The Trail

Friday, September 5, 2008

CONSERVATIVE CREDENTIALS

Romney Restates Belief That McCain Is Outside GOP Mainstream

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In the heat of the Republican primary battle, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney blasted John McCain as "outside the mainstream of conservative Republican thought."

But does Romney, who spoke in support of McCain on Wednesday night, still believe that?

Actually, yes.

In an interview Thursday afternoon with Washington Post reporters and editors, Romney said he stands by his assessment of how he and McCain stack up against each other in terms of their conservative credentials.

"I still think my views on those issues are more consistent with the mainstream of my party, but you know what? He won. And I didn't," Romney said.

The comments came in a wide-ranging discussion in which Romney repeatedly criticized Barack Obama for not having enough experience to be president. "On the Democratic side, you have a nominee who is of so little experience in foreign affairs, domestic affairs, of any affairs, that I wonder how it happened," he said.

At one point, Romney stumbled a bit. Criticizing Obama's statements on Pakistan, he said, "We're going to go in and bomb Pakistan if we find Barack Obama -- excuse me, excuse me -- Osama bin Laden."

But his assessment of McCain's conservative credentials was the most interesting part of the conversation, because it was so off-message.

"Those comments pointed out differences between he and I on issues. I continue to have those differences with John McCain on those issues," he said. "But during my campaign, and during the debates, I always said I respect John McCain. He's a national hero and a person who is without question qualified to be president of the United States."

He went on: "There were a number of positions that he took that were more liberal, in my opinion, than my positions. And there are probably some vice versa. . . . I disagree with him on his original vote on the Bush tax cuts. I disagreed with the final version of McCain-Kennedy. I disagreed with him on campaign finance reform. I still do."

-- Michael D. Shear

A LOADED TERM

GOP Georgia Congressman Says Obamas Are 'Uppity'

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, a conservative Republican from Georgia, let slip what critics have been saying is the subtext of many of the attacks on Barack Obama: He's "uppity."

According to the Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, Westmoreland was discussing Sarah Palin's vice presidential acceptance speech outside the House chamber Thursday when he veered into his thoughts on Michelle and Barack Obama.

"Just from what little I've seen of her and Mr. Obama, Senator Obama, they're a member of an elitist class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.

When a reporter sought clarification on the racially loaded word, Westmoreland replied, "Uppity, yeah."

For weeks, commentators and critics have asserted that the McCain campaign's efforts to portray Obama as a vacuous celebrity smacked of historical efforts to describe African Americans seeking equality as "uppity," or not knowing "their place." The McCain campaign has heatedly denied any such thing, and has accused Obama of having "played the race card" for saying that Republicans would mock him as an outsider.

Westmoreland briefly gained national attention when he sponsored legislation to post the Ten Commandments in the House and Senate chambers. Asked by Stephen Colbert in 2006 to name all 10, he stumbled. "Um, don't murder, don't lie, don't steal," he offered, before confessing, "I can't name them."

-- Jonathan Weisman

'IT'S A BARBARIC WAR'

Dozens of War Opponents Arrested in St. Paul Protest

St. PAUL, Minn. -- Dozens of protesters were arrested on Thursday during a protest against the war in Iraq. The campaigners originally planned to march from the state Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center, where the last day of the Republican National Convention was taking place, but did not have permits for the hundreds of activists to proceed.

After gathering at the park around the Capitol for a concert, activists tried to cross one of the several bridges leading over the freeway toward downtown St. Paul, but police and police horses blocked the route. After an hourlong sit-down on one bridge, protesters moved to block an intersection and police began making arrests. Fifty-five protesters were arrested.

"The war in Iraq has got to end," said Catherine Ashton, who lives near St. Paul. "Millions of Iraqis are suffering and hundreds of soldiers have died. We were lied to and it's a barbaric war."

She said she was appalled by the "police intimidation." "I never thought I would see this in St Paul," she added.

On Aug. 30, a 23-year-old Michigan man was charged with illegally possessing Molotov cocktails, which he allegedly intended to use at the Republican National Convention. According to an FBI affidavit, Matthew Bradley DePalma of Flint, Mich., discussed throwing napalm-filled Molotov cocktails at police officers, stating, "I will light one of those pigs on fire."

Much of the action during the week was coordinated by the RNC Welcoming Committee, which held a news conference on Thursday morning to "unmask." Its base was raided before the convention began, but members insisted it was unnecessary.

"We were watching a movie," said Brian Hokanson, one of the organizers.

He added that "he had not seen any member of the RNC Welcoming Committee commit acts of violence," and insisted that informants working for the police had been introduced to the group.

Elliott Hughes, 19, said that he had been beaten by the police after he was arrested and was subjected to homophobic slurs. "Six or seven officers came into my cell. One officer punched me in the face," he said, showing scars on his face.

-- Holly Watt