| David Bernstein has delivered again. You'll recall, no doubt, that a story in the Politico recently claimed that George Romney actually did (literally, not figuratively) "march with" Martin Luther King, Jr. -- after all, two "eyewitnesses" said so. And some outfit called "Politics1" picked up the story and declared that "Mitt Romney told the truth when he claimed this week that his father had marched for civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Politico reports eyewitnesses stepped forward to verify that then-Michigan Governor George Romney walked side-by-side with King in a 1963 civil rights march in Grosse Pointe, Michigan."
False. George Romney did indeed participate in a 1963 civil rights march in Grosse Pointe. But King wasn't there. He was in New Jersey. Here's Bernstein:
Then-governor George Romney did indeed march in Grosse Pointe, on Saturday, June 29, 1963, but Martin Luther King Jr. was not there; he was in New Brunswick, New Jersey, addressing the closing session of the annual New Jersey AFL-CIO labor institute at Rutgers University.
Those facts are indisputable, and quite frankly, the campaign must have known the women's story would eventually be debunked -- few people's every daily movement has been as closely tracked and documented as King's. As I write this, I am looking at an article from page E8 of the June 30, 1963 Chicago Tribune, which discusses both events (among other civil-rights actions of the previous day), clearly placing the two men hundreds of miles apart. I also have here the June 30, 1963 San Antonio News, which carries a photo and article about Romney at the Grosse Pointe march; and an AP story about King's speech in New Jersey.
A King researcher editing his letters from that time has stated definitively that the two men never marched together; Michigan and Grosse Pointe historians have stated definitively that King was not at the 1963 Grosse Pointe march; Michigan civil-rights participants of the time have concurred; so have those who worked for George Romney at the time.
Bernstein ascribes malevolent motives to the Romney campaign in all of this, and it's hard to disagree with him.
All of this evidence is important to present to the general public, but it is unnecessary for the Romney campaign -- it has been clear for some time that they know perfectly well that the two men never marched together.
Bear in mind that the Romney team has a substantial research team (and vast resources for outsourcing more). Bear in mind that the campaign has compiled vast documentation about the candidate's father, particularly his civil-rights activities, long before the Phoenix posed the question earlier this week. Bear in mind that the campaign has direct access to George Romney's materials and documents, his family members, his friends, his former staff, etc.
Believe me, they know the two men never marched together. This is an attempt to rewrite history. And even if it is a small rewriting, it is offensive.... Changing that history by mistake -- which is quite possibly how this began -- is unfortunate. Changing that history intentionally -- which is what the campaign is doing now -- is offensive.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Mitt Romney is not worthy of the presidency. |
