Romney to Olympians: "you didn’t get here solely on your own power"

ROMNEY:

You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities.

What an ASSHAT.

How about this, from a few weeks ago:

“I know that you recognize a lot of people help you in a business. Perhaps the bank, the investors. There is no question your mom and dad, your school teachers. The people who provide roads, the fire, the police. A lot of people help.”

edit on 27-7-2012 by longlostbrother because: (no reason given)

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Mod Edit--Starting A New Thread?

I'm telling you all, democrat or republican makes no difference. They both take their orders from the same entity. Follow the money.

Originally posted by GoldenRuled
I'm telling you all, democrat or republican makes no difference. They both take their orders from the same entity. Follow the money.

BS and a cop out.

They ARE different in many ways, just not in every way.

Would Gore have invaded Iraq after 9/11?

I dont see the problem with what he said.

Basically, he's keeping olympians grounded, which is a good thing. There are way too many big egos in sport who can ruin it for everyone else, keeping their egos in check is a good idea. Nothing wrong with a bit of humility, and recognition for those who got them where they are, at all.

I just love a competition where two guys get together to see who can say the stupidest things.

Funny money.

Originally posted by Firefly_
I dont see the problem with what he said.

Basically, he's keeping olympians grounded, which is a good thing. There are way too many big egos in sport who can ruin it for everyone else, keeping their egos in check is a good idea. Nothing wrong with a bit of humility, and recognition for those who got them where they are, at all.

There's nothing wrong with what he said, what's wrong is his campaign taking an almost identical speech from Obama and turning it into, "Obama hates business".

But, of course, it's because Romney only has one campaign mode: negative attack ads.

Originally posted by Firefly_
I dont see the problem with what he said.

Basically, he's keeping olympians grounded, which is a good thing. There are way too many big egos in sport who can ruin it for everyone else, keeping their egos in check is a good idea. Nothing wrong with a bit of humility, and recognition for those who got them where they are, at all.

He's referring to the quote from Obama about business owners that riled the media up so much not long ago.

If this is an actual quote from Romney, then it's actually kind of a good point from the OP. Obama misspoke and got burned for it, quite badly. Good times.

reply to post by Praetorius


firstread.msnbc.msn.com...



Watch him bash Obama, then restate what Obama said, in about 10 seconds...

anyone think someone that retarded is gonna do well in debates with Obama?

Originally posted by longlostbrother

Originally posted by GoldenRuled
I'm telling you all, democrat or republican makes no difference. They both take their orders from the same entity. Follow the money.

BS and a cop out.

They ARE different in many ways, just not in every way.

Would Gore have invaded Iraq after 9/11?

how is that in any way a cop out? he's literally only saying that they get paid to say the things they say, and that they both get paid by the same groups. it's pretty clear that that's exactly what is going on in our modern political environment. i mean, let's think about this - are they really different people with different affiliations, or do they only appear that way? it can really be one or the other, neither of which are cop outs, both of which require citations.

also, didn't obama say this same exact thing just about a week ago about successful people? these are blatantly the same ideas being spoken to a different crowd. it's overwhelmingly creepy, to be honest.

www.youtube.com...

they're literally copying and pasting this idea in two different scenarios. seems to me like the person who you said gave a cop out argument is actually pretty accurate.

reply to post by facedye


It's a copout because it allows you to not make any hard decisions about politicians..

They're all the same, it doesn't matter who I vote for... total lazy cop out.

Lot's of people are paid by, say Wal-Mart, but it doesn't mean they'll all agree on everything or all act in a certain way, or indeed all do what Wal-Mart wants them too.

It's not only untrue, it's lazy and a way to avoid the responsibility you have as a voter.

reply to post by longlostbrother


What's your problem? The guy may be an asshat, but he's right. People have entirely too much respect for individuals that, technically, don't even work for a living. Their entire life would consist of training. This is not something that makes them worthy of your respect outright. This whole celebrity culture makes me sick. Let them work like the rest of us.

I think Romney would have a valid if he'd said this before Obama made his near legendary gaff on "You didn't build this". I swear that will come to be known as well as the Dean Scream or Quayle and his Potato spelling.

Having noted it makes some sense, I can't ignore the Obama reference that it requires a blind man to miss. Once considered, this comment becomes less ....decent..to say.

C'mon, Romney. It's the Olympics. Be a man. Lead by example. Keep political garbage out of it, at least while directly addressing the games and those in them. Aside from that, playing on Obama's lack of judgement in that speech is really getting old.....How many ways does this joke get told before people Boo him outright for a few steps beyond humor?

*I'd say the SAME thing if Obama were over there making political hay. Keep the games what they're meant to be..in my opinion. Even if no one else does.

Originally posted by longlostbrother
Would Gore have invaded Iraq after 9/11?

Yes. He would have. Obama continued the war in Iraq after being elected and sent more troops in to Afghanistan. He destabilized countries all over the Middle East leading to a radical Islamic group gaining power and he was profoundly more anti-war than Al Gore.

Romney is right to a degree on the athletes. It isn't any longer about a villager excelling in athletics traveling to the Olympics to compete. Its about governments and organizations scouring the nation for the most athletic and then spending millions upon millions to train them at high altitudes, equip them with the most expensive clothing and gear, provide them with millions of dollars in equipment and facilities, and ensure that they do not need to work for a living but can full-time train. That may not apply to everyone but you get the point.

What Obama said was - you THINK you built your business but YOU didn't, SOMEONE else did. That is far more radical. It would be like saying - YOU think you are an athlete and that you excel, YOU never did, SOMEONE else made you that way.

Its one thing to provide money, equipment, and facilities and quite another to imply they were injected with super-athlete drugs.

reply to post by ararisq


"What Obama said was - you THINK you built your business but YOU didn't, SOMEONE else did. That is far more radical."

That'd be true if he said that, but he didn't. Only a moron could hear his entire three sentences in context and not come away with understanding that Obama was saying business owners did not build the infrastructure of America that their businesses leveraged on their road to success. You can play grammar games all you want, but his meaning was very clear. ANYONE who claims otherwise either has an extremely low level of comprehension or a complete liar. There is no middle ground here because it was obvious. So any poster on ATS that will claim otherwise self-identifies themselves as such and should be discredited in ANY political discussion. I'd say the same if Romney or anyone else had said it.

It is fair game to attack policy, blatant flip flops and the clear meaning of anyone's statements. To base an entire criticism on what all know is a total lie is out of bounds and both morally and intellectually bankrupt, no matter who does it.

reply to post by longlostbrother


A shipping and manufacturing plant with 2000 employees???You did that on your own...running the 100 meter dash in 5.2 seconds...that took a village...

Yes he is an asshat.

So, I guess no one wants to point out the fact that Romney said this back in 2002 before Obama had his gaffe?

Seems like they either had the same speech writer or someone is stealing material from the other. However, I do agree that they are probably both cut from the same cloth.

But Romney’s own remarks to Olympians, offered during the opening ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City that Romney led, hewed closely to Obama’s suggestion that success is communal. “You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers encouraged your hopes,” he said after praising the competitors in footage unearthed by NBC News. “Coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches and communities.”

Obama, speaking in Roanoke, Va., on July 13, came to a similar rhetorical conclusion. “Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.… If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help,” Obama said. “There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business – you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Romney has featured the president’s remarks in campaign ads and brought it up again Monday at a fundraiser in Irvine on Monday morning. “We of course have benefits from fireman and people who build roads, and teachers, and they help contribute to our society. Don't forget by the way, that government does not provide those things. We pay for those things, all right. We're paying for that,” Romney said.

articles.latimes.com...

reply to post by ararisq


No he wouldn't have.

Gore was no neo-con.

You are sorely ignorant of how the US got into Iraq if you think that Gore would've gone.

reply to post by xXxinfidelxXx


Sorry, you think that the point of Romney's statement was to bust the athletes down a peg, because athletes are too revered in our culture?

That's what you think?

reply to post by longlostbrother


I don't see anything wrong with either statement. What are you "ASSHAT"ing his statements for? Specifically point out the exact words that support your statement as I've done below.

You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power(except for the swimmers, they swam across the Atlantic). For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions(all true, if untrue, please post the name and source of "most" of the Olympians having been born without parents, not raised in a family environment, had no coach, and trained in the woods). All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them(all the people from above are certainly supporting their Olympians, if not again show proof that "most" do not). We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities(isn't this what liberals love? Communities celebrating together, giving everyone a piece of the pie).

You libbies are so focused on communities helping each other and people helping each other, and now a statement from someone agreeing that these Olympians are in fact not completely independent you cry in jest.