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The presidential candidate and the released murderer

Mitt Romney and Daniel Tavares this time, rather than Mike Dukakis and Willie Horton, of course. Some analysis from local bloggers:

Jay Fitzgerald isn't that ready to let Romney off the hook for the judge's decision:

... If the Tavares case is about a 'systematic failure' of the Massachusetts judicial system, wasn't Mitt part of that system? Answer: It is -- and he was. ...

Fitzgerald also argues that as bad as Tavares's release was, it was nowhere near the lunacy of his original plea bargin for carving up his mother.

Jon Keller calls a time-out:

More importantly, the whole episode is yet another illustration of the hamstring-pulling political "transformation" Romney has undergone, from good-government-and-diversity-conscious moderate governor to arch-conservative presidential candidate. That's where he's vulnerable, not on some ludicrous theory that he secretly loves to let vicious killers loose.

Also, Giuliani, another liberal turned conservative, has some crime issues to answer for himself, he writes: Amadou Diallo, anyone?

Jules Crittenden calls the release Mass. stupidity and rounds up comments from the conserve-o-sphere.

On Blue Mass. Group, Heartland Dem doubts Romney will do the right thing:

... Unfortunately, on top of the tragedy, Romney does not posses the character to either apologize for his nomination of Judge Tuttman, the mistake that she made or the circumstances and flaws in the judicial system that created the opportunity for the Tavares to re-commit murder. The buck may stop in Willard's pocket but integrity don't live there.

On Squaring the Boston Globe, Harry says the Herald has been wiping the floor with the Globe when it comes to digging up the events leading up to Tavares's release (More from Harry).

Dan Kennedy acknowledges Tavares once threatened to kill Romnney - back when he was still in a Massachusetts jail, but still doesn't accept the Romney campaign spreading that news around:

Now why didn't Michael Dukakis think of this? If only the Duke's campaign had whispered that Willie Horton "had once threatened to assassinate him," as Mitt Romney's people want us to believe was the case with Daniel Tavares Jr., he might have been elected president.

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Comments

Because of Mitt Romney a young newlywed couple is DEAD. As a result of his decision making regarding who he appoints as judges.

What offends me almost as much as him appointing this liberal judge responsible for letting this monster out to murder this couple is the game he is now playing.

Calling for her to resign? He knows that isn't going to happen. It is just empty grandstanding. Does he really believe that people are going to buy this? Does he really think people aren't going to be offended by this gimmick? Does he really believe we are going to be fooled?

Well perhaps he does. After all, he believes that some ancient "white" American Indian angel came and talked to this guy in the 1800s. Someone who would believe that would believe just about anything.

Truth about Mormonism.

Forget terrorism. The most important issue in this Presidential Election is who will the next President appoint to the Federal Courts.

Well we have seen what kinds of people he appointed when governor. If we expect something different from him in the White House then we are just as gullible as those who followed ole Joe Smith.

Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb dumb.

WE MUST DEMAND ACCOUNTABLY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS OF OUR POLITICIANS.

If you don't see Mitt Romney being accountable for this then no politician is accountable for anything ever!

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I never voted for Mitt Romney. I never will. And yet, your post makes me sick: Argue against his decision in appointing that judge all you want, argue that he's a duplicitous bastard, but leave his religion out of it.

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It goes to an episode of South Park, which is probably just as funny lampooning Mormonism as it is making fun of Scientology. Still, nobody cared much about Mormonism when George Romney ran for president in 1968, nor when Mo Udall ran in 1976, so why make it an issue now for Mitt Romney?

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What got me all fired up was:

After all, he believes that some ancient "white" American Indian angel came and talked to this guy in the 1800s. Someone who would believe that would believe just about anything.

One could make that sort of argument about pretty much any religion - "after all, he believes that some ancient X did Y. Someone who would believe that would believe just about anything." Yeah, it's real courageous to hide behind a cloak of anonymity and take potshots at somebody's religion like that.

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Yeah! Who said G_d shut up after plaguing the Egyptians and putting his kid in harm's way. Why can't He actively solicit the proselytizing services of several hallucinating upstate New Yorkers in the 1800s if He pleases?

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It's disgusting...and disgraceful that a guy who was a convicted murderer could be allowed to go free like that. It's another indication of Mitt Romney's incompetence, when he appointed an incompetent judge to the court--and, if Romney does become the next President of the United States...we can expect more of the same incompetence, and/or worse than what we've got now.

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This judge reportedly had a decent record as a prosecutor before being nominated to the judiciary. Do you really think a more conservative judge could have survived the nomination process in this state? By what you've written I trust that you're anti-Deval? Right? I didn't think so.

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Which, in addition to telling us about the judge's tough-on-criminals stance, had an interesting tidbit that will, of course, be completely lost in Horton II:

We don't know why Worcester County prosecutors didn't seek a dangerousness hearing for Tavares, which would have allowed the judge to consider in setting bail something more than the likelihood that Tavares would show up in court.

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I'd like to know why he only got 16 years to begin with.

I wouldn't be surprised if "somebody" dug similar skeletons out of the Giuliani closet pretty soon.

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You don't have to dig too far to find plenty of stuff that you'd think would keep Giuliani from ever becoming president. In some ways, it's even more amazing to watch him evade his past than Romney.

But, yes, it would be interesting to learn about Tavares's manslaughter plea deal (he not only carved up mom, he stabbed a guy who tried to intervene multiple times). It can't be *that* hard to did up 1991 newspaper articles, can it, Mr./Ms. Fulltime Reporter People?

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Perhaps...

Fortunately IMO, the latest Zogby poll has any of the top 5 GOP lesser of two evils prevailing against The Inevitable One in a head-to-head matchup.

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