David Brooks: "Romney's comment is a country-club fantasy"
By Michael J.W. Stickings
Look, sometimes David Brooks is right. This is one of those times.
No, not entirely, because he still ends up giving Romney something of the benefit of the doubt and is still a believer in the sort of pragmatic conservative he wants and believes Romney to be, but at least with respect to what Romney's arrogant, contemptuous remarks about the 47% of Americans "who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to take care of them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it" say about him:
Indeed, Romney's remarks suggest that he's a stunningly ignorant man:
-- "This comment suggests a few things. First, it suggests that he really doesn't know much about the country he inhabits";
-- "It suggests that Romney doesn't know much about the culture of America";
-- "It says that Romney doesn't know much about the political culture";
-- "Romney's comments also reveal that he has lost any sense of the social compact"; and
-- "The final thing the comment suggests is that Romney knows nothing about ambition and motivation."
So... how exactly is he qualified to be president?
Brooks concludes: "Personally, I think he's a kind, decent man who says stupid things because he is pretending to be something he is not -- some sort of cartoonish government-hater."
But isn't it possible that this is actually the real Mitt Romney? Commentators all across the spectrum keep saying he says these things because he's (strategically, shamelessly) trying to present himself as the sort of conservative who meets the Republican Party's rigid ideological test these days, but more and more it seems that the pragmatic moderate of Brooks's wishful imagining is an incarnation of the distant Massachusetts past.
Maybe the negative view people have of Romney is actually the accurate one. Whether David Brooks likes it or not.
No, not entirely, because he still ends up giving Romney something of the benefit of the doubt and is still a believer in the sort of pragmatic conservative he wants and believes Romney to be, but at least with respect to what Romney's arrogant, contemptuous remarks about the 47% of Americans "who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to take care of them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it" say about him:
Romney's comment is a country-club fantasy. It's what self-satisfied millionaires say to each other. It reinforces every negative view people have about Romney.
Indeed, Romney's remarks suggest that he's a stunningly ignorant man:
-- "This comment suggests a few things. First, it suggests that he really doesn't know much about the country he inhabits";
-- "It suggests that Romney doesn't know much about the culture of America";
-- "It says that Romney doesn't know much about the political culture";
-- "Romney's comments also reveal that he has lost any sense of the social compact"; and
-- "The final thing the comment suggests is that Romney knows nothing about ambition and motivation."
So... how exactly is he qualified to be president?
Brooks concludes: "Personally, I think he's a kind, decent man who says stupid things because he is pretending to be something he is not -- some sort of cartoonish government-hater."
But isn't it possible that this is actually the real Mitt Romney? Commentators all across the spectrum keep saying he says these things because he's (strategically, shamelessly) trying to present himself as the sort of conservative who meets the Republican Party's rigid ideological test these days, but more and more it seems that the pragmatic moderate of Brooks's wishful imagining is an incarnation of the distant Massachusetts past.
Maybe the negative view people have of Romney is actually the accurate one. Whether David Brooks likes it or not.
Labels: 2012 election, David Brooks, Mitt Romney
posted by Michael J.W. Stickings at
10:00 AM
1 Comments:
In the end it will be Willard Milton Romney’s own words that that will bring down his seven year run for the presidency. Thank you Romney for speaking your real mind, sure its ugly but it just confirms my feeling that you act more like a Corporation than a person who would show compassion when he realizes that a majority of my country is suffering. But hey, the empty chair was a great bit, thanks for the laughs.
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Montana, at 10:00 PM
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