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Gov. Mitt Romney announced his Presidential bid at the Henry
Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. |
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Special Dossier: Presidential Primaries
Governor Mitt Romney
Opposing Jewish Pork.
-- Steve Rabin
Shortly after Mitt Romney's victory in Michigan,
NJDC Executive director Ira N. Forman remarked,
"If Republican voters in the rest of the country go the way of Michigan,
they will vote away their chance at making any serious inroads among Jewish
voters in November. Indeed, Jewish voters will surely not look kindly on
Mitt Romney's efforts to ban stem cell research in Massachusetts, his
opposition to Roe versus Wade, or his decision to use a line-item veto to
prevent Jewish nursing home residents from receiving Kosher meals.
"Romney has made several questionable decisions on the campaign trail, which
call into question his understanding of the concerns of Jewish voters. For
example, Romney declared for the Presidency at the Henry Ford Museum and
refused to acknowledge his mistake after Mr. Ford's history with
anti-Semitism was called to the public's attention. He also made the
preposterous statement that America should look toward Hezbollah's social
programs as a model."
In the pocket of the Religious Right
Mitt Romney is currently an anti-choice candidate who has sought support
from the religious right in order to gain a competitive edge in the GOP
presidential primary.
Romney
opposes stem cell research and tried to ban it in Massachusetts.
The Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee have criticized
Romney for campaign rhetoric that undercuts the separation between church
and state. Reports
The Forward: "Both the Anti-Defamation League and the
American Jewish Committee raised concerns about parts of [Romeny's] speech
seemingly designed to help sell the former Massachusetts governor to
conservative Christian voters . the speech 'reflected an effort we have seen
in the current campaign - indeed on the part of many of the candidates - to
appeal to religious voters on the basis of shared religiosity,' wrote
Abraham Foxman, national director of the ADL."
Romney tapped Rev. Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition to
co-chair his campaign's
committee on faith and values. Sheldon is one of
the most extreme, rabid anti-gay activists in the country. He is a leading
opponent of hate crimes legislation, which he said
"slapped Christians in
the face" because it included protection for gays and lesbians.
[Onenewsnow.com, 6/18/07; People for the American Way Right Wing Watch,
12/06]
Romney's faith and values co-chairs also include
Jay Sekulow the head of Pat
Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice, well-known anti-abortion
extremist James Bopp, and Gary Marx of the ultra-right wing Judicial
Confirmation Network. [
Romney said
that Pat Robertson "has a dedication to strengthening and then
nurturing the pillars of this community and our country: education,
fellowship, and advancement." Romney's comments came during an address at
Regent University, to which he went to court support from the religious
right.
Failure to understand concerns of the Jewish community
Mitt Romney announced his candidacy for President at the
Henry Ford Museum
and refused to apologize or change venues after Ford's anti-Semitism was
brought to his campaign's attention.
Romney
said that Hezbollah's "kind of diplomacy is something that would help
America become stronger around the world ." Romney was seemingly unaware
that Hezbollah's social programs are inseparably tied to terrorism, that the
health clinics and schools praised by Romney have also been used as a cover
for rockets launched at Israeli cities, and that Hezbollah social activism
has included paying "bonuses" for the murder of Israelis.
In Massachusetts, Romney
used his line item veto to oppose $600,000 in
funding for kosher meals to Jewish seniors. Romney's veto was overridden by
the Massachusetts General Court (state legislature).
Romney made a questionable reference
to "Hitler's Holocaust Ovens" on the
campaign trail. In discussing the War on Terror, Romney "called the
Democrats "uncomfortable in recognizing the evil in the world,' and said, 'I
don't think the world has seen the face of evil like this since the days of
Hitler's Holocaust ovens.'"
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