Sunday, September 07, 2003
Romney’s Alarming Use Of 9/11
One of Mitt Romney’s more unbecoming fictions is that he was in Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001 presciently seeking Winter Games anti-terrorism funding. (source: Deseret News, 9/11/2001) In fact, Romney was seeking to “reimburse Utah law enforcement agencies for expenses incurred paying overtime to officers covering the shifts of colleagues loaned to the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command for the 2002 Winter Games.” (source: Salt Lake Tribune, 9/2/2001)
Romney was so sketchy about his mission he told a reporter “I have to get the message out that these are legitimate needs. I don’t want anyone to view this as porcine.” (source: Salt Lake Tribune, 9/2/2001)
Had the feds not paid the overtime, the monies would have come out of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee’s (SLOC) contingency fund. (source: Salt Lake Tribune, 9/2/2001) And according to the Los Angeles Times, most of SLOC’s eventual “surplus, $47 million, came from a contingency fund that largely went untouched during the Games.” (source: LA Times, 4/24/2002)
As such, Romney’s trip was less to protect the Winter Games than to protect his reputation as a fiscal manager.
Two years later, Romney is still using 9/11 for personal gain.
On Saturday, the Romney Administration released a ‘Report Card’ on the state’s security preparedness that showed the Commonwealth has made great strides since 2001. (source: Boston Globe, 9/7/2003) However, Romney refused to cite any research defending his ‘findings’.
Romney released the ‘Report’ just days before a legislative panel began a widely anticipated assessment of statewide preparedness.
It appears that Team Reform is simply trying to stake a claim.
More discomforting, however, is the way the administration released its ‘Report’ – on a quiet Saturday, to selected media outlets though a password-coded conference call. (They weren’t simply looking for a big-splash Sunday story, were they?) The few faxes that were sent were blind faxed (no attribution) by aides to Romney’s loathsome $150,000-a-year spokesman. (Ahem.) Sources said.
Why the secrecy? Maybe because Romney’s preparedness claims, if fully vetted, could easily be blown up by pesky legislators with subpoena power. For example, how have Romney’s local aid cuts changed the preparedness of municipalities that are contiguous to natural gas facilities? Don’t ask Romney, he’d rather focus on how Logan Airport is a national model for airport safety.
As they said in LA Confidential, "you heard it here first, off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush…."
It’s all almost impenetrable. Almost.
One of Mitt Romney’s more unbecoming fictions is that he was in Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001 presciently seeking Winter Games anti-terrorism funding. (source: Deseret News, 9/11/2001) In fact, Romney was seeking to “reimburse Utah law enforcement agencies for expenses incurred paying overtime to officers covering the shifts of colleagues loaned to the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command for the 2002 Winter Games.” (source: Salt Lake Tribune, 9/2/2001)
Romney was so sketchy about his mission he told a reporter “I have to get the message out that these are legitimate needs. I don’t want anyone to view this as porcine.” (source: Salt Lake Tribune, 9/2/2001)
Had the feds not paid the overtime, the monies would have come out of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee’s (SLOC) contingency fund. (source: Salt Lake Tribune, 9/2/2001) And according to the Los Angeles Times, most of SLOC’s eventual “surplus, $47 million, came from a contingency fund that largely went untouched during the Games.” (source: LA Times, 4/24/2002)
As such, Romney’s trip was less to protect the Winter Games than to protect his reputation as a fiscal manager.
Two years later, Romney is still using 9/11 for personal gain.
On Saturday, the Romney Administration released a ‘Report Card’ on the state’s security preparedness that showed the Commonwealth has made great strides since 2001. (source: Boston Globe, 9/7/2003) However, Romney refused to cite any research defending his ‘findings’.
Romney released the ‘Report’ just days before a legislative panel began a widely anticipated assessment of statewide preparedness.
It appears that Team Reform is simply trying to stake a claim.
More discomforting, however, is the way the administration released its ‘Report’ – on a quiet Saturday, to selected media outlets though a password-coded conference call. (They weren’t simply looking for a big-splash Sunday story, were they?) The few faxes that were sent were blind faxed (no attribution) by aides to Romney’s loathsome $150,000-a-year spokesman. (Ahem.) Sources said.
Why the secrecy? Maybe because Romney’s preparedness claims, if fully vetted, could easily be blown up by pesky legislators with subpoena power. For example, how have Romney’s local aid cuts changed the preparedness of municipalities that are contiguous to natural gas facilities? Don’t ask Romney, he’d rather focus on how Logan Airport is a national model for airport safety.
As they said in LA Confidential, "you heard it here first, off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush…."
It’s all almost impenetrable. Almost.
