Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Willard "Mittens" Romney's European Vacation, or as the media has dubbed it, his "gaffe-a-thon," has come to a merciful end. Luckily it ended without the start of another war.
Well, with the exception of Romney's war with the "fourth estate ... or whatever estate," his media tormentors. Romney aide berates reporters as GOP hopeful wraps up overseas trip - The Washington Post:
[T]he White House hopeful’s overseas tour took another rocky turn on its final day, as a campaign spokesman cursed at journalists shouting questions at Romney.
Romney had just laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw’s Pilsudski Square, personally thanking and shaking hands with about 50 uniformed Polish soldiers who watched the silent ceremony. Then, in a gesture of gratitude, Romney pressed his hand to his heart and bowed his head.
As he walked back to his vehicle, he ignored reporters’ shouted questions. When a journalist noted that Romney has taken almost no questions from his traveling press corps throughout the foreign trip, Romney spokesman Rick Gorka retorted, “Kiss my ass.”
“This is a holy site for the Polish people,” Gorka said. “Show some respect.”
Moments later, Gorka told another reporter to “shove it.” Gorka later called the reporters to apologize.
Aparently the irony was lost on Mr. Gorka.
It is lost on Mittens Romney as well. The guy who has spent more than two years berating President Obama for his European (code for "socialist") policies praised the government of Poland, saying "the world — and, by definition, the United States — should emulate Poland’s economic and societal transformation toward smaller government."
Not so fast, Mittens. The AP FACT CHECK: Romney ignores strong government role in Poland's economy as he heaps praise:
Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney hailed Poland's economy Tuesday as something akin to a Republican dream: a place of small government, individual empowerment and free enterprise.
While it's true that Poland is one of Europe's fastest-growing economies and boasts dynamic entrepreneurs, Romney's depiction of Poland as a place of small government is debatable. Even 23 years after throwing off a communist command economy, the Polish government continues to have a strong presence in people's lives[.]
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And while Poland's economic growth has certainly been impressive in recent years, this is partly the result of economic redistribution in the form of subsidies that have been flowing in from the European Union since it joined the bloc in 2004.
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[T]he government's role is bigger than in the U.S. According to International Monetary Fund statistics, total government expenditure as a percentage of GDP was about 44 per cent last year — compared to 41 per cent in the United States.
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[Romney's] depiction of Poland as a haven for innovation and investment is certainly exaggerated. Just attend a meeting of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw or another business group, and the complaints are many: red tape makes it hard to start new businesses, a rigid labour code makes it difficult to fire ineffective employees, corruption and a slow court system can make it hard to enforce contracts.
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Most Americans would also not trade in their standard of living for Poland's. Growth has been dynamic in part because the country started off from such a low point after throwing off communism. Romney did not mention that unemployment is 12.4 per cent or that wages are low. GDP per capita last year in Poland was $20,600 compared to $49,000 in the U.S., according to U.S. government data.
Romney did not make a trip to visit American troops in Afghanistan. In fact, he rarely ever speaks of the war. Romney's Neocon foreign policy advisors appeared on MSNBC and said "real Americans" don't want to talk about the war in Afghanistan anyway. Yeah, those are "real Americans" fighting your war, assholes!
The government of Israel was not quite yet done with Mittens. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, and Israeli President Shimon Peres praised President Obama in interviews while Romney was flying to Poland.
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