Mitt Romney cleaning up dirty video game water
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 18th 2007 at 7:02PM }
Former one-term governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney is starting his campaign off on the great motivator of fear. Using the ocean as a metaphor based off something Columbine related, he speaks of how "deeply troubled" he is by the culture our children grow up in today. Romney says, "I'd like to see us clean up the water in which our kids are swimming. I'd like to keep pornography from coming up on their computers. I'd like to keep drugs off the street. I'd like to see less violence and sex on TV and in video games and in movies. If we get serious about this we can actually do a great deal to clean up the water in which our kids and grandkids are swimming." Senator Brownback of Kansas says Romney is just a little late to the culture wars.
Brownback, who's already busy with his own battle on video games, says that Romney is a hypocrite because while he was on the board of Marriott International (hotel chain) he was paid $100,000 a year by a company that makes millions of dollars a year from in-room pornography rental. Raise your hand if you like yummy gooey irony.
As we move into high gear on what will be the longest US presidential election campaign cycle ever, it'll be interesting to watch how many times video games come up as talking points when, well, it's pretty clear there are bigger issues going on. But darn it, video games make for much easier talking points.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kinshadow @ Jul 18th 2007 7:09PM
"yummy gooey irony"
I think I saw that one. Not enough midgets.
Stew @ Jul 18th 2007 7:10PM
Mitt Romney for authoritarian 2008!!
LordMinogue @ Jul 18th 2007 7:12PM
It would be more effective to castrate everyone right after puberty and only give the reproductive organs back after passing a "fit for the human gene pool" test - which should be as difficult as the driver's test in Sweden.
Triforceowner @ Jul 18th 2007 7:16PM
*shudder* Oh please no.
gunstarzero @ Jul 18th 2007 7:19PM
Ron Paul for President! Its either that or choose your authoritarian.
Adv2k1 @ Jul 18th 2007 7:22PM
Either vote for Romney or You voting for Babies to drown. Make your choice... bring it on Romney you John Kerry wannabe you'll go so down in the general election it would be great
TheGuy @ Jul 18th 2007 7:26PM
Hmm...a flip-flopping politician from Massachusetts. What's the worst that could happen?
(remembers John Kerry)
Ohh yeah...his campaign is screwed lol.
jimy @ Jul 19th 2007 1:52AM
He wants less school shootings, less people to abuse drugs, and more morals in our society. Yeah, he definitely lost the support of all the people who care about more important things than video games. Because he doesn't want 10 year old Timmy to re-enact a murder he's soooo screwed... here's a shocker, any politician can be considered a flip flopper. Well, except Ronald Reagan. Reagan's God.
James @ Jul 19th 2007 7:32AM
Just keep telling yourself: one day, there will be Fred Thompson.
WiNG @ Jul 18th 2007 7:28PM
He sounds like a robot.
Mit Romney is like the restaurant on the other side of town you never go to.
Hillary Clinton is like a cheeseburger.
Obama is like a nice steak
Leonidas @ Jul 19th 2007 5:58PM
Actually, Hilary Clinton is more like a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. If you look inside of it, its all sticky and gooey and you would NEVER stick your penis in it.
32_Footsteps @ Jul 19th 2007 12:09AM
Yeah, except I've been to that restaurant. It's very trendy, calls itself "tapas" when they just charge you $35 for appetizers and call that a meal, has watered-down drinks, and probably gives you indigestion the next day.
That's what Mitt Romney as your chief executive is like.
RKN2K @ Jul 18th 2007 7:36PM
Again they're assuming that the "ocean" was responsible for the actions of the shooters.
el tonot @ Jul 18th 2007 7:38PM
Or maybe do A REAL AD on REAL ISSUES....like how CNN reported that as many as 39% of all college graduates in America under 30 are EITHER under-employed or unemployed all together and this is causing many to postpone marriage, procreation, saving for retirement,etc etc until their 30s. How about that Mr. Mormon. I think that has a bigger effect on society then some kid see T&A on the computer which will probably see in real life once he gets to HS and the hormones really kick in!!!!!!!!!
Tony @ Jul 18th 2007 7:38PM
This is a man who tied a dog in a carrier to the top of his car. This is a man who has asked for "double Guantanamo". This is a man who, among many of his peers, spent more time discussing fictional 24 terrorist situations as opposed to anything that is actually happening.
Essentially, I think the last thing the guy should be informing me of is normalcy and he's probably one of the last people I expect will actually do anything about it.
zwarren69 @ Jul 18th 2007 7:53PM
Ron Paul wouldn't hurt our video games!!!!
hvnlysoldr @ Jul 18th 2007 7:41PM
The problem with both political parties is that they always want to give to the less fortunate!
J-Guy @ Jul 18th 2007 7:51PM
Pshhh, screw the less fortunate.
faceless coward @ Jul 18th 2007 7:51PM
Cool, so now I know I'm not voting for Romney or Clinton. I can't wait to see who else wants to get crossed off my list!
NapalmBoy @ Jul 18th 2007 7:55PM
Romney is like the daily special at a restaurant that changes depending on what people are wanting that day. Hillary is like an over-cooked hamburger that is all shriveled up, nasty and hard to sink your teeth into. Obama is like a steak that was never cooked, and hopefully never will be. Remember the good ol' censoring days of Tipper Gore?
required @ Jul 18th 2007 8:09PM
tipper did not censor she simply requested an "ingredient" label be put on media
faceless coward @ Jul 18th 2007 10:50PM
"Romney is like the daily special at a restaurant that changes depending on what people are wanting that day."
Unfortunately, you can truthfully apply that analogy to most politicians.
NapalmBoy @ Jul 18th 2007 7:57PM
"How about that Mr. Mormon" -- And the bigoted comments begin.
Puppies @ Jul 18th 2007 8:06PM
Hey Mitt, that's great but I want MORE violence and MORE sex.
P.S. WTF is "pernagraphy"?
Love,
Puppies
WedgeTalon @ Jul 18th 2007 8:10PM
As a couple others have (briefly) said, Republican candidate Ron Paul won't mess with your video games. I urge anyone of voting age on this site to do some research on him.
He is against empire building. Wants to reduce taxes. He believes in privacy rights and personal responsibility.
Here is his appearance on G4's AotS:
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/videos/g4/
faceless coward @ Jul 18th 2007 8:28PM
His Constitutional stance sounds nice, but I don't know how I feel about his opposition to net neutrality. I understand his reasoning, but the fact that one site is not favored over another for the average Internet user is something that is fundamental to the Internet. Even if the ISPs decide to start giving preference to sites that pay them, the Internet has become too vital for their to be a significant boycott of any sort.
faceless coward @ Jul 18th 2007 8:28PM
*there
WedgeTalon @ Jul 18th 2007 8:37PM
faceless coward: I agree. His stance towards net neutrality IS quite worrisome to me. From my thinking, if government does totally stay out of it, I think it would work out in the long term. The big question then would be what damage would be done in the short term. On the other hand, if we open the door to internet regulation, would THAT be a bigger can of worms in-and-of itself? It's a hard topic.
I ultimately believe, though, that he will do vastly more good than he could do harm.
Thanks, by the way, for your honest and thoughtful reply. It's quite refreshing when discussing politics. :)
shMerker @ Jul 18th 2007 8:12PM
Maybe this is just too obvious: inhaling water will kill you, regardless of how clean it is.
On a more serious note though: "I would like to see less sex and violence on TV" honestly so would I, I'm just not willing to give up freedom of speech in order to do so, and I don't see any way that the government can "clean up the ocean" without also becoming the thought police.
GT:Spectre @ Jul 18th 2007 8:30PM
"Keep pornography from popping up on our computers?"
What kind of sick bastard would wish that?
The Internet is MEANT for PORN..(and music...and games.)
FrankTheCrank @ Jul 18th 2007 8:41PM
Mitt's all business. He doesn't give a crap about you or your society. As long as his haircut is good and his bank account is high, you can go f yourself.
PEOPLE WANT SEX, PEOPLE WANT DRUGS....LET THEM HAVE AT IT!!
Markusdragon @ Jul 18th 2007 8:51PM
Surely the only way to get rid of internet porn would be to ban it, then nuke the rest of the world. Then slaughter any survivors in case they have any lewd thoughts.
tituspullo @ Jul 18th 2007 9:46PM
so why shouldn't violent games be kept from kids? the truth is the industry will have to police it's self or the big brother will show up.
Wubbytoes @ Jul 18th 2007 10:32PM
Sure thing Mitt.
WedgeTalon @ Jul 18th 2007 10:52PM
Why not? He's gaining followers every day, has millions in contributions, holds many traditional-style Republican views. I firmly believe he has a viable bid, especially if interest in him continues to gain the rest of the year like it has thus far.
Also, he placed 2nd in the Utah straw poll (behind, of course, Romney). He placed FIRST in the New Hampshire straw poll with 65% of the votes, beating Guiliani (2nd place) who had 8%. Ouch.
I think he has a better bid than you want to give him.
As to why we like to post about him? Well, of course it is so others can get interested in him. I myself looked him up after reading a post about him on slashdot.
mongoloido @ Jul 18th 2007 10:58PM
I'm not sure the ad quite deserves the flames it is getting. I'm not willing to give up free speech for anything, but I'm don't believe Romney was calling for that in his ad. He wants less porn and blood in front of kids. That's cool. Come up with a solution that doesn't involve messing with my civil liberties...
As for the gooey irony, I don't see it either. The hotels provide adult entertainment for adults. The irony would exist if Mitt helped provide porn to schools.
josh @ Jul 18th 2007 11:17PM
i dont support the guy but wanting kids exposed to less pornography does not mean wanting to ban pornography for ADULTS (like the ones who can order it in hotels on their credit cards). i am a grown up, and i think its sad that any kid with an email address will definitely get porn in their mail box... but i also think any adult should be able to look at porn if they want.
Tom @ Jul 19th 2007 2:35AM
Ron Paul seems to be about a million times better than Mitt Romney, but I can't in good conscience vote for a Republican. I've learned over the past 7 years that the whole lot of them just can't be trusted. I guess if anyone out there reading this HAS to vote Republican, then let it be Ron Paul, otherwise anyone paying attention knows Barack Obama is the clear choice for '08.
zwarren69 @ Jul 19th 2007 2:51AM
He is not a neo-con. In fact, if you look at his record, he will make almost all the dems look like neo-cons. This man is about principles, and he has stood by them for 20 years!
Tom @ Jul 19th 2007 3:42AM
zwarren69, I agree with you: Ron Paul seems fairly progressive on most issues. Likewise, Obama differs from most Democratic candidates (Edwards and Clinton are hypocrites who voted for the War while Obama was holding rallies protesting it), so I think America will be in good shape if our choice is between Paul and Obama. Either way we win.
James @ Jul 19th 2007 8:32AM
Why not? Maybe because Ron Paul has as much as said he thinks 9-11 was an "inside job". He's a conspiracy-monger, which to me says "nutjob". Plus his supporters really put me off.
They bought fredthompsonforum.com, rudyguilianiforum.com, and mittromneyforum.com, then they spam blog comments with the URLs pretending to support the title candidate, then they delete all the sane posts on the forum while adding shills with comments like, "I didn't know actually supports . But I've been looking around, and it turns out Ron Paul actually opposes . I'm going to have to look at Ron Paul some more." Astroturfers are usually not the first sign of a quality product (or politician).
thispaceforsale @ Jul 19th 2007 1:53PM
The ad fails on a number of points, primarily because it is a bunch of soft issues. No candidate would say they want to expose kids to more violence and sex and drugs. Just like no one would say they want more crime. The ad is a powder puff, and worse, the mixed metaphors are nonsensical.
Ideally, videogames should not be used as fluffer for candidates.