Mitt Romney’s Favorite “People”

As if his Wall Street connections, hawkish and unbalanced foreign policy views, and contempt for even the most basic civil liberties and protections weren’t enough to arouse concern among the public, Mitt Romney has surprised the American people yet again after giving his latest opinion about the nature of corporations.

While speaking at a fair in Iowa, Romney stated, “Corporations are people, my friend,” in response to a remark over whether he would raise taxes on people or corporations. This reply is a telling indicator as to where Mitt Romney’s real priorities and loyalties lie, and leaves the public wondering as to which “person’s” welfare Romney would be putting first if elected: the individual’s or the corporation’s?

Instead of focusing on the high unemployment, reductions in basic benefits, and financial uncertainty for the average American, Romney is again revealing that he wants to continue the GOP pattern of prioritizing big business tax breaks, CEO bottom lines, and corporate cronyism at the expense of the needs of the individual. Though not the first time Mitt Romney has offered shocking and revealing statements to the public, including his pledge to “Double Guantanamo” and his newfound beliefs that one of the foremost economic problems is “Illegals,” this new disclosure about his opinions regarding corporate personhood is especially troubling in this time of recession and economic crisis. Wall Street and Corporate America enjoyed eight years on top while the public debt grew and the American people suffered; it’s time to ensure that today, our government puts actual “people” first and creates a culture of accountability when working with business. We can’t afford another decade of indifference, irresponsibility, and greed.

Fair and Balanced? Not likely!

Fox News is proving yet again that their slogan of ‘Fair and Balanced’ is the farthest thing from the truth. The highly publicized Ames Straw Poll is taking place this Saturday and will be preceded by a debate tonight, hosted by Fox News. Presidential candidates are required to meet the following criteria to take part in the poll:

1. Must be registered with the FEC.
2. Must meet all Constitutional requirements.
3. Garnered at least an average of one percent in five national polls based on most recent polling leading up to the registration day.

Apparently, however, Fox News had one other criteria they failed to mention in their requirements: Candidates must be straight.

Fred Karger, the first openly gay Republican Presidential candidate, is being denied a space in tonight’s Republican debate because Fox News has decided to retroactively change their criteria. In the August 4th Harris Interactive poll, Karger garnered 2% of the vote (tying with Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman) which pushed his national polling average above 1%. According to Fox News, the poll was invalid because it was taken online. But as Karger himself pointed out, this clarification of which polls are permissible didn’t happen until AFTER he had submitted his list.
This is just another example of Fox News’s ridiculous policies and their poorly hidden bias. According to the original written criteria, it shouldn’t matter if a candidate has national name recognition or what exactly his or her personal political views are and it definitely shouldn’t matter what the candidate’s sexual orientation is. All that matters is that the candidate meets all three of the criteria and Fred Karger has. Altering the criteria to keep him out of the debate is unacceptable and begs the following question:

What is Fox News so afraid will happen if Fred Karger is allowed to take part in this debate?