Romney and Common Sense
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007It would appear to be lacking………
The focus of the AP report was Romney’s denial for Circosta, a 30-year-old from Agawam, Mass.
In 2005, while serving in Iraq, Circosta filed for a pardon, seeking to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer. It was denied twice, despite a favorable recommendation from the state’s Board of Pardons.
Circosta returned home a Bronze Star winner after leading a platoon in Iraq’s deadly Sunni triangle.
Political analysts have suggested Romney crafted guidelines for issuing pardons and commutations that ensured he would never have to grant either, sparing him of any repeat of the Willie Horton case that dogged another Massachusetts governor, Democrat Michael Dukakis, during his 1988 presidential campaign. Dukakis was criticized for the weekend furlough granted to Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who went on to rape a woman and beat her boyfriend while free.
Romney denied any political motivation while speaking with reporters on Monday, the same day his campaign began airing its “Judgment” ad against Huckabee.
“We looked at the cases one by one, and I did not want to provide commutations to people who had had weapons violations that were going to be asking to use weapons in their new capacity,” Romney said.
So here is the dilio on this. This guy Circosta, a decorated Iraq war hero, submitted a request to then Governor Two Mitts Romney asking for a pardon on the state law that forbids people with past weapons offenses from being police officers. Circosta’s “heinous” offense was that he shot a friend in the arm with a BB gun when he was 13 years old. The BB didn’t even break the skin, that’s how tragic this was. Evidently, Circosta got charged by the police because this went on his permanent record and at 30 years old he was unable to get accepted into the police academy. Romney, as governor, had the power to grant a pardon and allow this man to fulfill his lifelong goal, but he denied it.
“We looked at the cases one by one, and I did not want to provide commutations to people who had had weapons violations that were going to be asking to use weapons in their new capacity,” Romney said.
His logic sounds like the same inane lack of logic used by schools and their zero tolerance drug policies, like when you hear about a student getting suspended for giving someone an aspirin.
We have enough stupidity in our government. Let’s not add to it.