Mitt Romney scares me. Really, he does. I grew up in Michigan, where his dad George, had several successful terms as governor of Michigan and sadly, his political career went down in flames when he made the infamous "brainwashing" comment on the Lou Gordon Show (local Detroit talk show in the 1960s.) His Mormom religion didn't even enter into his politics and it wasn't until I was an adult, did I know he practiced that religion, as his policies were devoid of any faith-based initiatives, that are so common in today's politicians.
Sadly, his son doesn't share the same values. His term as the head of the Salt Lake Organising Committee and it's subsequent scandals put a black mark on what could have been a great Winter Games. In my dealings, with SLOC, I said to my Aunt one day: "never again!"
I guess it was SLOC's legacy of discrimination that turned me off. One of their personnel representatives said to me that she "couldn't understand why I hadn't had an offer for a job interview" despite my application being looked at over 30 times. They said it was because I "didn't have a local Salt Lake City address." Never mind that I offered to pay for my accomodation and transportation to the interview myself---there would be no out-of-pocket expense to SLOC. No deal, they said. Didn't matter to them that I had x number of years experience, including (at the time) 10 years being successfully self-employed. The message was clear.
One of the strange things I found out was that there was an increase in the amount of applications for Salt Lake City post office boxes. The local PO's went wild---they loved the extra business but it was quite a head-scratcher for them as to why there was all of a sudden demand for these items. Then SLOC got smart---and started checking addresses more carefully.
I've never had a potential employer or client make issue of where I lived. Mostly, it was "can you get to work on time?" I could have lived in a hut in Timbuktu for all they cared so as long as I showed up on time and got the job done on budget.
Now he's wreaked havoc in Massachusetts, doing the same in as in SLC, and now he wants to take this to the nation.
Over my expired IOC and Olympic creditial badges.
My Aunt (who has nothing to do with sports but has a great sense of philosophy) said to me at the time that maybe it "was a blessing in disguise. Maybe you would have uncovered something that they didn't want you to know that would have embarassed them."
The SLOC scandal hadn't even been whispered about at that time.
I think back to that whole time and realise how silly it all was. How everyone was out for themselves and for what they could get. Tom Welch and Dave Johnson esentially got off scot-free with SLOC's insurers paying their legal fees. The bribes, gifts, free trips, college tuitions, it goes on and on.
Now Mitt Romney wants to unleash his policies on the nation. Look what he's done in Massachusetts. Enacted legislation to require all residents to have health insurance. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell don't want the government telling me how I should pay for my health coverage. I took care of my husband for two years while he battled a cancerous brain tumor. I had enough on my mind. I sure don't need the government to tell me how to pay for it.
We can't let the legacy of corruption and discrimination rear it's ugly head again in the next presidential election. It was already dealt with once, with a varying degree of success in 2002.
We sure don't need eight more years of it in Washington,DC.
