Reported this morning by Garrett Haake, an embed for NBC, reported that Mitt Romney said, “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.” However, that quote is showing up all over Twitter as “I like being able to fire people.” And therein lies one of the biggest problems with how we elect (or not) our Representatives and President. Quotes are taken out of context and then used and abused in 30-second sound bites. Then we wonder why Congress has become so corrupt, dysfunctional, and filled with batcrap-crazy people. Most people vote for the candidate who will say whatever it is they want to hear, and for whichever candidate has enough money to be able to regurgitate their applause lines at least a million times in their ads and stump speeches.
In case you’re wondering, when Romney said that he liked being able to fire people, he was talking about health insurance:
“I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don’t like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. . . . You know if someone doesn’t give me a good service that I need, I want to say I’m going to go get someone else to provide that service to me.”
True; He did say he likes being able to fire people, but then again, he has a history of firing people for his own personal profit, so firing people is not something that keeps him awake at night.
Has anyone noticed the strong disconnect between the candidates rhetoric and what’s really happening in this country?
Ronney touts his success during his time with Bain, yet never mentions how his personal success was a result of his greed and skill at being able to destroy businesses, jobs and people’s lives. Romney’s focus is on HIS own personal success, which has nothing to do with your success. Santorum focuses on HIS religious beliefs and thinks the answers to all of our problems is to make sure kids graduate High School and then get married. Marriage, and his personal religious beliefs, has NOTHING to do with ANYTHING, nor will it solve our economic problems as he would have you believe. Gingrich is the poster child for Wealth and Greed. Newt Gingrich is so used to getting EVERYTHING he ever wants… be it new, younger/prettier wives or a revolving million dollar account at Tiffany’s… that his focus is on destroying Romney. And of course, his desire to destroy Romney has absolutely nothing to do with job creation for We The People and everything to do with job creation for New Gingrich.
The GOP, in general, has been intensely obsessed with, and only focused on, firing Obama, abortion issues, “The Gays” and “The Blacks.” None of which does a damn thing for job creation, education, or repairing our antiquated infrastructure. While the GOP continues to march to the tune of their own drummer, Obama has (despite what some would believe, based on those bombarding 30-second sound bites coming from the current crop of GOP candidates) been moving us forward as much as possible during filibuster after filibuster from our do-nothing-in-order-to-tank-the-economy-congress.
If, in order to win an election, you need to lie (about yourself and/or you opponent), say only what you know your base of voters wants to hear, or say things that you know are inherently wrong (and really stupid) but will draw applause/laughter (such as what Chris Christie said this morning about how Obama is dividing the country — as if one person could possibly wield such power; it’s the People who decide whether or not they want to be divided), then your ideas suck. Period.
