I’ve watched every single debate so far this season and I really think this was the dumbest. CNN hosted a GOP debate in Jacksonville, Florida. It was moderated by Wolf Blitzer. The only interesting aspect of this debate was Mitt Romney. Whatever funk he was in at the last debate is clearly over. He came out swinging last night and really landed some blows against Newt Gingrich.
The worst part of the debate was when Romney and Gingrich sparred for what seemed like 10 or 15 minutes about each other’s tax returns. Gingrich attacking Romney for being a corporate raider and Romney attacking Gingrich for being a lobbyist for Fannie and Freddie. Then Gingrich went after Mitt for having a Swiss bank account and investing in a mutual fund that invested some money in Fannie and Freddie. The entire back and forth about all that was sickening and I nearly changed the channel. This is not the kind of stuff Republicans should be attacking each other about. This is the kind of class warfare and politics of envy that left wingers thrive on and we are supposed to reject.
I don’t give a damn how much money Mitt Romney has or where he invests it. He earned that money honestly and should be able to do what he wants with it. One thing he does with his money to a greater degree than anyone else on that stage is give to charity. Romney made around $21 million last year in investment income. He gave 15% of that away to charity. He also took no salary when he was Gov. of Massachusetts or when he ran the Olympics. Say what you want about Mitt Romney, but he’s not a greed head.
On the flip side, I don’t care about Newt’s money either. I don’t care if he has a $500K account at Tiffany’s. Last time I checked that was still legal in this country. I also don’t care if he was a lobbyist. It’s not illegal to be a lobbyist. This is a Capitalist country and Newt’s connections on Capital Hill were a valuable asset once he left Congress. I don’t blame him for making a buck.
