- a quote from the official website of Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential candidate for the USA.
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS MY OPINION.
I'm not America. I am typically British, typically Northern and typically average. I come from a country where Politicians are slimy and the country they are running don't believe a word that comes out of their mouth. Britain is a country of skeptics, particularly when it comes to Politics and the government. And to be one hundred percent truthful, I never was truly interested in the field. Not until now.
Strange isn't it? How what's happening in another country can truly make you realise what's happening within your own? I'm talking of course, about the vastly covered and hugely controversial 2012 US Presidential election currently facing us. The world is gripped. In one corner, Barack Obama, born to a single mother in Hawaii who has somehow made himself maybe the most powerful man in the world. In the other corner, Mitt Romney, a Mormon grandfather of eighteen hoping to steal Obama's position in the following weeks to become the 45th US President in history. I don't feel like I could comment on the situation. I don't feel like I should comment on the situation. But I feel that I have to, because, yes America, to us Brits, Mitt Romney is simply the personification of the word: 'Villain'.
After doing my research, I found that Mitt Romney was raised in Michigan, and spent two years abroad in France as a Mormon missionary. He married his wife, Ann (thanks, Wikipedia) in 1969 and went on to have five children, who then went on to have eighteen children between them (it's a lot of work). On paper, Mitt Romney sounds like the perfect American man: respectful of his religion and family centred, but in real life, Romney is just as seedy and slimy as the next Politician, maybe even more so.
It's testimony to his character that even in the UK, people are terrified at the prospect of Mr Romney becoming elected. His slamming of the British Olympics, (which he said rather brashly just days before a UK visit that London was 'not ready' for) really brought him to our attention. For two nations that must work so closely together, two nations with such power, do we really feel that a Romney/Cameron partnership is the best idea?
"i like being able to fire people who provide services to me"
- a direct and unfortunate quote from Mitt Romney when proposing health insurance plans
But, it isn't just that. It isn't just the fact that with Mitt Romney at the helm, America will be driven on an overly religious course where God affects the decisions made by the government. It isn't just the fact that perhaps the US might be unable to work with many countries because of the pure and utter repulsiveness of their leader. I'd also like to draw your attention to Mitt Romney's attitudes towards women, and, why as a woman, you should NOT support Mitt Romney.
Maybe the most important topic to cover is the topic that will say it all, show you why I REALLY hate this man, and why I really do not think it safe or wise as a woman for Romney to become elected is Sex and Abortion. And it's the hottest topic of them all. OK, so America was never going to be 100% behind abortion. It's a very religious country, with lots and lots of women living there. Lots of different women with different views. But, if Mitt Romney is elected, he plans to overturn 'ROE V. WADE' - a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court that ruled a woman's right to decide if she wants an abortion is private. Romney also wants to immediately defund 'Planned Parenthood' - a reproductive and maternal health service which provides sex education and deals with the abortions themselves. That would leave women everywhere with nowhere to go, no choice and no privacy. It's tactless, it's backwards and it's downright ridiculous. Mitt Romney wants to exercise his right as President to take away the rights of women. Wehther he means to or not, its extremely reminiscent of the Church's backwards ways in thinking about femininity and the female body. What's more (I know, more, can you believe it?) Romney wants to give any employer the right to deny health insurance to any employee, meaning that your boss could deny you access to the pill or any other form of birth control because of a 'moral conviction'. Romney also backs the school of thought that life begins at conception - a fuzzy line that hasn't yet been truly decided upon by many - it would restrict contraception to a very minimum in a number of states.
I could go on, but this is a fashion blog and I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself, and with a lot of American friends, I don't want to offend their political beliefs (after all - it's their belief), but as a woman, I feel like to respect myself and to respect my sex would be the most wise thing to do. Romney is against equality, and in a time where so many people have worked so hard to gain it, I can't help thinking that an era of 'President Romney' would be a huge, gigantic leap backwards.
Jessie. x
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