Are non-proliferation and energy efficiency 'liberal' issues?
By Steve Benen Thursday Jun 26, 2008 2:00pmCertain policy issues become associated with an ideology or political party by virtue of emphasis. The left talks about healthcare, the right thinks the status quo is acceptable, so healthcare becomes a “liberal” issue. The right wants to change immigration laws, so it’s perceived as a “conservative” issue.
Now, both sides sometimes want to call an issue their own, but face resistance. It’s rare when a leading Republican, for example, simply gives up two of the biggest issues on the international landscape, and labels them, prima facie, “liberal” issues.
But that’s precisely what Mitt Romney did on national television yesterday, announcing that counter-proliferation and fuel efficiency are necessarily “liberal” issues.
Now, I know — from personal experience — that it’s easy to slip up on television and say something stupid. Your mouth gets ahead of your mind, and you end up in a bad place.
But that’s what made this especially amusing. CNN’s John Roberts offers Romney a way out: “Wait a minute. Aren’t Republicans pushing for nonproliferation too?”
I expected Romney to realize his error, and clarify what he meant, maybe with something like, “Of course Republicans care about nonproliferation.” But not this guy; he just went with it.
DDay added: "It is now considered liberal to want to reduce the potential of nuclear destruction. For context, four years ago George Bush and John Kerry agreed that nuclear proliferation was the greatest current threat to global security. Romney either doesn’t know what non-proliferation means, or thinks that anything with the word 'non' involves taking away the sweet sweet cash funnel to military contractors. Henry Frickin’ Kissinger believes in nonproliferation, fercryinoutloud."
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Hey, at least the guy is being honest--he just can't have enough of those sweet, sweet nukes available. It's one of those compensation things that the Republican party seems to have such a need for.
The GOP reserves the right to threaten to blow up the entire world as part of their foreign policy. Therefore, not blowing up the entire world is a liberal issue.
They are. The "Conservatives" certainly don't talk about them.
when i think of mitt romney i think of this interview with mitt and cheney!!
. @ 3:
Yeah...and so is protecting the environment...and liberals are DAMN proud of it too! Ya regressivist troglodyte phillistine bastards!
Left to the minds of Conservatives, "liberal" ideas are those that oppose any idea that gives conservatives an irrational advantage over anyone else or simply those that discredit any conservative lie.
Nuclear proliferation is a "liberal" issue, huh?
Goddamn Nixon and Reagan. Flaming liberals, the both of them.
Does it matter in the least that Republicans have been 180 degrees flat out wrong about every issue? I can't think of single time in my life where I thought that the liberal, progressive, Democrat was wrong and the right wing fascists Conservative was right so I will go along with the Republican this time. Well not Republican sense Eisenhower. For good F$#king reason.
Reality has a well-known liberal bias, environmental reality doubly so. Fouling your nest is a tough, Republican, manly thing to do.
Facts, as well, have a liberal bias.
I don't understand the non-proliferation position, but I think it's obvious what's behind the thinking of so many conservatives when it comes to energy conservation and environmental issues generally.
They are selfish, greedy, self-indulgent pigs. They can't stand the idea of changing their SUV-driving or SUV-coveting lifestyles for the greater good. So the environment is dismissed as a liberal/left concern.
It's purely self-serving reasoning.
One thing they're missing is that reducing your carbon footprint can improve your quality of life just as much as or more than it decreases it. Talking a walk to the grocery store is good for you.
It's a known fact that repug are dumber than a bag of nails
ok..yeah after trying to argue with Dennis on a different thread, I'm lazy at the moment.
So here's something cool that someone smarter than me wrote...
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/give_em_back.jpg
mitt.....wants barack to reach across the isle against his own party to prove he will work with the other side.....
"If it doesn't lie, cheat or kill- it ain't Republican."
So the whole North Korea thing is a liberal agenda? What about Iran?
.
O.K.
So when ANY Repugnican talks about the need for nonproliferation... They're courting a liberal policy? But I thought Romney has a disdain for liberals... Does this mean Romney is FOR proliferation of nuclear materials?
Now, when ANY Repugnican addresses energy and suggests tighter fuel standards or nuclear energy or ANY alternate energy source they are courting liberal policy? And since Romney has a disdain for liberal policy, I'm sure he'll be fine with smog, air-water pollution/poisons killing off members of his family.
... NO?
.
"[Mitt] thinks that anything with the word ‘non’ involves taking away the sweet sweet cash funnel to military contractors."
Mitt may not be too bright, but like Bush, he works hard to plant seeds of ignorance in people's minds. Like when conservatives say "reform," they really mean the opposite, and when they say "Healthy Skies" they mean giving polluters free reign. Mitt's just trying to pollute the debate.
Planting seeds of ignorance, it's what Republicans do. Because it helps them. The Great American Dumb-Down continues.
The greatest current threat to global security "IS" George Bush and Dick Cheney
et al - well, technically that's more than one, but....
Shadowgm Hussein @ 16:
Iran is the most liberal issue of all. That's why Bush keeps threatening to blow them up. Who needs non-proliferation when you have 20 million nuclear warheads on hair-trigger alert.
Romney's a twat plain and simple.
If I were as fucked up as the Republican Party, I wouldn't reach across the aisle.
easy: no, they aren't
the corporatocracy would like the public to think they are though. pigeonholing is a lot easier that way.
Romney is completely ignoring Obama's capitulation on FISA, a very bi-partisan, un-American slash at the Constitution for which senators and representatives of both parties should lose their jobs. That was a great big reach-around for which ATT is very grateful and the Rethugs are laughing all the way to the bank.
Oh Please, John McCain, make this clown your running mate. He's trying so hard to learn to be a lockstep conservative but he hasn't mastered all their goofy talking points yet. Then again, he can always claim that he was "brainwashed" - just like his dad did.
Yeah Bush and Republicans never puts their party and political interests ahead of the nation.
We can only hope that Romney continues to be a McCain surrogate. If we're really lucky, running mate. Fuel efficiency? Who cares. Nuclear proliferation? What me worry.
People assume that because he looks so squeaky clean and has a perfect radio voice, that Romney may be intelligent. I got some news for ya
Shadowgm Hussein @ 16:
North Korea is different. Kim Jong Il is the last of the commies. Gotta disarm him, no question.
As for Iran, it's all about Israel. Everybody knows Israel has nukes. They get a pass because it's the holy land, it's the last outpost of the Jews, the religious right loves them, and the Israeli lobby has gathered huge power. Republicans, especially the Fundies and the remnants of the Base (pretty much the same people), would never accept the idea of disarming Israel.
Real action on proliferation would have to include Israel. Not going to happen, AIPAC will never stand for it.
So for the Right, attacking Iran isn't a proliferation issue, it's part of the (discredited) War on Tair. Iran is Israel's enemy. Iran is also the emerging regional superpower, thanks to the invasion of Iran. Thanks, GWB.
Okay, maybe it's a semantic point, but HOLY $@#T!!! Romney opens by praising Obama as "well spoken"!!!!! That's far worse than Biden's "articulate" comment. He should've been cut-off right there! "Well spoken" doesn't mean the same thing as "eloquent" - the latter refers to someone who is truly an inspiring and powerful speaker, the former refers to someone you're surprised can string two sentences together!
Yeah, okay, whatever. But was he dressed well and did his hair look good? Did he bring his dog along? Are his sons still serving their country by driving his bus?
romney is a prime example why some guys
and all their male off-spring should have their
balls cut off at birth. too bad that gwhb was
not fixed before their birthed the bastard in
the whitehouse now.
John Roberts is as misinformed as Mittens. Gordon Smith is the Senator from Oregon, not Washington. This is clearly stated in the very ad that Roberts runs in this clip. My Senators are Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and they are far and away more progressive that Gordon Smith.
Why can't the media darlings get even the simplest facts correct?
Obama hasn't reached across the aisle no a republican point because all their points suck.
More Romney. Lots more. And he costs the Democrats nothing.
They can't run fast enough to the Reich-wing wall - they all want to slam into it. Romney's not even real - he's completely plastic.
*
I suppose they are. Nuking countries we don't like and burning up resources and destroying the earth belong to the 'Family Values' crowd's issue list.
Why is anyone giving this yapping bobble-headed douschebag a platform? I saw him on CNN this morning...and promptly changed the station before I heard the first word out of his flip-flopping, pandering pie-hole!
This creep is a failed Senate candidate, a shitty governor and a failed Presidential candidate! He needs to just go the fuck away!
Just say NO to Mitt Flip-Flop Romney!
Candidate Bush qualified Kerry's assertion that nuclear weapons were the biggest threat with "in the hands of terrorists"
Mission Accomplished. The pResident's invasion of non-nuke Iraq emboldened Iran and his support for next-gen nukes has triggered proliferation among 12 MidEast countries. Including home countries of the 9/11 hijackers like Saudi Arabia, 15 of 19 hijackers, UAE, Egypt, and Yemen.
More than 40 developing countries from the Persian Gulf region to Latin America have recently approached United Nations officials to express interest in starting nuclear power programmes, a trend which might lead to the intensification of the arms race.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/fears-of-arms-race-after-...
Bring the mushroom clouds on W.!
Having seen the clip, I honestly think that Mitt believes "non-proliferation" has something to do with birth control. (The adjective "nuclear" is never used.)
So Republicans can ride roughshod over every branch of government for years, but Democrats have to compromise with the (hopelessly minority) GOP after November? Rrright...
What is the news here? That Mitt Romney is a complete moron? Mitt is the kind of guy I really hope John McBush chooses as a VP candidate.
One must handle the nukes with some Mittens, eh?
They weren't even talking about non-proliferation...
Romney was bringing up the point that Sen. McCain actually has a record which you can scrutinize, and has shown that he is capable of working across party lines on many issues, and that Sen. Obama, first has very little experience, and has not shown the capacity to do anything but follow party rhetoric.
Embittered & Anti-Republicrat - Max-Hussein-1 @ 17:
Not sure about Mittens, but I'm ok with it.
That clip is why we need Romney/Krusty ticket. Too many gaffs for even the steno pool to ignore.
The old Republican mantra: terrorists, Islamofacists, Al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, fear, death, war on terror, global war on terror
The new Republic mantra: librul, extreme librul, inexperienced, elitist, did I say librul.
Albatross @ 9:
Especially when there's a woman (or similarly subservient person) available to clean up after you.
"What is the news here? That Mitt Romney is a complete moron? Mitt is the kind of guy I really hope John McBush chooses as a VP candidate."
No, no, no, no, no!!!! The right wingnuts would LOVE McSame to make the 'Boy From Brazil' is VP! Are you kidding me? Flopney was the Bush family's choice from day one, as well as that of Douche Limbaugh and the rest of the neo-cons. With Mitt so few breaths away from the Presidency, the wingnut--now that they know they won't get Huckabee--would flock to vote!
We don't want Mittens Flopney ANYWHERE near this election!
Well, give the guy a gold star on his forehead for telling the truth.
Then take two gold stars away for the racist "well spoken" crack. How about "smart", "convincing" and "charismatic" , Mittens?
me@49
And "eloquent"! It was on the tip of my fingers!
Neocon political-military operatives in Obama / McCain campaigns , the oil speculators
The 2 candidates got heavy-duty neocon political-military operatives on their teams :
1) take McCain , besides Charlie Black , he's got Phil Gramm, the "Enron Loophole" master...for the money, that is.........also neocon members of the Eisenberg group, the guy who signed the WTC 99 year leases to Silverstein ,Goldman,etc., just 6 weeks before 9/11, in a big rush to put it mildly....he's got also Kravis from KKR and Ken Mehlman who with Fleischer,Ullman,Rosen,Libby,Abrams,Feith,Wolfowitz and Zakheim,among other darlings, created the master plan to invade Iraq,bomb the daylights out of the CIVIL POPULATION ( Ullman : the shock and awe ! guy ) and leave all the arms and explosives depots unguarded to fuel the insurgency and justify more attacks and more contracts,and ond and on, we could go on for days about their military precision plan ....
2) Obama's got Ben-Veniste , who with Zelikow and the Robert Rubin team and others turned the 9/11 Commission Report into a national insult, these ultra-neocons from the political-military hard core section of the Mossad-Aipac kept key questions about WTC-7,Insurance policies from 23 Insurance Companies just 3 to 5 weeks weeks before 9/11, etc. etc. out of the report and with no answers.......he's got Albright,Farber, Furman,Sussman,Reich,and none other than Orin Kramer who with Farber are the link to the Hedge-Funds ( and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley ) which control 30% of the Oil,Gas,Heating Oil and Futures contracts, the swaps and commodities index funds that pushes oil and gas prices every day up for huge trading profits...the cancer of America and the world...and their managers and partners pay only 15 % in taxes instead of the 25 to 30 % that the rest pays.......the Hearings this month of June 2008 in the HOUSE and SENATE are a must for every student and taxpayer in America,in the Senate the 3rd of June 2008 chaired by Senator Cantwell and in the House the 23 of June 2008 by R.Stupak and R.Dingell, these 2 Hearings and others are a full view of the abuse,incompetence and corruption in Wall Street and Washington D.C....
so the 2 candidate's got some heavy shame in their campaigns......
and all these neocons work together, they may disagree on policy details,but their intent is for the same faith,same country and same military control, these neocons want America addicted to Middle East Oil and Gas forever ,Saudi Arabia and Opec, and with only one friend in the region, Israel, and so forced to keep USA troops there forever and sending money to them forever too...
so will the 2 candidates get rid of the waste and junk? , will they do the job of America? or will they continue to do the job of the Neocon and Oil Lobby's ? what will the 2 candidates do ?
the worst is that there is still not a National Plan to start installing solar panels and wind turbines on every building in America, start manufacturing plug-in electric cars by the millions right now, no plans to start hydrogen and methanol fuel cell cars production lines, no plans to start a geothermal farm in every State, no plans to turn all the garbage into electricity or steam, etc.etc., NOTHING !!!
Thanks to Secretary Rice for demanding that extreme israelis stop stealing the land of palestinian farmers to build luxury homes and condos with USA Taxpayers money, enough! , since the Annapolis Peace Conference these extreme israelis have started all together 3.000 new homes for a total of 8.000 homes, and the USA gets the hate and the bombs around the world...it's time to share Jerusalem and the 2 State Solution, it's time ! ....and because this is the root of most of the hate and violence.
as many are saying, the fact that AP's ( Associated Press) new USA editor in charge is Oreskes,an extreme neocon from the New York Times, is insulting, he was with the rest,Sulzberger,Safire,Rosenthal,Kristol,Rupert Murdoch,Karmazin, Lehrer,etc., pushing for the Iraq War every day in 2002 and 2003, with Senators Schumer,Lieberman,Kyl, Boxer,Feinstein, and Rep.Emanuel,Israel, etc., all pushing to attack and bomb, every day , and now that this Oreskes controls all the AP stories for the USA markets is absurd, and with the total monopoly control that the neocons have over http://www.c-span.org/ and http://www.npr.org/ as well as PBS-TV , America is without a free democratic voice !!!
Politico's June 24,2008 issue story , "Hedge Funds ISO Political Cover", is key to get the latest on the battle between the Hedge Funds and Congress, and also the Hedge Funds count with a key asset, the new IRS Commissioner,Shulman, is a dear friend, if you know what i mean....so the Hedge Funds will never pay their share,they will stay at 15 % ,while the rest of America pays 25 to 30%, and playing the over-the-counter commodities markets overseas, isn't wonderful?......so it's a reality, neocons are above the USA Constitution,the IRS laws are just for gentiles...
Romney is as stupid as I thought he was. Beneath that suave, reasonable sounding exterior is the brain of a turnip. This will probably raise Tim Pawlenty's VP stock a bit.
The only issues the reich-winger really are concerned with are banning abortion or gay marriage.
As I remember - 4 years ago Kerry said he believed that non proliferation was the biggest issue facing the world. When the question was then tossed to Bush, who had nothing original to say, he latched onto Kerry's answer. I always thought that was a very telling response from Bush. Unfortunately Republican voters stood behind their idiot
Coming from Massachusetts I have grown to hate Mitt Romney over the years. Did he spend most of his time as governor inside Massachusetts working with the legislature to pass key reforms and balance the budget?
No! He spent most of his time out of the state, talking about how messed up Massachusetts is, going around the country bad-mouthing Massachusetts, bashing us. He is to Massachusetts what Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman are to the Democrats.
I hope his hair catches on fire.
Counterproliferation is liberal?
Liberals invaded and occupied Iraq?
Too bad Mitt isn't the nominee, he's so much easier to hate. Damn that guy's annoying.
I have a question, when conservatives go to school, do they actually pay attention and learn? Or is Bush the destroyer indicative of just how ignorant all conservatives are?
It seems everytime a conservative opens his/her mouth the dumbest things just come pouring out.
trying to keep everyone from dying is "liberal"!
shit romney is completely full of shit.
even in the face of facts.
deny
ignore
repeat lies.
typical republican.
Mitt has some nerve accusing others of being too liberal.
The depths of idiocy that we encounter every moment in the MSM is some kinda shock and awe. Grown seemingly intelligent people ( some are dumbfucks ie FOX) spouting gibberish with a certain gravitas.
Anyway besides gibberish it''s important to the ruling class that eventually even fascism seems liberal. I'm reminded of the story from North Korea that spoke of the heroic workers that entered a nasty factory fire to save pictures of Kim Jong Il. They all died but.... whoa that's the kind of spirit we need......
Here's a scary thought - Mitt is just saying crazy shit to get you riled up over non issues, while the whole country is crashing and burning. Either that, or he's gunning for the VP slot, and he needed to say something outrageous in order to get TV coverage. Either way, he's a douchebag, and doesn't deserve the attention of your beautiful minds.
We can't leave something as important as non-proliferation to the suits in D.C. It's not going to be a talking point for either party unless the American people, and I believe they sit on both sides of the isle, express their prerogative for the disarmament of nuclear arsenals.
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is circulating an Appeal to the Next US President, calling for US leadership for a nuclear weapons-free world.
You can read it and sign online at www.wagingpeace.org/appeal
Just for thr record, Gordon Smith is an OREGON senator. But, hey it's CNN, what do you expect?
As for Mitt, sigh...where do I start?
Non-proliferation is a "liberal issue". Does this moron think before he opens his mouth?
Ok Mitt, maybe Obama should be more more bi-partisan and help you deliver on your bogus promise to bring back the domestic auto plant jobs to Michigan.
What a tool. I hope McCain picks this idiot to be VP. He'll be easy to destroy in debates.
John W: "I have a question, when conservatives go to school, do they actually pay attention and learn? Or is Bush the destroyer indicative of just how ignorant all conservatives are?
It seems everytime a conservative opens his/her mouth the dumbest things just come pouring out."
They were the kids who got C's, picked on freshmen, yelled like cavemen while doing beer-bongs at parties, and went cow-tipping at night.
Like our president.
There's this line from Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway -- spoken by Diane Weist to John Cusack -- that I invariably think of when wingers like the Mitthead open their flapping pieholes on the tee-vee:
"Don't speak...don't speak !!"
IOW, STFU.
Damn. That netflicks ad was seriously annoying.
See, Mitt thinks the term is non-prolife-ration. If it's non-prolife, it must be in favor of abortion.
He was governor of my home state for long enough to establish that he really is that stupid.
Conservatives advocate, more death, destruction and mayhem.
Conservatives want a class based healthcare system, educational system and judicial system. So nothing is new.
What is new is Liberals are finally showing up conservatives for the lying criminals they really are!!
Now thats "Progress"!!
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Brian Says:
People assume that because he looks so squeaky clean and has a perfect radio voice, that Romney may be intelligent. I got some news for ya
Amen brother!!!
Hah! I love it!
Sadly, yes, non-proliferation and better gas milage have become liberal issues. Especially when fear and perpetual war are the best get-out-the-vote issues for Republicans, and massive corporate donations from the oil industry are their main source of funding. I guess peace and cheap energy have definitely become liberal issues.
Wow, I thought Mitt's brain had fallen out at that point when he talked about nonproliferation being an issue of "reaching across the aisle", but after reading here, I guess the depressing reality is that certain "sanity" and "rationality" issues have become "liberal" issues...
When did the USA stop being the land of the clear-headed?..
I have to clean my computer monitor. There's coffee all over it.
Wow!
Nuclear proliferation is a Democratic issue only? I bet Lugar had a stroke when he heard that he was only working on this as a concession to liberal democrats. This is something Lugar feels very strongly about. He's been in vocal opposition to the President on this issue. He truly thinks it's necessary for our security to find and neutralize the nukes that were held by countries in the former Soviet Union, and to keep nukes out of the hands of despots and terrorists. I know he has his faults, but this is one of his principled stances.
Is this a BAD thing???
I, for one, and more than happy to have positive popular issues that a majority of the people support labeled "Liberal".
You are falling into the trap of associating "Liberal" as a pejorative when you allow income-poops like Romney to try and suggest "Liberal" means something bad.
I wouldn't instead want "nuclear proliferation" or "tax cuts for the rich" associated with "Liberal", would you? Sorry, Romney may think this is a slam, but I wear the "accusation" with pride.
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