I'm sure that most DK regulars are aware of Mitt Romney's latest right-wingnut pander attempts. Mitt has inflated claims about his hunting and shooting experiences and his history of gun ownership.
Mitt has figuratively shoot himself in the foot with these exaggerated claims. Little did he know, we was also drawing a nice bulls-eye on his back for his "Home-state" (snicker) press to aim at.
Geez, don't these people know that hunting on Sunday is illegal in Massachusetts?
Join me on the flip side for the Mitt hunt...
First up is Joan Vennochi, of the Boston Globe with Guns, trust, and Romney. Joan actually shows some sign that she reads Daily Kos, because she touches on many of the same themes that have been expressed here over tha last several days.
First she chronicles Mitts first stretch if the truthiness:
This week in Keene, N.H., Romney told a man in an NRA hat that he had "been a hunter pretty much all of my life," the Associated Press reported. The Romney campaign later acknowledged that Romney, 60, hunted one summer as a teenager and once in his late 50s.
That was pretty easy since Mitt contradicted himself pretty quickly. Next his claim that he was a gun owner was dealt with:
Earlier this year, Romney said, "I have a gun of my own." It turned out his son owns guns, not Romney
Oops, that's embarrassing! Joan compares Mitts recent statements with the political damage John Kerry suffered from his infamous 2004 hunting trip in Ohio, with brand new camo outfit. The major difference according to Joan:
...Kerry actually owns guns.
Joan spends some time listing Mitt's shifting positions on various issue, Gay Marriage, Abortion, Gun Control, Stem Cell Research. All recently changed lurching rightward, now that he needs voters from outside the Commonwealth to like him. But are all of these Flip-flops an issue? Yes says Joan:
Changing from pro-gun control to anti-gun control is a flip-flop. Saying you are a longtime hunter when you hunted twice is an exaggeration. Saying you own a gun when you don't is a lie.
She evens throws in a Yosemite Sam reference, just for laughs. Go read the whole column, its good stuff.
Next up is Dianne Williamson of the Worcester Telegram with Romney ratchets up pandering
Dianne lets us know where she is going right away:
I realize that this disclosure will come as no big shock to voters unless they’re stupid, but politicians lie.
That’s right. Sometimes they tell large lies — "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" is one of the bigger whoppers that come to mind. More often they engage in smaller deceptions, like the time Al Gore inexplicably made out with Tipper on national television, as though not even the 2000 Democratic National Convention could quell his insatiable desire for his wife, thus rendering him a better man than Bill.
Then she reminisces about the days when Mitt's main ambition was to be Governor of Massachusetts:
Back in 2002, you might remember, Mitt engaged in a large-scale, Level 5 pandering binge by regaling us with smarmy tales about his courtship with his wife, and by dabbling as a lobsterman, auto mechanic, farmer, trash collector and sausage salesman, in a futile effort to make voters forget that he’s a gazillionaire.
Dianne also question if Mitt is making a wise move, with his attempts to portray himself as a NRA-card holding gun-lover:
I’m not sure why Mitt is so eager to conjure the image of a Republican hunter, considering the unfortunate incident that involved Dick Cheney shooting his friend in the face.
She even points out some of his bogus hunting stories aren't going over too well, giving the time of year:
He even trotted out some warm hunting remembrances, telling a crowd that he struggled to kill rabbits with a .22-caliber rifle, but did better when his cousins lent him a semi-automatic. Ha, ha! What a heartwarming tale, especially in this Easter season!
Oh, images of Mitt and Cheney out hunting the Easter Bunny together! How nice...
That's a small sampling of what they are doing back in Mitt's "home state". Not that he would know, given that he been back here probably once since walking out of the corner office back in January. And that one visit was an in-and-out fundraiser event.
Look out Mitt, those wabbits might come looking for revenge!