A History of Mitt Romney in 30 Objects

From swag to scissors to Seamus, a virtual tour of the potential 2016 candidate’s defining moments.

On the campaign trail, Mitt Romney has expressed his love for America, mangoes, papayas, pie, water, laughing, good pretzels, American cars, the existence of wind, legal immigration, all of the Constitutional amendments, ice skating, and trees of a certain height. But if you’re looking to understand where the GOP presidential candidate is coming from, it’s best to examine a different set of objects. As Romney prepares to accept his party’s nomination in Tampa, here’s our virtual tour of his defining moments as told through the objects, both literal and metaphorical, that he’s encountered on his journey.


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 ?Image credits:

AMC Rambler, 1954: Flickr/aldenjewell; Daddy Swag: OldPolitics; Scissors: Shutterstock/Kutlayev Dmitry; Cow Palace: Wikimedia Commons; The Stanford Axe, 1965: Flickr/HairOfTheBear; Think and Grow Rich, 1966: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection; BYU Football Cupcakes, 1968: Flickr/SweetToothFairy; Wedding Cake, 1969: mittromney.com; Look Magazine, 1970: Douglas Gilbert; Adding Machine, 1976: John Wolff’s Web Museum; Seamus: Wikimedia Commons; Necktie, 1984: Shutterstock/Mary Rice; Key Ring, 1984: LDS Doctrine; Scantron Form, 1994: Shutterstock/Vixit; Ampad Notebook, 1995: Ampad; Life-like Doll, 1996: Shutterstock/yamix; “Fat Cat” Ad, 1996: AEI; Angel Moroni Statue, 1997: Shutterstock/Action Sports Photography; Horse Mask, 1998: Archie McPhee & Co.; Olympic Pin: Ken Bullock; Utah, 2002: Flickr/Snap Man; The Big Dig, 2006: bigdigbook.com; Official Portrait, 2005: Wikimedia Commons; Elmer Fudd, 2006: Warner Brothers; Flip-flop, 2008: Shutterstock/tanatat; Car Elevator, 2012: American Custom Lifts; Tax Havens, 2012: Shutterstock/Maria Skaldina; Paul Ryan’s Budget, 2012: Pete Marovich/ZUMA.

 

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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