Republican Presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney fields questions from supporters at Cabana Caf頤uring his bus tour to the town of Newberry, S.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2007.(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)
Posted on 08/31/2007 7:18:50 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEWBERRY, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says that if terrorists detonated a nuclear bomb in a U.S. city while he was president he would retaliate "in a very dramatic and clear way."
Posed that scenario while campaigning Friday in this early primary state, Romney said he didn't want to say much more.
"The answer is you would retaliate and you'd retaliate in a very dramatic and clear way. I don't want to be terribly more specific than that," the former Massachusetts governor said.
"But there's no question that people understand that the reason that we have the thousands upon thousands of nuclear warheads we have is that we intend to protect ourselves. And I would never shrink from protecting the American nation, the American people, nor shrink from retaliation if somebody used something as awful as a nuclear device. We will be safe."
The key is preventing nuclear proliferation, Romney said. He cited Iran, which has been accused of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge its leaders have denied while claiming it's interested only in a nuclear energy program.
"It's time for us to dramatically tighten the sanctions on Iran and to get our friends around the world to do the same," Romney said. People in Iran need to know that "going down the nuclear path is a source of peril, not a source of pride," he said.
Romney spent Thursday and Friday in South Carolina. In Aiken earlier Friday, he said that he doesn't want the federal government to take over providing health care for the nation's uninsured.
"Don't have 'Hillary Care,'" Romney said, referring to a favorite Democrat target, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. He said he doesn't want to "have the guys who ran the Katrina cleanup" in charge of health care and would leave it up to states to design their own systems.
Romney said he'd help stop illegal immigrants by sanctioning employers who pay them and oppose so-called sanctuary cities that give illegal immigrants housing and other benefits.
Republican Presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney fields questions from supporters at Cabana Caf頤uring his bus tour to the town of Newberry, S.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2007.(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)
if terrorists detonated a nuclear bomb in a U.S. city while he was president
Ask the D’crap candidates the same question and the answer would be they’d file a complaint with the United Nations !!!
“”The answer is you would retaliate and you’d retaliate in a very dramatic and clear way. I don’t want to be terribly more specific than that,” the former Massachusetts governor said. “
I don’t speak Romney, what am I supposed to believe that, that sentence means?
I know that it is something that I “can take to the bank”, but in clear, non Romney language, what does it mean?
..this sounds too much hillarylike, I suppose going to the UN 34 times over a two year period with 42 resolutions and about the time a third nuclear attack wiped out 6 major cities, might prompt a military response (if the democratic controlled Congress allows it with specific time tables for early surrender)
I wonder if Romney would give up this bid in exchange for Bush resigning and Romney being appointed to complete the term?
only semi-sarcasm
His statement means absolutely nothing.
Unless the “terrorists” are under the direct controll of a nation/state, there is no one to retaliate against.
A loose knit group of America haters can form a terrorist group, and with some luck, they can obtain a nuke and hit us. Pray tell, Mr. Romney, where would you strike, and who would you “retaliate in a very dramatic and clear way” against?
Well, Hell, Mitt, what I wanna know is how I can get by without paying a liscence fee on all the damned machetes we have out here in the swamp!
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
In the Year Two Thousand and Five.
AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE POSSESSION OF A MACHETE
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1.
Subsection (b) of section 10 of chapter 269 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition is hereby amended by inserting after the word “inches”, in line 67, the following word:- , machete.
SECTION 2. Said subsection (b) of said section 10 of said chapter 269, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-
For purposes of this section, “machete” means “a heavy knife at least 18 inches in length and having a blade at least 1.5 inches wide at its broadest measurement. This subsection shall not apply to carrying a machete on one’s person or in a vehicle if the machete is carried for the purpose of cutting vegetation or if the machete is being transported for the purpose of cutting vegetation. In a prosecution of a violation of this subsection, there shall be a permissible inference that such carrying of a machete is not for the purposes of cutting vegetation. Such presumption may be rebutted.
Any individual who requires a machete for the purposes of cutting vegetation shall register the machete with the local police department on an annual basis and, upon payment of an appropriate annual registration fee as determined by the local granting authority, shall be issued a permit authorizing him to possess the machete solely for the purposes of cutting vegetation.
Romney, don't give Iranians ideas. Now Iranians will be arguing that they need nuclear warheads to "protect themselves".
"The key is preventing nuclear proliferation"
Romney needs to be more careful. He just said "we have the thousands upon thousands of nuclear warheads". Now he talks about "preventing proliferation". Why give the peacenik types an opening? They will say "Whoa, 'thousands upon thousands of nuclear warheads' is 'proliferation' !"
Some good answers out of him this time.
| I don’t speak Romney, what am I supposed to believe that, that sentence means?
|
Ha,ha,right,sanctions !!!
Don’t take Hillary Care when you can have Romney Care! And he’s just itching to be tough after rolling over for gay marriages in Massachusetts.
I’ll support him if he wins the nomination because whomever is opposing him will be ten times worse, but I could really do without further liberalizing the Republican party.
I’ll make a statement right now about Romney that I honestly believe. That he would govern more conservatively then the current President. That being said I have candidates on the GOP side I prefer over Mitt Romney !!!
“It means the man isn’t foolish enough to stimulate headlines around the world saying “American presidential candidate promises to spray Moslems like bugs.”
To my ear, this is twice this week that Romney has come on a little too strong and sounding off balance. We know that any politician has to give a political answer to this question, we can accept that.
Romney’s answer sounds over macho, and then you realize it doesn’t say anything, it sounds a tad off kilter, very Romneyish. This new push of his to sound strong and masculine is sounding a little strained this week.
You are easily fooled.
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It means the man isn't foolish enough to stimulate headlines around the world saying "American presidential candidate promises to spray Moslems like bugs."