Since my comments were quoted in a front page piece yesterday, I felt it prudent to respond in a front page article, just to make sure everyone knows where I stand.
A couple of my comments yesterday were misconstrued and held up as examples of people who were ready to jump into the S.S. Romney’s lifeboats and paddle to a bigger, better boat. Our ship, according to DaveG, is getting too nicked and dinged. No cannonball fired in our direction from the S.S. BoGlo has scored a direct hit, but enough of them have knocked a hole in the deck or taken out the putt-putt course and the cocktail lounge – so why should the passengers want to remain on board? The S.S. Rudy and the S.S. J-Mac are nicer, larger, newer ships. And they serve free cocktails.
Let me make this as clear as I can: I love being a passenger on the S.S. Romney. I love it because this ship is clean, this ship’s captain offers fresh, innovative ideas, and this ship – although smaller than a couple others – is well suited to lead an entire fleet. It is swift and nimble, and it is unafraid to go into uncharted waters if it means finding a better route to its destination. Being on the S.S. Romney gives one hope that perhaps, someday, the rest of the fleet will understand the brilliance in its design structure.
I will remain a passenger on board this boat until the last possible moment. I hope that she is docked for the last time in January 2016. If so, I will step off the deck with my original ticket stub in hand from its maiden voyage way back in 2006. I have no intention of getting off this ship until then – unless, of course, someone discovers there is a massive breach in the integrity of its frame or something along those lines.
My recent comments about the S.S. Rudy and the S.S. J-Mac had nothing to do with my ship. They had everything to do with how unappealing a ride on the S.S. Rudy was becoming to me. I had heard that the ship didn’t really have all the amenities of the others in this fleet, and had hoped that the captain might try to encourage us as to why that was. Instead, all we’ve heard thus far has made the situation even worse. After saying that he would never, ever, put in a piano bar and that he would never waver on that opinion, the S.S. Rudy has now added one – saying that he only opposed its addition prior to this because there would have been no cover charge. Funny thing is, he had the opportunity several times in the past to put one in with a cover charge and spoke out against them even then.
And that’s just one of many areas that makes me uneasy about joining the other passengers on the S.S. Rudy. There’s many, many more. And of course, there’s the S.S. McCain where there actually was a piano bar, just without the piano. Until two days ago. Despite having spoken out against the need for a piano in a piano bar on several different occasions in several different venues, the captain of the S.S. McCain evidently realized he was losing too many passengers to the newly installed piano bar on the S.S. Rudy. So he, against his history, installed one on his ship as well.
Look, the S.S. Romney hasn’t always had a piano bar. But we have had one since 2003. And we’ve had a piano for longer than that, sitting in the entryway for everyone to see as they walked by.
The despicable thing about this whole fleet of ships in my mind is the fact that hostile ships oftentimes sail into our friendly waters, led most of the time by the S.S. BoGlo, and begin taking aim at the S.S. Romney. Rather than come to the aid of a friendly companion, however, the other ships in the fleet oftentimes either cheer on the S.S. BoGlo and its companions or simply sit there and say, “Oooh…. that one looked bad….” There has not been a single instance that I am aware of where a passenger on another ship of our fleet has swam over to help us patch up the holes in the sides of the boat, or put the mast back up, or repair the putt-putt course. Instead, they high-five the captain of the BoGlo as it sails away, confident that the damage caused the S.S. Romney will allow them to lead the fleet next year.
These attacks on the S.S. Romney lack substance. The attempt to sink our ship with a death of a thousand cuts is intellectually dishonest. The BoGlo, and its fleet behind them, know every time they sail into our waters that they cannot score a direct hit. But they figure with enough minor damage to our ship, passengers will start to get off. And what good is a ship with no passengers? The fact that the other captains and passengers not only allow these attacks, do nothing to stop them, and even encourage them by firing salvos of their own toward a friendly ship every now and again, disgusts me.
And watching it happen time and time and time again only strengthens my resolve. You see, the S.S. Romney is one of the grandest ships I have ever set foot on in my 8 years of sailing. Maybe that makes me too young to understand what boats are really supposed to be about. But I think this ship has unmatched potential to chart new courses for our fleet and find new waters to sail in. It has rooms large enough to hold more passengers than any other boat in our fleet, and the ability to fill them. And seeing these attacks on our ship rouses in me a sense of justice and makes my stance more firm. I will do everything I can to see this ship lead the fleet. Nobody’s jumpin’ ship around these parts.
February 21st, 2007 at 11:06 am
PHENOMENAL Article. I never doubted you for a second HeavyM and I could how everything you said was completely taken out of context. DaveG was fishing for rhetoric because he knows his ship will never sail. Congrats on defending yourself and the best ship for the fleet for the next 8 years. All strength to you in this ongoing fight of everyone against the S.S. Romney. I’m surprised J-mac and Rudy haven’t yet teamed up with Hillbama to produce ads attacking the best man possible for the job–Governor Mitt Romney!!
February 21st, 2007 at 11:07 am
LOL!
So can I be the Dread Pirate DaveG?
Hey, it’s after 11. Time to get some of those free cocktails…
February 21st, 2007 at 11:12 am
DaveG, I think you ought to change your name on this site to the Dread Pirate DaveG.
Of course, Wesley’s words ring true: “No one is going to fear the Dread Pirate Wesley. It’s the name that’s important.” 
February 21st, 2007 at 11:27 am
To RayB:
Zzzzzzzz… Governor Mitt “Flip-Flop” Romney the best candidate? Please. He could not even win a 2nd term as governor of Mass. and thats why he did not even run. He “saved” the Salt lake City olypmics…BIG DEAL. here is a list of his flip-flops:
First there was abortion. He was for it, then really for it, then really, really for it, then indifferent to it, and now against it.
Then there was campaign finance reform. Mitt was for it more than McCain before he was against it more than McCain He’s tried to caveat his way out of it, but his caveats have been so nuanced as to be meaningless.
Let’s not forget taxes. Multiple Choice Mitt opposed President Bush’s tax cuts and favored a federal gas tax hike as late as 2003.
Oh, there is homosexuality too. Mitt was going to be more gay and more abortion friendly than Ted Kennedy in 1994. Now he’s not.
Finally, there is voting for Paul Tsongas. In 1992, Mitt Romney voted for Tsongas. He explains this now as trying to pick the weakest guy to go up against George H. W. Bush. Oh, add to this the latest: he has admitted to only very recently becoming a mamber of the NRA….please…….
February 21st, 2007 at 11:28 am
Heavy– you lost me with the piano bar, but I do like a piano bar. A nice R&J Corona, a Blanton’s neat, and a piano bar with a big armchair. Nice way to pass an evening. That said, you were right on target with the BloGlo and their nonsense. Rudy & McCain need to realize that the drive-by media needs to be smacked down, not embraced. Because whoever wins the nomination will be next in line for the constant string of hit pieces.
February 21st, 2007 at 11:51 am
Fredo:
You do know that Rudy went into combat vs. the New York Times while he was mayor?
February 21st, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Back-pedal.
February 21st, 2007 at 12:10 pm
LOL! HeavyM, this was your heaviest piece yet. It’s rare to see such a simultaneous display of wit and straight talk.
KT, normally I’d pick apart every one of your dishonest slams on the S.S. Romney (at which point you’d submerge and pop up somewhere else with the same light-on-facts rhetoric), but frankly I’m in too good a mood right now to worry about someone throwing forks and spoons at our hull from their rowboat.
February 21st, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Fredo: Heavy you lost me with the piano bar, but I do like a piano bar.
Perhaps this will help clear things up: one of the problems with the piano bar on the S.S. Rudy is that it doesn’t even open until really late in the evening. And the piano isn’t in very good shape – it looks like someone’s attempted to restore or refinish it, but it just came out looking kinda mangled.
February 21st, 2007 at 2:20 pm
“I’m in too good a mood right now to worry about someone throwing forks and spoons at our hull from their rowboat.
lol, murphy. Nice work.
February 21st, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Heavy, this is truly an exceptional piece. Great analogy. I love it!
February 21st, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Murphy – thanks for taking up the best defense possible for my comments and the S.S. Romney. The best defense is to sail full steam ahead but remember where those lifeboats are because one day they will need us to come back around and take them safely to shore.
February 21st, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Ay! Ay! Cap’n HeavyM! Reporting for duty aboard the S.S. Romney!
February 22nd, 2007 at 3:03 am
Great post Heavy.
Keep up the good work boyz and never lose faith!
We are in the 1st innings!