Let’s not forget, that Mitt Romney actually attended Stanford University for his freshman year of college. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is enough to motivate Stanford students to support him in the general election.
In 1966, Romney and some other students held a protest on campus, not in opposition to the Vietnam War, but in support of the draft. Though they’re probably being used against him today, the photos below show a conservative willing to go against the mainstream in an era when such a position was very unpopular, an admirable act in my mind:
(politico/buzzfeed)
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Is it admirable to support anti-protest the protestors? Is it admirable to do so if you are exempt from being drafted because of your religion? Is it OK to advocate for your peers to be sent to war when you can decline on religious grounds? Is it OK to advocate for your peers to be sent to war when you can be exempt due to your family’s political connections or wealth? Is it admirable, is it OK, is it right?
That’s a lot of rhetorical questions there Adam. The answer is Yes by the way; it is okay, admirable, and right to advocate the right message even if you don’t follow it. Is it OK for a racist to support giving black people equal treatment?
And I think it’s useful to know that Mormons aren’t exempt from the draft because of their religion, nor can they decline on religious grounds. However, this draft exempted ALL currently enrolled college students, so you could have made a better argument that way. Many Mormon leaders actually encouraged their youth to enlist or commission to fight the “evil of communism” and what not.
An admirable act would have been enlisting. He is just saying that he supports other people being killed while he himself is safe in college. What a scumbag, he just lost my vote.
What the hell guys HE USED HIS MORMON FAITH TO DEFER from this war. How can you support this Hypocritical stance
and yes it WAS HIS FAITH that got him defere through the church of latter day saints so Jacob you are wrong here sir
According to the 1966 Gallup poll, people Romney’s presumed age were between 66% or 71% in favor of the Vietnam War. So, Mitt was not an outlier as was implied in this webpage.
quote:
” show a conservative willing to go against the mainstream in an era when such a position was very unpopular”
info from http://www.seanet.com/~jimxc/Politics/Mistakes/Vietnam_support.html
Why does the headline say “1968″ but the article says “1966?” If he only attended Stanford for his freshman year, that seems a bit odd.
I’m not sure how protesting the tactics of sit in demonstrators can be equated with being “in support of the draft.” That’s what a liberal would say.
The headline should say ’66, no? Because I don’t think he was still at Stanford in ’68.
Did Mitt flunk out of Stanford?
Did Mitt flunk out of Stanford?
No he left for his 2.5 years Mormon missionary in France after his Freshman year at Stanford. After he came back he transferred to BYU to be with his wife Ann.
I noticed some of you claiming he used his religion – Mormonism – to claim exemption from the draft. This is not true. My dad was in college during the Vietnam war era, he was Mormon. Had he dropped out of college, my Dad could have been drafted. The same is probably true of Mitt Romney.
The things keeping Mitt out of Vietnam could include: college, money, political connections. NOT his religion.
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