Guilt By Associated Press
It used to be called guilt by association, but the AP appears to have taken sole ownership of the term with this "story". Apparently, it is a matter of grave concern and much interest to the AP that Mitt Romney's great, great, great, great, great grandmother once owned a cat. Or something equally ridiculous.
SALT LAKE CITY – While Mitt Romney condemns polygamy and its prior practice by his Mormon church, the Republican presidential candidate's great-grandfather had five wives and at least one of his great-great grandfathers had 12.
Polygamy was not just a historical footnote, but a prominent element in the family tree of the former Massachusetts governor now seeking to become the first Mormon president.
Romney's great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, married his fifth wife in 1897. That was more than six years after Mormon leaders banned polygamy and more than three decades after a federal law barred the practice.
Romney's great-grandmother, Hannah Hood Hill, was the daughter of polygamists. She wrote vividly in her autobiography about how she "used to walk the floor and shed tears of sorrow" over her own husband's multiple marriages.
This is exactly like the media reports about Arnold Schwarzenegger when he first ran for governor of California. They went something like, "Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, like Adolph Hitler, is originally from Austria." This is nothing but a media attempt at guilt by association. No matter how hard I try, I can't convince my great, great grandfather to change a thing about himself or how he lived his life. Because he's dead. I'm willing to be anyone reading this has the same limited amount of influence over – or responsibility for – something their ancestors did. This is pretty sleazy.
Other Links to this Post
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Iowa Voice — February 25, 2007 @ 9:11 am
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Public Secrets: from the files of the Irishspy — February 25, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
By Blackhawk, February 25, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Gaius, the other smear here is inhereted guilt. Not only do you have to be absolutely perfect, but your ancestors have to have been absolutely perfect. What a joke.
By Lars Walker, February 25, 2007 @ 9:05 am
This is so wrong-headed as to defy explanation. Are the people at AP capable of even one moment’s logical thought?
By Cory, February 25, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I did a bit of background checking on these two AP journalists.
Jennifer actually works out of their Salt Lake City office — obviously not happy by her LDS surroundings. If you look at her story history, she reports on polygamy all the time. If anyone wants to contact her and call her out on this shameful story, email her at jdobner@ap.org; or call her at (801) 322-3405.
Glen Johnson on the other hand reported from Boston, where they are looking for every possible way to smear their former governor. And he is always looking for ways to highlight the other candidates. Take a look at this glowing piece that Johnson did on Obama that doesn’t mention a negative thing in it, and of course doesn’t mention that Obama’s own father had multiple wives – http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/231641,3_1_EL27_A7OBAMA_S1.article.
The editors and publisher of the Associated Press should be ashamed.
By Anthony (Los Angeles), February 25, 2007 @ 2:42 pm
I wonder if the AP believes in tainted blood? I thought this stuff went out of fashion with the Kennedy/Catholic nonsense?
By David, February 25, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
Ohh by the way, Catholics used to burn and torture witches and some Evangelicals use to kill blacks in cold blood. I wouldn’t be surprised to find those actions in some candidates blood line as well. This paper must be bored and needed to write something. What a hit piece!
By Phil, February 26, 2007 @ 10:34 pm
OK, the Catholic Church used to burn heretics, etc. Fortunately that was a few centuries ago. Last time I checked, the LDS church professes some pretty strange articles of faith even today, even if they gave up polygamy (