congregation preaching SALVATION. > A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION. > A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA. > A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION. > A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION. > A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA. > A congregation committed to LIBERATION. > A congregation committed to RESTORATION. > A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY. Take out the specific references to blackness, and that’s a mainstream Protestant approach, though. Well, except for disavowing the pursuit of middleclassness, that is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/43 "2007-02-18T14:51:45Z")
[QUOTE=foolsguinea] OK, Quartz, you can stand up with Louis Farrakhan & John Walker Lindh & “be counted.” Meanwhile, I’ll be over here with the Painite Deists, who at least aren’t _in popular perception_ calling for the extermination of Western culture. [/QUOTE] I’m sorry, but this is almost totally lost on me. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/44 "2007-02-19T23:55:29Z")
More on Romney’s various enlightenments on the road to Damascus, Alabama: After a previous history of supporting responsible gun control, Romney has been a staunch member of the NRA and all it stands for[ever since last August](http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/19/romney_joined_nra_in_august/). ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/45 "2007-02-20T00:04:30Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] I’m sorry, but this is almost totally lost on me. [/QUOTE] Oh, never mind. Note the time stamp (I’m in the same time zone as Chicago). Sometimes I should just get off the computer & go to bed. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/46 "2007-02-20T00:07:03Z")
NRA, huh? Well, since he went with them & not the [AHSA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Hunters_and_Shooters_Association), I think he’s behind the times. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/47 "2007-02-21T17:39:02Z")
Courtesy of Matt Yglesias, [Here’s some video of Romney in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial debates](http://www.matthewyglesias.com/archives/2007/02/what_a_time_it_was/). His opponent tries to make the claim that Romney’s not really as pro-choice as he seems, and Romney aggressively rebuts that claim, saying he’s consistently and strongly supported a woman’s right to choose since 1970. BTW, here’s [the Boston Globe](http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/12/17/romneys_journey_to_the_right/) on his road-to-[del]Damascus[/del]2008 moment. Apparently November 9, 2004 was the big day. He’s believed the things he now claims to believe - on abortion, and I guess guns and gays too - only since then. Even more interesting, in [her column this morning](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001266.html), the WaPo’s Ruth Marcus points out that as late as February 28, 2005, Romney was still waffling qute a bit about what he believed wrt abortion: > [@](#): > > “I can tell you what my position is, and it’s in a very narrowly defined sphere, as candidate for governor and as governor of Massachusetts,” he said. "What I said to people was that I personally did not favor abortion, that I am personally pro-life. However, as governor I would not change the laws of the commonwealth relating to abortion. > > “Now I don’t try and put a bow around that and say what does that mean you are – does that mean you’re pro-life or pro-choice, because that whole package – meaning I’m personally pro-life but I won’t change the laws, you could describe that as – well, I don’t think you can describe it in one hyphenated word.” > > Got it? I didn’t, and I asked, “Do you support making abortion illegal? I’m not talking about what you would do as governor of Massachusetts.” > > Romney: “But that’s the furthest I’m going to take you right now. I’m governor of Massachusetts, and I’m telling you exactly what I will do as governor of Massachusetts, but I’m not going to tell you what I’d do as mayor of Boston or a congressman or any of those positions.” Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080/48 "2007-02-22T00:25:45Z")
Getting back to the OP, maybe [this clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGct7N86mrY) will shed a little light on the question. Or maybe not. I really couldn’t gauge the crowd’s reaction. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-for-president/392080.md?page=2)