Mitt Romney: Tough on Crime
Emily Geiger
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So, Mitt has a new ad out in Iowa attempting to bash Huckabee for the commutations and pardons he issued as governor. I know Mitt likes to call these “comparison ads,” but in my opinion, when you distort the record (or don’t tell the whole truth), it’s an attack.
In the ad, Mitt points out that Huckabee issued over 1000 pardons and commutations (he doesn’t actually tell us exactly how many of each), while Mitt never once pardoned or commuted anyone while he was governor of Massachusetts. Sounds like Mitt should have been the one on Law & Order!
But when you think about it, doesn’t it perhaps bother you that of the 100 requests for pardons and 172 requests for commutations that came before Romney during his time as governor, Mitt Romney never granted even one? It kind of makes you wonder if he even looked at the files. Or maybe, he’d made up his mind in advance that he was not going to grant any pardons or commutations because he knew he had higher political ambitions, and he wanted to look tough on crime.
Mitt Supported Scooter Libby Commutation
Here’s the irony: while Mitt wouldn’t forgive anyone of even a minor crime in Massachusetts, he was totally OK with G.W. Bush commuting Scooter Libby’s jail sentence. Whether or not you agree with Bush’s actions regarding Libby, this situation illustrates the hypocrisy of Mitt Romney. You see, Romney’s excuse for blindly denying all pardon and commutation requests was because “ he didn't want to overturn a jury.” But Scooter Libby was convicted by a jury. Shouldn’t Mitt respect that jury’s decision as well?
Mitt Wouldn’t Pardon War Hero
Mitt’s policy of refusing to even consider any pardon or commutation requests was so asinine that he twice refused to pardon Anthony Circosta. According to the AP, Circosta was 13 years old when he was “convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun - a shot that didn't break the skin. Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard and led a platoon of 20 soldiers in Iraq's deadly Sunni triangle. In 2005, as he was serving in Iraq, he sought a pardon to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer.”
Sound like the reasonable decision of a governor with good judgment to you? Me either.
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