Primary Monitor
Gay veteran confronts Romney on marriage, service benefits
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shakes hands with Bob Garon, of Epsom, at Chez Vachon in Manchester on Dec. 12, 2011.
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It’s an iconic image: Mitt Romney, haloed by cameras and microphones, shaking hands with a flannel-clad man over a cup of coffee. But the conversation that unfolded in that crowded diner booth yesterday morning went far beyond polite small talk between a voter and a potential president.
The man in the flannel shirt, Bob Garon, is gay and, according to what he later told reporters, served in Vietnam. He was dining at Chez Vachon with his husband of six months, Bob Lemire. Garon and Lemire eat at the restaurant almost daily, according to the AP, and didn’t plan on interacting with Romney until he stopped to inquire about Garon’s hat, which identified him as a veteran. Garon, however, wasn’t interested in telling war stories.
Instead, he asked Romney if he supported a repeal of the New Hampshire law that legalized gay marriage. Romney, according to the Associated Press, said he favors repealing the law because marriage is between a man and a woman. Garon went on to ask if Romney would support legislation that would extend military service benefits to gay couples. Romney said no.
“Okay, that means if you were in the White House, you would not support any form of legislation that would change that so a serviceman would be entitled to any benefits like a man and a woman?” the AP reports Garon asking. “A veteran and a spouse would not be entitled to any burial benefits, or medical benefits, or anything that the serviceman has devoted his time and effort to his country, and you just don't support equality in terms of same-sex marriage?”
Romney responded that the Defense of Marriage Act “defines benefits, whether for veterans or non-veterans as between married spouses and for me that's a man and a woman. We apparently disagree on that.”
Garon later expressed his frustration with Romney’s stance to ABC News.
“I went and fought for my country and I think my spouse should be entitled to the same [benefits as they would] if I were married to a woman,” he said. “What the hell is the difference?”
Romney was at the diner to accept an endorsement from Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, so the media throng was a thick as the syrup on the pancakes. Within hours, the conversation was on political blogs around the world.
Garon, according to the AP, isn’t registered with either political party and is unsure if he’ll vote in the Jan. 10 Republican primary. If Garon does vote, there’s little chance it will be for Romney.
“You can’t trust him,” Garon told the press. “I saw it in his eyes.”
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[edit - this was intended as a reply to ItsaRepublic]
Do you know of any of those kinds of circumstances - do we even know if a group of anti-abortion folk ever had such a public conversation with candidate Obama?
I seem to remember the monitor covering things like Hillary crying during the campaign, and "outing" her on her claim that she had to duck a sniper.
No media outlet can possibly cover EVERY news story from every angle. You know that the Monitor, when it leans, tends to lean left. It's their right to do so. There's no requirement for them to be absolutely neutral. And you aren't required to read the paper. You also know that FOX and the Union Leader lean right, as is their right to do. do you criticize them for their bias?
Go ahead and offer an alternative view if you want, but continuing to harp on the Monitor's alleged bias is pointless and makes you look like a three year old having the same tantrum over and over.
BTW - it's your own wild interpretation that says the column intimates that Romney is "unqualified" for the office of the President. The article focuses much more on Mr. Garon and his interaction with Romney, than on Romney himself.
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Yes, Fox is the only network which does not carry water for progressives. But they at least have progressives on there to refute any point of a conservative. Watched MSNBC lately?
The Union Leader keeps their coverage on the editorial pages. It does not spill over into the news coverage or in the Monitors case, they do not have multiple hit pieces on candidates with whom they do not agree.
But NO ONE can argue that the Monitor has anyone on staff writing who is anything but Left leaning and they do spill their opinion into almost every story which they write.
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This story is making headlines because it's funny. Once Romney and his crew figured out who he was talking to, his crew bailed him out.
If Obama came to town and sat down at a table with a bunch of cranky free staters or NRA nutjobs who go ape on him because they demand the right to carry an AK-47 into a public elementary school any time they darn well please, rest assured the Monitor would take note.
Right now, all eyes are on the pack of rabid bozos who keep throwing each other under the bus to get the Republican nomination. So of course such hilarious encounters are going to make headlines.
Interestingly enough, the Union Leader doesn't appear to have a single mention of the incident. Granted, I didn't dig from top to bottom, I just glanced at their "politics" and "primary" headlines. If the story is missing altogether, there's just fruther proof that every paper has their agenda to push.
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and have several follow ups calling those folks extremists and criticize them for having disrespect for the president.
If you stop glancing, you might see the story. It just would not be the lead as it is sooooooo unimportant.
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Comparing the CM outing Hilary because she cried about avoiding a sniper, to talks with Obama on Abortion is not the same thing. The CM did not out Hilary in a negative way, they were trying to make her look human in a positive way. So that arument holds no water, sorry.
Nobody will ask Obama the hard questions. They never did when he was campaigning, and if in the rare instance they did, they accepted his answers, when they should have dug deeper.
Many feel Fox is more in the center. Otherwise they would not have the high viewer rating they have.
And most of us that are not attached to one party, but more concern about the truth and facts read and watch all the news sources. We have no choice because the news is not the news anymore. It is a vehicle for promoting their politics. And that goes for the liberal media and the conservative media.
Simple really, voters think about a politician's performance. Their record, the economy, jobs etc. Sadly the lame stream media cannot accept the fact that their American Idol President is in way over his head. So all they can do is focus on anything but his record. They are doing that to get him re elected. And they are counting on voters to be stupid.
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Has the Monitor ever covered a piece where people who were against abortion had the opportunity to sit with Obama and ask him questions about, let's say, Planned Parenthood?
Then have they ever printed the story as if Obama was not qualified to serve as President due to his answer?
Would the reporters be gathered around the conversations like hungry wolves ready to pounce for their dinner?
When did the Monitor ever cover the Fast and Furious program with such zeal? Of course they relish being given red meat like this because they do represent the cynical, those who blame others, the unprincipled, the shallow, the emotionally charged, the progressive leftists who have nothing to run on beyond class envy and their own failures.
Never is the Monitor critical of Obama, never do they do the hard research or reporting about candidates with whom the one sided partisans at the Monitor ever give any other side. They take the easy road and the road of attack.
"Oh goody goody, we have some raw meat". I live for the day that the Monitor will show the same equal coverage of all sides of the debate with equal critique and coverage of all candidates, even Obama. However, I doubt that I will live forever.
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They're not interested. They've got their views and nothing anywhere says they can't put them out there. If you want Obama-bashing material, you've got plenty of options, including the Union Leader. Which, by the way, is still free. There is also WGIR 610AM. And Fox news. And countless magazines and websites.
But I'm sure the Monitor still thanks you for your financial support. The First Amendment is a beautiful thing.
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all day long as as long as they are paying for the ink, they can do it on any page.
But it is poor business management to think that you can be as partisan as the Monitor is and continue to grow or even save the newspaper. Oh yes, they are doing OK but what is a newspaper about?
It is about giving you the straight news, not opinion in every story. The Monitor is not the only paper with this issue but the ones who are struggling are the most partisan ones. It is about doing the real investigative reporting, not just taking the easy targets and shooting fish in barrels.
Newspapers are not about "first amendment, at least if you are being intellectually honest. Or if you are a professional journalist.
Bias is everywhere but the Monitor has the chance to be more than something to some people and be more unbiased in regular reporting, offering balance and being many things to many people. Circulation would go up, they would be the leading newspaper in the state but I guess that is not important.
Any newspaper which allows their opinion to trump accurate reporting where the people can decide based on non-biased facts is doing itself and the readers a disservice.
I realize that they don't care but does that make me a whining three year old as you mention or a person asking supposedly educated folks who feel enlightened to offer "diversity" of opinion and information?
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You are an inspiration to me!! God Bless you and your husband and I'm proud that my husband fought the same war you did and continues to fight for equal rights for all Americans!!
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That says it all. Mr. Garon,Thank you for your service, and may you and Mr. Lemire have a long and wonderful marriage.
The wheels are coming off Romney's Pacer!
Nhdriver
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Who do you trust?
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He voted to end DADT.
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Paul stated that he supported the right of gay couples to marry, so long as they didn't "impose" their relationship on anyone else, on the grounds of supporting voluntary associations.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? DADT for civil relationships?
Give me a break.
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Ron Paul OR Mitt Romney.
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I don't trust any of the Cretans.
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Obama or anyone in his administration. I don't trust oke doke pretend Yankees or rinky dink people on the public nipple. I don't trust most of the existing Congress and especially not Jeanne "The Crocker" Shaheen.
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I'm a BORN VERMONTER - and you can't get anymore authentic yankee than that!
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Hmmmm???? Vermont used to be the Green Mountain state, a real paradise until all of the New Yorkers plowed their way North and took the state over the cliff and down the drain.
Now it is the Rainbow Mountain State where the men are men and most of the women are as well. Where liberals would make Karl Marx blush and of course the liberal Berkeley of the North, Burlington.
Have you seen the latest stats on poverty and crime in Burlington. It is a tale of two cities, the liberal beautiful people and the locals whose lives they have ruined.
I would not "brag" about being from Vermont, but even if that mattered, the rest of the statements stand.
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I'm bragging about being a REAL VERMONTER from small-town central VT. I'm fully aware of what Burlington has become and though it is a great place to have a meal or see a cultural event that's about the only reason I would venture anywhere near downtown Burlington.
We all know that Burlington can hardly even be called "Vermont" anymore. It's just like so many other aspects of the Green Mt. State that have been co-opted by rich, politically-correct flatlanders. Take a look at "Vermont Life" magazine . . . that rag has been turned into a "New Vermont" propaganda piece. I once read an article in there about Johnson Woolen Mills - one of the oldest and most storied clothing manufacturers in the state. There wasn't a SINGLE MENTION of the sport of hunting in the article - even though Johnson Woolen Mills has been synonymous with plaid wool hunting clothing since its infancy. After reading this I sent an email to the head of VL (a woman who hails from New Jersey or someplace similar, no less) and told her what a joke her magazine had become. I never got a response.
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and the Editor, Mary, I know of whom you are talking. Yes, a Northwestern and Dartmouth graduate (proves education means little).
Vermont Life likes to celebrate the diversity of the population and like NPR they do quaint little fluff pieces on local yokals as if they are an exhibit in a zoo and so obscure.
Fair enough then, I agree to agree with you. The social movement in Vermont is part of what has ruined the state. Burlington after dark is a bit scary, by the way. The moneyed New Yorkers have destroyed the state.
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