# Romneys condescending tone of voice - why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 31, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395 "2012-10-31T03:06:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/41 "2012-10-31T19:09:45Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Racism. Why do you ask? Last thing from me to make Romney look good and, God forbid, to make Obama look bad - but this kind of attack/defence by designating anything as “racism” is similar to charge of “anti-Semitism” when criticizing Israel. I may be wrong … :o Even though, on a 2nd reading, one might accuse me of racism b/c - gasp! - I deny it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/42 "2012-10-31T19:11:35Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And yet the invocation of the right to an attorney – the other key right that’s the cornerstone of Miranda – must be explicitly claimed. > > To claim that the Constitution itself requires police to obtain an unequivocal waiver of the right to remain silent _after explicitly informing the suspect he has that right_ is a dramatic change from current case law, and definitely falls into “living, breathing (changing) Constitution.” What does this have to do with Romney’s condescension? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/43 "2012-10-31T19:31:52Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And yet he’s virtually tied in polls with Messiah Obama. > > How can that be? By using the tired, worn out “Messiah” meme (it’s soooo 2008), are you trying to be funny, sardonic, or just alert us not to take what you say seriously? Because whenever someone uses that term, I pretty much discount anything they have to say. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/44 "2012-10-31T19:37:19Z")
Anyways, back at the ranch … is Romney’s tone something that is discussed in the US media, or at all (beside this thread)? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/45 "2012-10-31T19:43:54Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Anyways, back at the ranch … is Romney’s tone something that is discussed in the US media, or at all (beside this thread)? In the wake of the 47% video, there was some discussion about he spoke so much differently in front of that audience, and not just in substance but also in tone and style. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/46 "2012-10-31T20:31:10Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Racism. That would do it. > I wouldn’t make a good leftist. Damn right and no you would not. You’d have to have your head in the sand to think that the majority of white Americans do not harbor ill-feelings toward blacks. You’re a lawyer, right? There’s really no excuse, though, if you need help, look at the \*Dred Scott \*case, look at _Bakke_ case, look at ridiculous dissent by Scalia in _Bollinger_ case, or take a gander at this [poll](http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/27/14740413-ap-poll-majority-harbor-prejudice-against-blacks?lite)where 56% of Americans had anti-black sentiments. You should vote for Romney - it suits you. - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/47 "2012-10-31T20:38:42Z")
I think [this article](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a-mormon-should-not-be-president-2012-10) summarizes it nicely. IMO, Romney sounds so goddamned condescending because that’s how most mormon stake presidents sound. It’s the mormon culture that breeds this. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/48 "2012-10-31T20:53:38Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > You should vote for Romney - it suits you. > > - Honesty That. Is. COLD. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/49 "2012-10-31T21:21:44Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I think [this article](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a-mormon-should-not-be-president-2012-10) summarizes it nicely. IMO, Romney sounds so goddamned condescending because that’s how most mormon stake presidents sound. It’s the mormon culture that breeds this. Thanks for sharing this, **Dogzilla**. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/50 "2012-11-01T00:05:32Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > Damn right and no you would not. You’d have to have your head in the sand to think that the majority of white Americans do not harbor ill-feelings toward blacks. You’re a lawyer, right? There’s really no excuse, though, if you need help, look at the \*Dred Scott \*case, look at _Bakke_ case, look at ridiculous dissent by Scalia in _Bollinger_ case, or take a gander at this [poll](http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/27/14740413-ap-poll-majority-harbor-prejudice-against-blacks?lite)where 56% of Americans had anti-black sentiments. You should vote for Romney - it suits you. > > - Honesty No one is denying that racism exists. And yet, this same electorate voted in favor of Bush over Kerry two elections ago. Kerry, whose positions are not significantly different from Obama’s. No, racism does not explain why this election is so close. In fact, racism might explain why the election was a lock for Romney, which it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/51 "2012-11-01T05:15:07Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I think [this article](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a-mormon-should-not-be-president-2012-10) summarizes it nicely. IMO, Romney sounds so goddamned condescending because that’s how most mormon stake presidents sound. It’s the mormon culture that breeds this. Bingo!! Thanks for that Dogzilla. I did not know he was a mormon. That seriously creeps me out. That is shiver down the spine type creepy. “ours is not to reason why.” The second last paragraph is gold. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/52 "2012-11-01T15:17:39Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Bingo!! Thanks for that Dogzilla. I did not know he was a mormon. That seriously creeps me out. That is shiver down the spine type creepy. > > “ours is not to reason why.” > > The second last paragraph is gold. I am an exmormon and resigned my membership a few years ago, although I’d stopped attending and practicing more than 25 years ago. Every time I hear the man’s voice, my PTSD is triggered. I feel like I’m back in church listening to some patriarchal asshole tell me what a terrible, horrible, no-good person I am and how no good, kind, decent, righteous man would ever want such a filthy, disgusting, dangerous slut like me. I’ve been praying to gods I don’t even believe in that this asshole won’t be elected. I’ll have to go back to therapy just to handle turning on the television. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/53 "2012-11-01T15:21:00Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > …what a terrible, horrible, no-good person I am and how no good, kind, decent, righteous man would ever want such a filthy, disgusting, dangerous slut like me. How _you_ doin"…? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/54 "2012-11-01T15:30:50Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > In the wake of the 47% video, there was some discussion about he spoke so much differently in front of that audience, and not just in substance but also in tone and style. The difference certainly supports the thesis that his condescending manner in public speaking before non-handpicked-elite audiences is the result of disdain for the Teeming Millions. As for why 47%-ish of the electorate doesn’t mind, it’s because they identify and project, seeing him as their representative in giving a back of the hand to them queers and uppity wimmin and funny-looking folk walking the streets as if they were real Merikins. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/55 "2012-11-01T17:16:59Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I think [this article](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a-mormon-should-not-be-president-2012-10) summarizes it nicely. IMO, Romney sounds so goddamned condescending because that’s how most mormon stake presidents sound. It’s the mormon culture that breeds this. Very interesting: > [@](#): > > If Romney were to win, you could say Mormonism is a fringe branch of Protestant Christianity, and therefore he wouldn’t be charting any new territory. Mormonism is actually kind of a hybrid between Protestantism and Catholicism. They embrace the most basic Protestant idea of a personal relationship with God, (for men, anyway), but have the hierarchical power structure, rigid dogma, and the expectation of obedience of Catholics. > > \ > > So why does all this make a Mormon president a bad idea? Since it is so deeply ingrained in the Mormon culture to have a sense of truth that is private, unquestionable, and not subject to analysis, debate, or verification, Mormon authority figures, like Romney, become very accustomed to speaking from God’s point of view, and feeling entirely justified in keeping their motives or reasoning secret. Without any checks and balances, authority figures can easily become unmoored and drift from reality. > > Some individuals drift a long way from reality. Mormon culture has produced more than its share of self-justifying lunatics, like Brian David Mitchell, Mark Hoffman, and Dan Lafferty–as have many other religions. But the difference in thinking between these outliers and mainstream Mormons is a difference, not of kind, but of degree, as both positions are based on truth as monolithic declaration. > > This helps illuminate Romney’s flip-flopping, etch-a-sketching political character. His is not the cynical, coldly pragmatic moral calculus that Nixon so masterfully practiced for political gain. Romney actually believes he has a patriarchal right to say whatever he wants. His idea of the nature of truth is not something which is discovered after hard fought inquiry and testing, but instead is declared by a person with authority, often for unexamined reasons, and sanctioned by divine validation. This is much more dangerous than Nixon. Nixon knew he was lying. > > It also illuminates Romney’s secrecy – about his tax returns, about details of his public policy, or any justifications behind his statements. Within Mormon culture, he is used to speaking to an audience who tell themselves, “ours is not to reason why.” Any Latter-Dope Saints here care to comment? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/56 "2012-11-01T17:36:18Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > . . . I’ve been praying to gods I don’t even believe in that this asshole won’t be elected. I’ll have to go back to therapy just to handle turning on the television. ☹ If we wore buttons saying “Do It For Dogzilla!”, that would probably be misinterpreted, wouldn’t it? Maybe a lawn sign. I bet I’d meet a few more neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/57 "2012-11-01T17:36:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How _you_ doin"…? 😃 Thus proving the church’s teachings were slightly less than true. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/58 "2012-11-04T22:05:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > And yet, this same electorate voted in favor of Bush over Kerry two elections ago. Kerry, whose positions are not significantly different from Obama’s. No, racism does not explain why this election is so close. In fact, racism might explain why the election was a lock for Romney, which it isn’t. Both candidates, circumstances and electorate have changed. Substantial differences between candidates: Romney is a challenger, Kerry was the challenger (no incumbency effect). Circumstances: As best as I know, no incumbent has lost a seat while engaged in a war (as in, factors in Obama’s favour this election and Bush’s in 2004). Electorate: possibly younger, definitely more liberal on certain issues since 2004 according to Gallup (off the top of my head, sex outside of marriage, gay rights). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/59 "2012-11-04T22:37:33Z")
You are all poorer than me, you just don’t understand how to become rich, and you drag our country down. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395/60 "2012-11-05T01:34:18Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxMD02zU9SE) Tell us, Mitt. Tell us how the genuine questions people have are irrelevant because you know better than they do. And hey, peeved because you find yourself being judged by the group you belong to, and not your individual character? Join the club. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romneys-condescending-tone-of-voice-why/639395.md?page=4)