There appears to be a very different definition of “small” in the Romney clan.
In an appearance at a Mitt Romney campaign office in Iowa, one of the candidate’s sons, Josh Romney, recalled a cozy Thanksgiving with the family at his parents’ “two-bedroom house, pretty small.” Democratic trackers American Bridge provided TPM with video of the event:
“They finally gave my dad a couple days off, so we were together with my dad,” he says in the clip. “We got to stay in the house because we were there first. I had a couple other brothers that were out there that had to stay at my brother’s house. But we got to stay at my parent’s place; they have a two-bedroom house, uh, pretty small.
According to an interview with Mitt Romney and Hugh Hewitt, the family spent Thanksgiving in San Diego, where he owns a two-bedroom house that’s reportedly 3,000 square feet and valued at $12 million. The property made headlines earlier this year when news broke that Romney planned to tear it down and replace it with an even larger compound.
The Romneys’ wealth has led to some awkward moments on the trail. Earlier this year, American Bridge captured video of Romney’s wife, Ann, telling a New Hampshire crowd about their “little place in Wolfeboro,” a reported 5,400 square foot, six bedroom mansion that also has a large boathouse and separate guest house.
Clearly aware of the vulnerabilities created by a fortune pegged as high as $250 million, Romney has been playing up his blue collar style in 2012: flying Southwest, wearing jeans and flannel, etc. A recent e-book by Politico included this anecdote:
“The candidate himself is a notorious cheapskate. He puts duct tape around the fingers of torn ski gloves and likes to fly JetBlue. When it’s necessary to reroute Romney, he sometimes balks; he doesn’t like the fees imposed by airlines for changed reservations.”
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
A 3000 square foot house with only two bedrooms... what are they, 800 square feet each?
You know, just as republicans (and Maureen Dowd) insist on calling the president "Barry", we really ought to start calling Romney "Willard". I mean, it is his name, after all.
Romney claims the 3000 square foot La Jolla house is too small. Given that the entire family consists of 28 members: Mitt, his wife, their 5 married sons & 16 grandchildren, I would tend to agree, but how often are all twenty-eight or even ten members of the family together in the house at the same time? I have no problem with Romney owning 1 house or twenty. He can have how ever many houses he wants and can afford, it can be as big or small as he likes. Romney's wealth is not the problem; dishonesty is.
The ease in which Romney tries to fool people into believing he is middle-class, just like them, is as ruthless as it is dishonest. You can tell just by the expression on his face what he is thinking: "I fooled them; I got away with it;" It is the exact same smugness, arrogance, audacity we have seen George W. Bush and, perhaps to a lesser degree, Sarah Palin display. While It irks me to no end that millions of folks, none-the-wiser, have been fooled into believing people like Romney, Bush Palin, etc. are "just like me," it irks me even more when their ill-conceived delusions of grandeur are mistaken for strength, courage and character.
Like father, like son Josh grew-up in a life of privilege never knowing what a day in the life of a poverty-stricken family or even a working middle-class family is like. And likewise by the time Romney's grandchildren reach adulthood they, too, will have developed a calloused indifference to the trials and tribulations millions experience every single day of their lives. But that is not the same as being deliberately deceitful & dishonest.
Romney pretending to be something he is not, is simply a means to an end. The end justifies the means.
Okay, I know it's highly unlikely and most likely tacky, but does this boy have some of the characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome? (I know - Mormon) Maybe I was just expecting healthier looking hair.
Oh, and get off this boy's back. Honestly, he has probably never even seen a home with only 2 bedrooms (actually he lied - it's 3 bedrooms), a lap pool (Ha! Call that a pool?), only 5 bathrooms, and less then half an acre! Come on! Get out! Postage stamp.
The small house is going to be bulldozed in favor of a home quadruple the size.
markcrim That's right. How did we all forget that?
Perhaps it will still only have two bedrooms, each 2400 square feet.
Perhaps they sleep in 900 square foot beds or something...
I think anyone who doesn't like the way money is distributed in America should just get on their yacht and sail away.
Is this the son who is a decorated combat veteran ?
rbe1 No, none of his sons was in the military, ever.
Gloria Lynnrbe1 They are serving their country by getting the best possible individual elected president and CinC...their father.
bcdefusGloria Lynnrbe1 Wow. How patriotic. That is, however, exactly how Romney himself responded to a question about his sons' lack of military service.
You know, it would have been better and more honest simply to say that they made their own choices and leave it at that. A parent has no business ordering their children to follow any specific career path. The fact is that as far as I know, there is no significant history of military service within Romney's family and that is perhaps tied to their Mormon religion. Young Mormons spend time as missionaries, not soldiers.
bcdefusGloria Lynnrbe1 Indeed, Willard himself received a 4-D deferment from the draft during the war in Vietnam based on his service as a Mormon missionary:
The word, "obscene," comes to mind.
Mittens grew up in my neighborhood of City of Bloomfield Hills, MI. At one time it was the wealthiest city in the country. He has never outgrown the snob. Being older than I was I never knew him personally, but knew his siblings (small town of 5400). I know many people like him, completely out of touch with the normal life of the normal American. He has lived a life completely sheltered.
I was blessed to grow up with parents who kept us in touch with reality. The house Mitt grew up in, down the street from ours was about 10,000 square ft., so his new property probably does seem small. I grew up in a 38,000 square foot house but now live in a modest 2500 and couldn't be happier.
Mitt is out of touch but it must be remembered that he has NO desire to relate to the average. He literally doesn't see them.
lageorgia57 "Mitt is out of touch but it must be remembered that he has NO desire to relate to the average. He literally doesn't see them."
Of course he doesn't see them -- he's already fired them.
<i>The Romneys’ wealth has led to some awkward moments on the trail. Earlier this year, American Bridge captured video of Romney’s wife, Ann, telling a New Hampshire crowd about their “little place in Wolfeboro,” a reported 5,400 square foot, six bedroom mansion that also has a large boathouse and separate guest house.</i>
But darling, simply everyone who matters knows that when wealthy women say "little" they really mean "expensive."
Who cares, this man is a waste of time.
We should no better than to expect any different kind thinking from Elitists. Snobbery is just there everyday way of life.
Well, at least Mitt hasn't forgotten how many homes he has -- unlike some former GOP presidential candidates I could name.
5 sons and not one enlisted in the military
lynnda37 They are the 1%, they don't do military. Military service is for poor people in their world view.
They like having over half the country's budget be in military spending, most of it for private contractors, while the average soldier, defending us against harm both foreign & domestic is paid close to minimum wage.
A two bedroom house IS small and a 5,400 sq ft house, while spacious, is hardly a mansion. Quit drinking the haterade. Nobody running for president is living in a crappy 1950s era 1,500 sq ft split level. Lets look back at some former Dem nominees residences: Al Gores mansion- $9million in Montacito Cali; John Kerry? Living in his Heinz heiress wifes mansion in Baecon Hill, Ma. How about Obama's restored victorian mansion in Chicago?
bills8259 And yet again ... you nitwits MISS the point. It's acting like he's unemployed, that he financially struggles, that his life is difficult, etc. No one cares that he's wealthy, it's his condescending smugness and wallowing in "my life is tough" pity, plus sticking it to people that ARE poor that raises our ire.
But, yet again, you people are too enamored with your own drooling ignorance to realize that.
bills8259
I don't recall either Al Gore or John Kerry, or any of their children describing their houses as "small".
I don't recall Al Gore or John Kerry trying to bond with the average person by claiming, "I'm unemployed too".
I don't recall Al Gore or John Kerry claiming that "corporations are people".
I don't recall Al Gore or John Kerry representing the 1% the way Mittens does with their policies.
As for the Obama home in Chicago, Zillow reports its estimated value at $1.2 million... one-tenth the value of Mittens' SMALLEST home. It's also 6200 square feet. Strange that you said "a 5,400 sq ft house, while spacious, is hardly a mansion" then turned around and described a 6200 square foot house that same way. Where, may I ask, is the dividing line between "mansion" and "hardly a mansion"? 6000 square, perhaps? Is that the cutoff? I think we need to establish a baseline here.
spas485bills8259 Come on, Willard's 3000 square footer is just a little cabin on the beach. Just a shack really.
nice try. regardless of number of bedrooms 3k sq ft is probably better than double the typical home, and at 12mil? And by comparing the homes of others, you're willfully missing the point of the article-the sense of entitlement perpetuated by the Romney clan into a generation of inherited wealth. That's the problem many of the 99% have with many of the 1%-many of them were born on third base and smile like they hit a triple in the gap.bills8259
I believe the only house Bill Clinton owned before he became President was a very modest house in Little Rock that he and Hillary bought when he became Attorney General of Arkansas. He was, of course, living in the Governor's Mansion when he was elected, but it wasn't his. While 5.400 sq ft is not outrageously large this is not the Romney's first or even second home. And the price is about 60x the median US house and 40x the median price in the San Diego Metro area. So it's damn plush for a thiird or fourth residence.
Anyway, as others have pointed out, that isn't the issue. He is entitled to own as many homes as he wants. It's the pretense that a house twice as large and 60x the cost of the median US house, in a very elegant seaside location, somehow is modest.
bills8259 I live in a 1950s, 1700 square foot split level with 4 people. It cost $250,000. It's by no means crappy, and I don't think any of the other very normal, middle class folks in my neighborhood think that their homes are 'crappy' either.
My parents live in a very large house in the ritzy part of town....but they KNOW it (also, they did their time in a split level). The problem with people like you and Mitt is that you view the bulk of America, sitting here in our ;crappy' houses we're very proud of, are completely out of touch with, and contemptuous of, the hoi polloi.
One reason Roosevelt was such a great president, I truly believe, is all the time he spent in a two room shack (less than 750 sq feet, now THAT'S small) in Warm Springs, Ga. He got to know actually people, and instead of looking down on them and their crappy lives, he gained a real respect for them. Republicans should learn that lesson.
bills8259 Sorry, but Mittens is not "one of the folks".
bills8259 My house is 1200 sq feet, it's 1950's style, two bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, small one car attached garage. Cost $118,000.00........ just like all my neighbors who have the exact same type of house. We worked hard for our homes, we're not ashamed of them. We also didn't inherit money or grow up in luxury as did Mittens.
He is not one of us, though he's trying very hard to pretend he is. He's never had to make the decision on whether to buy his children a new pair of shoes or pay the electric bill; he's never had to wonder if his children will be able to eat. He's never had macaroni & cheese for Thanksgiving supper because it's all he could afford.
Now again, if you have a mansion and were born into wealth, good for you, but please don't try to pretend that you are just a normal guy struggling to make ends meet as Mittens does.
He grew up in the lap of luxury, inherited more when his father passed away and made the majority of his fortune by buying up American companies, gutting them and shipping the jobs overseas; he's not a jobs creator, not in America.
Really, you are defending this douchebag?
Who is paying you
Him and all the other repug clowns are toast
But Somebody is implying a humble abode. Being all things to all people is hard work though. bills8259
bills8259 Total BS, Obama lived in an apartment and drove a Plymouth... haterade my ass.... Troll!
bills8259 Haterade. That's good. Have to remember that. Haterade. Wow. Haterade. That's, well, so creative.
Oh wait. I just googled it. 1.15 million hits. Oh well. Don't try to copyright it.
bills8259 Put down the pipe of RepubliCrack. In what planet is 5400 square feet is hardly a mansion. Anything over 5K is a McMansion. Even if it isn't a mansion as you claim, homes this big are out of the reach of at least 99% of all Americans. And comparing Slick Willard's homes to Democrats actually misses the point. I don't remember Al Gore or John Kerry joke that they were either middle class or unemployed. That's why this is relevant. We're talking about a guy who is so dishonest that he deliberately lies or distorts his quarter of a BILLION dollar wealth and tries to act like he's one of us. As for President Obama, he didn't buy that victorian house until he made his first million from his book deal. Romney inherited a shitload of wealth and got richer, but the President had to work to get wealthy. How about it?
My heart really goes out to the multi-millionaire Romney family, with their multiple homes and having to actually try to get by in 3,000 sq feet in one of their many mansions. NOT.
I'm so tired of these spoiled born into wealth rich brats whining about how poor they are and how rough they have it. Let them try to get by on less than $300.00 a week in 1200 sq feet, with no food assistance, no insurance and no chance of finding a job after having their job outsourced again by a jackass like Romney.
No house in the universe is worth $4000 a square foot. This is a sign that Mitt Romney is a fool.
HarryBowman Location, location, location!
Its in an exclusive area, on the bluff right on the ocean. But you're right, the HOUSE isn't worth that much, which is why he wants to replace it with something more suitable to the spot and to his station in life.
Poor Mitt. ONLY 3,000 sq..lol...
For $12 million dollars he only got 2 bedrooms. He got ripped off. Do we want a president who who doesn't know the value of a buck or real estate? Hell no!. Now Newt's gold plated Winnebago on the other hand....
markg8 Link said 3+5. Sill...
markg8 Sure, only 2 bedrooms, but there are 8 bathrooms.
If the Romneys think a 3,000 sq ft mansion is small how will they ever relate to the millions of Americans struggling to keep their homes and put food on the table? How will they have any insight or compassion for the millions of Americans who struggle with serious or chronic health problems but can't afford to see a doctor? I'm sick and tired of wealthy politicos who think that if your not wealthy like them it's because you don't deserve it.
kmssanfran They won't
kmssanfran That's why it was so funny when one of the first things McCain did when Obama took office was to churlishly demand that the new helicopters Bush ordered for the White House be cancelled as a cost savings measure Obama responded with a laugh, "I've never had a helicopter before, these seem perfectly good ones to me."
Apparently it is the orange-tiled little bungalow in the middle of the picture:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-08-23/mitt-romney-...
Good pics on the poverty of the place from the above article. 2 (3??) bedrooms, and only 5 baths. Those po' bastards. How can they live like this?! http://blog.luxuryproperty.com/mitt-romney-comes-t...
losamigospa And lovely neighbors. Someone named Joan & Bill. Ashton want to break off the well-to-do sections of Cali and have their own little gated country with Mitt as president and Boehner as Veep. Poor dears are 'sick at the outcome of the last election.'
losamigospa My heart bleeds for them.
Just kidding. They own a slice of the beach on the Pacific coast in perfect LaJolla. Must be nice.
Pay attention 99% folks, Mitt rolls in a different circle than you. Please understand that whether it is family or friends, Mitt understands that you need at least 1,000 square feet of house for each holiday/dinner guest. Otherwise, some doofus might touch Mitt. So stop complaining about Mitt being Mitt! Just let Mitt be.
This kid and his other siblings were instrumental in ending Romney's 2008 campaign b/c Willard was using millions of his own money for the campaign and the brats saw their inheritance dwindling.
Lets face it....the fruit does not fall far from the tree?
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