Swift takes her revenge on Romney

Coming from Jane Swift I can easily reject her 'poor sport' I'm feeling sorry for myself demeanor. Worthless piece of literary blibber blabber!

Yeah, but what she's saying is spot on true.

Good ole Mitt will say whatever it takes to get a vote. He's like a used car salesman. Just as greasy. Would love to see him get the nomination. It will make it that much easier for Hillary or Obama.

I think most people would just like her to go away, but she's telling the truth about Mitt, please people wake up!!

Yeah, John McCain is no flip flopper....rejecting the religious right in his first campaign and then driving his Straight Talk Express right to the front door of Bob Jones University the next!

Jane Swift was unelectable - get over it we needed to put someone in front of the MA People who could be elected. You could of been like our cadalliac of governers and just announce who you support (but then again who would care)

Jane Swift was unelectable - get over it we needed to put someone in front of the MA People who could be elected. You could of been like our cadalliac of governers and just announce who you support (but then again who would care)

Jane Swift was unelectable - get over it we needed to put someone in front of the MA People who could be elected. You could of been like our cadalliac of governers and just announce who you support (but then again who would care)

Can someone tell McCain that it's "Washington" not "Worshingtong" the current commercial is brutal and ill advised.

Wow, Jabe Swift said something relevant....miracles do happen.

Looks like Mitts PR team has sent out a response to Swifts piece (look at #6 & #7, they are from the same talking point but different pseudonyms). You'd think Mitt would have his PR team fake different repsonses. Whatever, maybe his campaign staff uses illegal aliens that couldn't read his directions. Why is Mitt so afraid AGAIN of Swift, is it Mormons disdain for women?

Mitt is starting to fall apart. I feel for him.

I totally agree with her - Romney has no crediability.

As a NH resident who, like most of its residents, values integrity above all else, I could not support Romney for the reasons Swift articulates very well.

Comments 6 though 8 particularly amuse me. Seems like someone's been listening to a little too much Michael Graham, since they're using verbatim epithets he's used against Governor Patrick.

Swift is right. And it's true about Clinton, too. BOTH are insincere candidates who will say anything as long as it means nothing, and will do whatever it takes to win. Neither stands for anything more than becoming president.

This coming from a governor who used State Police Helicopters to ferry her back and forth to the Berkshires, used state employees as baby sitters for her children and expected the public to feel sorry for her as a "working mom". Give me a break Jane! Real swift statements in NH today!

You set women back in MA politics 20 years with your selfish antics. Go back to the rock you crawled out from under.

How cynical are you about the political process? If you think Romney actually believes what he says, then he's a hypocrite and flip-flopper. If not, then he's a supercandidate.

....to those of you New Hampshire folks who support Romney - unless you are wealthy - how do you think he may make your lives better? if you are rich, he will certainly cut your taxes...do you really think - at heart - this guy cares about "real" people? he would not know a real person if he tripped over them on his lawn in...he is a greedy corporate opportunist who wants to turn our government into a bunch of smart ass consultants who never worked a hard day in their lives...Mitt Romey - making the rich richer and duping working class folks everywhere! go for it folks!

Does this count as 'Swift-boating' as well? Like her or not, she is 100% correct. Flip-flopping was the most serious sin on Earth when Kerry was doing it, but now, as is typical of the hypocrisy of the far Right, when a Republican does it it is considered 'becoming enlightened'. What we need after the past 8 years of having our government hi-jacked by the far Right and our Constitution used as toilet paper by Bush and Cheney, is less radicalism, less blind patriotism, and more REASON. Left or Right, our country is at its best when we are CENTRIST - when we radicalize all we do is play into the hands of the bad elements of our gov't, when we are the ones who should be making our gov't play into our hands. And we will never fix these problems if we don't first admit them, then work towards common ground solutions - instead of allowing rhetoric to polarize us. As a matter of fact, a shade of gray is what is usually best for the people - black and/or white is often what serves the politicians most heavily. When given the chance to come together on many issues, most Americans have very similar viewpoints, and are only 'opposing' because they are forced to choose black or white on every item. Gray is the way.

I'm from NH....I think Jane makes some good points....but in any case, Mitt is a big phoney....he should not be our next President

Janey was unelectable. So whatever happened to backroom deals in smoke filled rooms? Mitt plunged the knife deep in her back to get elected and use Massachusetts as a test site for national politics. Then "Mr. Brylcreem" did his best to ruin public education and spend the majority of his time running away (literally) from the needs of the citizens of Massachusetts. While Janey may still be upset her points are well taken and should be respected.

I have no use for Mitt Romney or Jane Swift. I felt that Romney was only a Massachusetts resident when it was politically convenient for him to be one. He never should have been allowed to run for Governor in the first place. Swift, on the other hand, couldn't get elected to Congress against John Olver, she was a weak Lt. Governor in a weak administration, and was handed the governor's office by Cellucci and botched it up big time. They are both losers in my estimation.

If we can remember correctly. Romney came into fix Jane's mess. Mitt Romney did a fine job as governor and will be and even better president.

MITT ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT!!

Who on earth cares what Jane Swift thinks?

she was governor by default . . what does she really know? Romney may have faults, but he did a good job here in MA. I'd rather have him in the Oval Office instead of Clinton. Then again, I'd rather have the devil himself in place of Clinton. At least with the devil we know what we are getting

Although I am not a fan of hers, I think Jane Swift speaks the truth about Mitt Romney. I believe that if he is the Republican Party's choice to run for President, we will have a democrat in the oval office in January 2009.

Say what you want about Jane Swift, but she's right about Romney. Mitt forgot about Massachusetts as soon as he was sworn into office. It's an outrage that he's getting away with flip-flopping, in particular about gay and abortion rights. Voters NEED to care about his flip-flopping. It's concerning. The media should keep replaying the debate where he says he'll be more progressive than Ted Kennedy, because it's clear that 13 years later, he's far from it. Mitt, go back to Belmont, and stay there.

he did a "fine job" alright...campaigned all the way through his tenure at the expense of taxpayers and hardworking folks...used the state's liberal views on religion to get elected as a mormon and now has nothing but disdain for the state and it's "liberal bastion..." what exactly did he accomplish as governor other than using our state as a platform for a better job? but he is going to get tough on immigration!

looks like this article got sent out to a Mitt Romney supporters e-mail list at about 1:15 because four comments in a row support Romney without addressing the main thrust of the article, which is that Mitt Romney will say anything to get elected. Voters themselves can decide whether they think that's good or bad.

I care what Jane thinks because she has been up close and personal with Mitt. The only reason he ran for Governor was to use it as a stepping stone to the presidency. You can debate whether Jane was a good governor or not but she does know the man. I shudder to think of him as our President. He is so slick and scripted.

I care what Jane thinks because she has been up close and personal with Mitt. The only reason he ran for Governor was to use it as a stepping stone to the presidency. You can debate whether Jane was a good governor or not but she does know the man. I shudder to think of him as our President. He is so slick and scripted.

JANE SWIFT SHOULD NOT BE SPEAKING. SHE DID NOTHING IN THE SHORT TIME SHE WAS IN OFFICE. BUT THAT BEING SAID YOU SHOULD RESEARCH AND FORM YOUR OWN OPINION. ROMNEY HAS DONE NOTHING FOR THE STATE OF MASS. THIS WAS JUST A STEPPING STONE FOR HIM TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT. HE DID NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT HE WAS DOING WHILE IN OFFICE. PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY NEED TO WISE UP AND STOP VOTING FOR THE POPULAR PERSON, AND START DOING SOME RESEARCH AND VOTE FOR THE BEST CANIDATE.

Jane Swift should not be giving political advice, giving her disastrous turn as Governor. We are lucky to have public servants like Mitt and the George Bush and he will make a fine President. Get ready for it Massachusetts, Hillary is fatally-flawed and unelectable. Once Mitt is elected all of the limousine liberals will have to buy new bumper stickers that read "1-20-17" to put on the back of their Subaru wagons. It will be fun to watch, and I can't wait.

Typical Republican responses - attack the person instead of the words. You might understand Romney changing an opinion or two but his whole platform is completely opposite from where he stood 2 years ago. He's a total phoney. Business legend? Bill Gates is a business legend. Warren Buffet is a business legend. Who ever heard of Mitt Romney the businness man until he spent millions of dollars telling us about his prowess. Another rich white guy who, surprise, got richer. Saved the Olympics? From what? The only scandal with the 2002 Olympics was getting it to Salt Lake City in the first place. The Republican Congress gave Romney all the money he needed (more that $650,000 per athlete for security), so he spent other people's money effectively. Big deal. He was a do-nothing, one-term governor of Massachusetts who never stuck his neck out politically and couldn't wait to get out. He didn't run fro re-election because he would have lost.

Whatever you thought of Jane Swift as governor-I think she performed adequately in difficult circumstances, she is a Hall of Famer compared to the Utah Snake Oil Salesman who has pandered uncontrollably to whoever might get him over the line in the next election. He ruined the Massachusetts Republican PArty, he ruined the reputation of venture capitalists as political executives and pretty soon he's going to make it impossible for Mormons to do anything on a national stage

Fact check folks - ALL POLITICIANS USE THEIR POSITIONS AS STEPPING STONES TO HIGHER OFFICE. HELLO!

People, if you don't like Jane that is fine but deal with her statements, don't attack her as a person or a governor...Do you feel Mr Romney is a "stand up" man of character worthy of voting for or is he just a poser who modifies his views and positions to meet those of his intended audience? Ed

People, if you don't like Jane that is fine but deal with her statements, don't attack her as a person or a governor...Do you feel Mr Romney is a "stand up" man of character worthy of voting for or is he just a poser who modifies his views and positions to meet those of his intended audience? Ed

Jane Swift wasn't ready for the job of governor, but she worked hard at it, trying to do the best job she could, and she really _wanted_ the job. Mitt Romney may possibly have done as much as five days' work during his entire term, and never had any interest in the MA governorship except as a stepping-stone to the presidency. He stabbed Jane Swift in the back quite publicly after expressing support for her, and then as soon as he was sworn in, started running not just _for_ president, but _against_ his own state that had just elected him governor, making Massachusetts the butt of all his jokes as he traveled the country campaigning. Everything he did do as governor was aimed at playing to a national Republican audience, not addressing the needs of his own state, and he left us with a billion-dollar deficit to clean up. And he says he wants to do for America what he did for Massachusetts--those of you who say you support him, think about that, please.

Don't shoot the messenger, Romney's reversals are clear public record.

Sure, Mitt was a great governor for us - that's why Mass just got the 49th rank in job creation over the last 6 years! I can't wait to hear how Mitt blames the democrats for that one ...

Mitt Romney has the guts to lead. Things are not always color coded and it is important that the next leader of the free world have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Strategic flexibility is a key factor. Let us support our former governor as he runs for the highest office in the land. Go Mitt!!

As a registered republican, I can say that Swift did a terrible job.

But Myth Romney did a lot worse

Don't Massachusetts Republicans hate to hear the truth? Romney is a dishonest hack who will say anything to get elected and then change his mind when he moves on. As a Democrat, I say please don't give us a nice guy Republican opponent like Huckabee or an honest man like McCain. Romney as the Republican nominee, now that's the gift that keeps on giving no matter who the Democratic nominee is.

Jane Swift was an adequate politician that got chewed up by the Boston media/political machine. She does write an excellent Op-Ed piece though. “Romney is Wrong” is a bumper sticker available from irregular times.com, and it sums the Mittster up in a nut shell. I have no problem with his religion, but he is nothing more than a flip flopping imitation of an empty suit. I’m proud to have that bumper sticker on my car, best $3.95 I ever spent. A friend of mine worked on the Big Dig and told me shortly after he became Governor that Amorello gave him a briefing and tour of the project. The thing he was most concerned about was being photographed with a hard hat on, as he didn’t like the way he looked. He is all about appearance and short on substance and in the end people will see him for what he is, just a PowerPoint laser pointing business man trying to be more than another car salesman. My two teams Giuliani-Huckabee or Biden-Clinton time will sort this out. We need moderation not extreme views to keep us safe and prosperous as a country.

Jane was terrible, she was a bad example for women in politics in this state, is this her revenge on Mitt?
Well I hope her comments will encourage people to vote for Mitt!!
Why is she crawling out of her rock now, she is so transparent, get a life Jane and stay out of ours.

Whatever you think or thought of Jane Swift--and I was no fan--she's absolutely correct about Romney. And she just scratched the surface!

Hooray for Jane. Looks like Mitt is on the end coming around. Romney and his handlers forced her out of the Governor's race a few years back so that they could plant the seeds for his presidential run. He's flipped and flopped so often on issues he should be called Mitt "Pancake" Romney. The last two years he was in office he was gone so often, they should have put his face on a milk carton so folks would remember what he looked like. Romney was a joke as Governor and he's a bigger joke as a Presidential contender. His religion has nothing to do with it, it's Mitt's track record, or lack thereof

Whatever you think or thought of Jane Swift--and I was no fan--she's absolutely correct about Romney. And she just scratched the surface!

On Gay rights: In 1994 Romney was and still is an advocate of gay rights. At that time gay marriage was NOT an issue at all, but he was one of the very first politicians to fight gay marriage when the judge allowed it in MA. He still thinks gays should have rights, but that marriage is for only one man and one woman. He admits that he was apposed to the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy and thought it wouldn't work... but it has worked for this many years and shouldn't be fixed.
On Gun Laws: Romney was fighting against legalization of assult rifles in 2002. His argument (which is a valid one) was that assult rifles are used to commit crimes, not protect yourself or hunt with. He is highly in favor of the Right to Bear Arms and has shown this in his record.
On immigration: Romney was the FIRST to appose the immigration reform bill that McCain endorsed. Look that one up... he got a lot of initial criticism for being so against that bill in the start, until others jumped on the ban waggon. When you hire someone, or go wash your car, or go through the drive through... do you ask someone with a different accent for their green card? If Romney did that, we would be discussing how you think he discriminates against foreigners. He gave the business owner a chance and he blew it, so he fired the company. What else should he have done?
On abortion: This is the ONLY issue Romney has clearly changed his position on. He had a close relative die of an illegal abortion and it was hard for him to understand why abortion should be illigal. He ran in the most liberal state of the US and ran on a pro-choice platform. Ok...we all know this, right? Now let's look at his record while IN office. He vetoed EVERY pro-choice bill that came accross his desk. Every one!! When the first one came to him he had to make a choice to take a life or save one, and this was the first time in his life HE had to make that decision, and he chose LIFE.
Romney has been called a flip flopper by the media, but the fact of the matter is, he is a true consirvative and there are many out there that do not want him to be president and will do anything they can to make him look untrustworthy! ROMNEY IS NOT A FLIP FLOPPER, END OF STORY!

anyone else suspect that "rod" is in fact a romney campaign worker? please...nice try!

What goes around...comes around.

I love it!

Mitt is doomed. His flip-floping will be his undoing. Does the right wing realize he once uttered the words "I support gay rights?"

Not yet...but they will before it is all over.

Let's go Hillary and Obama!!!

Jane is right and wrong on her point. Yes, Romney flip-flops whenever it is convenient. However, the Democrats will not be able to use the specific flip-flops effectively because each switch has been away from the Democrat friendly position to the conservative position. What are Democrats going to accuse him of being - a closet, concealed moderate? Kerry's problem was that he moved to the center - dove pretending to be a tough on defense. Romney's problem in a general election would be what - I'm really not as anti-choice, homophobic, anti-immigrant as I say I am? Anyone who would be tempted to shift from him over that is not going to go to Barack / Hillary / whomever.

Jane was terrible but Mitt is far worse.

Myth Romney... no not a campaign worker... just someone who knows how to do a little research of my own BEFORE I make up my mind. Everything you are all saying has been said a million times before by hundreds of liberals. I like to research both sides of the issue and make an informed decision on what I feel is right, not on what the media tells me is right.

I have never met a pol of any party that did not flip flop. Republicans and Democrats are all the same. What's in it for me is all they care about.
We would be better off picking our next president by selecting a name from the phonebook.

I swore I would move to RI if Romney became GOV in MA, but then I couldn't sell my house because the economy turned to crap when he was around. Tagg is a real tool as well.

I don’t know how this will ultimately play out. I’m baffled by what or who influences people’s decisions in a National election. After all, “W” has been elected twice (well, sort-a). If signs could vote in my part of New Hampshire, Mitt Romney would be the Republican candidate.

Maybe that is a good thing for Democrats, because the perception is that he would easily be defeated on his past issues and past performance as Governor, as Jane points out, as well as other folks have in Massachusetts, including members of both major political parties.

My fear is that Romney will overcome any of his detractors and opposition, and ultimately become the President. He did exactly that in his quest to become Governor. People don’t care to look at all of the mounting evidence. They choose their one issue that makes a difference to them – abortion, taxes, the war in Iraq, gay marriage, religious preference, etc., and then ultimately vote for the candidate or party that represents that position.

I admire Jane for having the courage to write the article. She was kicked to the curb when Romney announced his intentions for running for Governor, and she pretty much kept her mouth shut about the whole affair at the time, and played the part of the “good subordinate party goer.”

Regardless of how you feel about Swift, she's right. How can anyone have any faith in a guy who changes positions so frequently to pander to voters? The guy is a phony, and I look forward to the day he's out of the race. This country needs a candidate with character, and integrity. A guy like John McCain.