This should end Romney's campaign, at least it would if he were a Democrat

[dsc]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4533.html

When he was 13 years old, Anthony Circosta shot another kid in the arm with a BB gun, which was not a nice thing to do.

And even though Circosta's shot did not break the kid's skin, Circosta was convicted of assault.

Which did not matter much as Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard, went to Iraq and led a platoon of soldiers in the Sunni Triangle.

In 2005, while still in Iraq, Circosta petitioned then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for a pardon so that Circosta could become a police officer when he returned home. And the state Board of Pardons recommended that Circosta receive that pardon.

But Romney refused. Twice.

but what is his opinion of pardoning Libby

Romney replied: "This is one of those situations where I go back to my record as governor. I didn't pardon anybody as governor, because I didn't want to overturn a jury. But in this case, you have a prosecutor who clearly abused prosecutorial discretion by going after somebody when he already knew that the source of the leak was Richard Armitage. He'd been told that. So he went on a political vendetta."

"Was that a yes?" Blitzer asked.

"It's worth looking at that," Romney said. "I will study it very closely if I'm lucky enough to be president. And I'd keep that option open."

end of quote

So just imagine if a Democrat, who didn't serve in the military, had five male children none of whom served in the military, refused to pardon a recipient of the bronze star but wanted to pardon a Democratic political hatchet man who lied to the FBI and a federal grand jury? He or she would be toast as a candidate. To Russert's credit this was on MTP for their panel. To Stephanopolous' discredit it wasn't on This Week's. If this had been a Democrat, it would have led the nightly news and be 24/7 fodder. We should help the media along here.

If Romney does get the nomination we should track Mr. Circosta down and have him film a few ads. Contrast his service with that of Romney.

[Kagemusha]

1. Romney understands why Libby lied and obstructed justice.

He just wants one of the "good guys" (in his twisted version of reality) to be protected for doing "the right thing".

[yes2truth]

2. Excellent post. I'm glad I read it. Thanks. EOM

nt

[Jim__]

3. It will end his candidacy if the press gives it broad coverage.

I'm betting they don't.

[MasterDarkNinja]

14. If they don't then we can give it broad coverage if he gets the nomination

You know that some people who build attack ads for the democrats are going to save this as something to use against Mitt Romney if he gets the GOP nomination.

[MasonJar]

4. Recommend!

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Another Repuke hypocrite. Anyone surprised?

[rosesaylavee]

6. K & R

... for broader coverage at least here.

Thanks for posting!

[Canuckistanian]

7. Circosta should swiftboat Romney

And he should should buy airtime from the liberal media to point this out in glorious subsidized HD stereo documentaries.

I'll be waiting.

On edit:
:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[FloridaJudy]

8. Shouldn't a 13 year old's record have been expunged?

I thought juveniles' records were sealed when they reached their majority. Correct me if I'm wrong: this isn't addressed in the article.

[dsc]

9. Good question

I don't know the answer but it seems one of two things are true. One, for some reason he was tried as an adult or two, the brady law or MA version of that law forbids people convicted as juveniles from carrying guns (the article makes mention of a carry permit). Someone more familiar with those laws would need to answer that.

[jmowreader]

10. I don't think it was the second

He couldn't have enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard if he was forbidden from carrying a gun.

[Miss Chybil]

12. It would be very odd for a police department to hold this against the guy,

even if it weren't expunged. A lot of times, you just have to tell them the truth about a matter and let them judge you on it in its proper context and in light of what you have done since. A waiver may be needed, I don't know. What I do know, is a large purpose for performing a background check is to see if you've told them the truth about everything they've asked you. Some things cannot be "overlooked," but many things can if you're honest.

[Lochloosa]

16. Not when you are applying for a law enforcement position.

Everything gets opened.

Now you can go kill brown skins all you want.

[VP505]

23. Seems to me,

if memory serves me right any adult can have their juvenile record expunged, however the nature of the crime, property crime vs violent crime may have some influence on that. Guessing that he petitioned the Governor for pardon because perhaps its not possible for him to have his record expunged. Romney either realized that he could be criticized for issuing pardons if he should seek higher office or he is just a plain old ahole to have refused that request.

[caligirl]

11. Just left a detailed complaint message at his campaign office.

[JI7]

13. how about Ghouliani and his thug associates, and Romney has some also

there is a huge double standard. if it's a Democrat it would be breaking news with them repeating the story at least every 15 minutes.

[progressoid]

15. "...if he were a Democrat:"

That's the key.

[Wednesdays]

18. The "Magic R" that washes away all sins...

As Bartcop would say.

[Chico Man]

17. Lucky enough to be president

Sure is going to take a lot of luck, Romney.

[MannyGoldstein]

19. Romney is Unbelievably Dangerous

As a Mass. resident, I've seen that Mr. Romney:
1. Has zero principles, other than empowering himself.
2. Is 40x smarter than Bush.

He is uniquely dangerous person - he truly has the motive and ability to really destroy our country, in a way that Bush can only dream of. He scares me way more than the other Republican candidates - the others are buffoons whose bad intentions would trip on their incompetence.

[rox63]

20. As a fellow Mass resident, I agree

Mittens is as slimy as they get. He will say anything and do anything to get elected. Then he will immediately start screwing over the same people that voted him into office.

[rox63]

21. Maybe he should reapply with our current governor, Deval Patrick

I'm sure he'd get fair consideration from Patrick.

[usregimechange]

22. Yes, Armitage was Novaks TWO senior administration officals...

[ironflange]

24. If that doesn't shoot him down (no pun intended), let's try this. . .