Ann Romney's nanny: "It's true that Ann Romney never worked a day in her life."

[polichick]

The woman who worked as nanny to Ann and her brothers at the time Ann was dating Mitt called in to Stephanie Miller's show today. She said that it was her job to do all the work, even take care of Ann's horse, during those years - and repeated several times that, while both Ann and Mitt are nice people, it's true that "Ann never worked a day in her life."

Just a new wrinkle in the story...

[MADem]

1. Do you have a link? I am not surprised. nt

[polichick]

4. No - I heard it in the car when she called in...

The woman mentioned taking Ann to Cranbrook a lot, which is an art institute I'm familiar with in Bloomfield Hills, MI, where Ann lived. She sounded legit.

[Raine1967]

7. I heard that call as well.

It was earlier on Stephanie Miller show. I was watching it on Current and at first they thought it might be a prank call. Then the woman mentioned Ann Romney's siblings and the parakeet etc... yes it sounded VERY legit.


It confirmed to me that Ann Romney not only has experienced much privilege with her marriage, but also in her youth.

I hope someone else reaches out to this women, it was fascinating. Curious, is this where you heard it as well? I ask becuase I am wondering of the woman is trying to get this story out there.

On edit: I see that I didn't fully read that you did indeed hear it on the SMS. :redface:

[polichick]

10. That parakeet story was quite personal - don't know if she could fake it.

[Control-Z]

57. Parakeet story?

I haven't heard it. Do you have a link?

[polichick]

105. The nanny told Stephanie that the kids had a parakeet...

...and one of Ann's brothers used to scare the nanny with it.

[MADem]

11. Actually, I think "Cranbrook" in that case was the private school she and Mitt went to....

http://schools.cranbrook.edu/affordingcranbrook

I think it is associated with the art institute, but it's a fancy-schmancy private school as well.

I love this article: http://gothamist.com/2012/04/12/ann_romney_proudly_stands_up_for_ri.php


Ann Romney Proudly Stands Up For Rich Housewives

... Yesterday, Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen criticized First Lady hopeful Ann Romney, saying Romney "actually never worked a day in her life." Romney, noted Pinterest Pinner, then joined Twitter to respond, "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work." You try raising a family of five on a shoestring because your deadbeat husband only brings home $374,000 in speaker's fees. ...

... Ironically, Ann Romney also said, "We need to respect choices that women make," which is something her husband doesn't seem to want to do, like other Republicans. Rosen responded on Twitter, with a post on CNN ("I admire women who can stay home and raise their kids full time. I even envy them sometimes. It is a wonderful luxury to have the choice. But let’s stipulate that it is NOT a choice that most women have in America today&quot and then with a statement from her firm, "I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance." She also said on CNN, "This is not about Ann Romney. This is about the waitress at a diner someplace in Nevada who has two kids whose day-care funding is being cut off because of the Romney-Ryan budget and she doesn’t know what to do." ...

Some things we've learned about Ann Romney: Raising five sons was tough, she rides Austrian warmbloods, she's getting ready for a bigger house in LaJolla, and she and Mitt only paid a 13.9% tax rate in 2010.

[polichick]

13. Yep - that's the one. It's quite an institution.

[magical thyme]

18. tiny nit

She rides European warmbloods (the couple I'm aware of are German Oldenburgs).

But it still is annoying to someone with a lifelong passion for dressage and horses. So she took up riding as therapy and gets to work with a top trainer. Big whoop. She probably never mucked a stall in her life. My sisters and I mucked stalls for the privilege of riding other people's horses, as did many, many a young rider out there.

It's easy to love riding expensive, fully trained schoolmasters with perfect temperaments and a lifetime of perfect care, that are already trained to the top levels, while being coached by top trainers. The top trainers *used* to be available to all of us, back when nobody in the US had heard of dressage. My first riding teacher went on to become an olympic coach. But once the 1%ers took over, they priced everything out of reach of us "ordinary" people who don't deserve horses (yes, I had a high class hooker to a 1%er tell me that people worked all day didn't deserve to own horses!).

It's not so easy to rescue abused horses, rehab them, and train them to FEI levels yourself. Feeding, grooming, mucking out every day. Getting up at 5 am to feed and muck before you go to work. Getting home, changing your clothes and starting all over.

And still love them.

My rescue gelding freaked out and flipped over backwards. I was able to jump free, but he rolled over me before I could crawl away. The ER doctor noted I had bitten my tongue (the edges turned purple/black and it doubled in size by the next morning). He missed the fracture where my clavicle meets the sternum and the badly sprained knee. After a sleepless night, I was up at 5 the next morning, and at work by 8:30 to attend the important meeting at work.

It wasn't his fault. It wasn't my fault. I still loved my boy enough to eventually move to Maine so I could afford enough land, and to build him a barn in my own back yard *with my own hands* so he could spend his last 8 years in retirement.

Yes, I feel resentment and bitterness over 1%ers expressing their "love" for their horses. They don't do the hard work -- any of it. They just take all the rewards, and leave their castoffs and fuck ups for the rest of us to fix.

[MADem]

21. One of the youngsters in my extended family did that "work for ride time" thing for years.

It is hard work, and a lot of it, for just a little riding time, too. It takes a lot of dedication. And ya don't smell like roses at the end of it all, either!

[magical thyme]

27. well, to the horse people ya smell better than roses, but

to the rest of the world, true, not so much!

Slave labor is what it is. But a labor of true love. Off to work with my baby. Another rescue, but this time I was rescuing her working class bartender breeder/mom with more horses than stalls and a sick mother to care for...

I was actually going to give her the filly back (she never wanted to sell her; circumstances forced) if my life didn't work out (I'm hanging by a thread, myself) but just learned she has breast cancer.

[MADem]

34. If not roses...rose feed!

Those labors of love are the most rewarding!

[eridani]

47. Wonderful illustration of what is so great about DU

There's always someone with very personal expertise on just about any subject to share.

[aquart]

65. Honey, I love you for loving that horse.

Rescuing abused and abandoned horses is desperately hard work and too few are able to take it on.

[cilla4progress]

71. Amy Tryon

You have probably heard the Olympic equestrian Amy Tryon died in her sleep last night? Tragic loss.

[magical thyme]

82. I haven't followed the "outside" horse world for 3-4 years now

so hadn't heard. Very sad -- way too young.

[cilla4progress]

84. Yes, she was a working-person's horseperson

She worked as a firefighter until about 6 years ago. She participated in 2 Olympics in the 2000s, and won a gold in a World Equestrian Games.

Her mount for much of her international competition was a retired pack (trail) horse, an off-track TB she bought for @$2500 out of the Seattle Times classifieds!

RIP dear, true, horsewoman....

[magical thyme]

96. you'll find that more among eventers and jumpers

where hard work, talent, raw courage and some good luck are all that is required. You and your horse either make the jumps and beat the clock, or don't. All the money in the world can't buy the outcome, although it can buy you more horses and chances. Their barns tend to be nicer to be in too, from a personal perspective. Real people, fun.

Dressage is more open to being for sale. Back when I started you could do it with an off the track t-bred, or even a quarter horse. Scarteen was a national reining horse, retrained to GP. Keen was an ottb. I started out riding a retired 20 year old polo pony, but also I worked to ride t-breds, reschooling them for show, when I was 14 years old. When I rode at the American Dressage Institute, it was all t-breds.

Then the money people took over. Germany pretty much owned the Olympics and set the standard. It turned more and more into who could afford the horse with the fanciest movement, and less about training. People started importing horses that were practically born at 4th level. Now it's all 1%, or maybe 10%, AA (adult amateur) dressage queens . They have no deep knowledge or what they are doing or horses. They need a vet out for every scratch -- even to clean sheaths! And they have zero arena etiquette. Whoever has the biggest, baddest horse owns the arena and everyone else can get the eff out of their way.

It does have its entertainment value now and then. The mental image of the 1%er Olympic gold medalist screaming for help when her horse bolted during their victory gallop is priceless.

[cilla4progress]

108. I totally hear you!

I evented in the 1980s - 90s, when you could still camp with your horse (they were stalled in small outdoor pens during the competition) here in the Pacific NW. I really enjoyed the unregistered events, where you could take a couple tries at an XC fence and not be eliminated. Back then it was $200 for the whole weekend...still a lot for me at the time. As a now 57-year old I am toying with the idea of getting back into itnbecause I simply love it (dressage and jumping). Been trail riding for the last 20 years or so with family. But I will go unofficial / informal in every way. Only want to have fun with it, and looking for a sweet deal on a nice horse ... which, sadly, there are plenty of right now with the economy. My husband and I are fortunate to still be employed and we have a little grass pasture out here in the backcountry, for feed as well as purchased hay, which is still affordable in rural areas of the NW. Read a really sad article about this in the April (or March) Atlantic yesterday ... about the drought and unavailability of feed and even water for horses in the the southeast U.S.! Quite scary.

Can you link me to your last statement? Gotta see it!

Fun to connect with another horse lover on DU!

[magical thyme]

109. I don't know that it's on video

I think it was Isabel Werth, but could be remembering wrong. I just read or heard about it, and have held onto the mental image ever since.

It's great to connect with horse people anywhere! Ever notice how once we get going, there's no stopping? I have 2 acres of pasture behind and the barn I built for my old guy. I'm able to get hay very cheap from a guy around the corner who no longer has horses. He doesn't have enough to sell to the middlemen that ship it out of state, so sells it rock bottom to locals. At least last year he did. Hopefully will still be able to get it from him this year. I have a 7 year old arab mare that I'm just starting this summer. She has spent a lot of her life on the back burner, first with her breeder and then with me. Now that my old guy is gone, I have the time and energy so she's moved to front and center. Going riding and camping sounds like a blast. I've thought about maybe doing endurance riding just for that. I think there's a lot of it in Vermont. Not so much in Maine that I'm aware of.

[cilla4progress]

113. Do you live in Vermont?

I graduated from UVM...30 years ago!

[magical thyme]

118. next door in Maine

although if I'm able to sell my mini-farm and relocate, I may move over to Vermont. Better horse scene, I think. Better all around except it lacks the ocean...

[maddiemom]

97. I hear you.

Growing up with horses on a shoestring, as did my daughter, later, that feeling of resentment of those whose money allows them to compete on an already fully trained horse is common to us all (but what a wonderful feeling being competitive with, and occasionally beating them.) I know this feeling is even prevalent with the kids of successful professionals/trainers. They're lucky to grow up around horses, but are pretty scornful of the rich kids who waltz in and out, often when they're cooling out those great horses those rich kids were riding.

[Hawkowl]

117. 1% only love money

I would not sell my two rescued mares for any amount of money.

[Bozita]

20. some pics of Cranbrook...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1058120#post12

[MADem]

35. Rough life! nt

[cilla4progress]

70. A Republican for choice!

We should all applaud!

[MADem]

72. Who wouldn't choose to cruise around in a caddy and ride a horsie for recreation if one could?

I'd give that a go! Of course, my bank might not like the checks I start bouncing if I tried to make that choice for myself!

[cilla4progress]

75. I hear you!

How out of touch can they be...thinking there is ANY "moral equivalent." I just hope this comes back to bite them. Really doesn't take much spin, to do so.

[MADem]

78. I agree. After all this "Waaah, Hillary Rosen, CNN contributor, was mean to Ann Romney" stuff dies

down, all we'll be left remembering is "Ann Romney never worked a day in her life." That's the comment that is chiseled in stone!

[cilla4progress]

81. In a good way, or a bad way?

In other words...as a smear on Rosen, or as a true fact?

When my daughter was little, I remember thinking there just aren't as many parents as have to, who truly want to leave their children all day Mon-Fri at daycare. Not to mention the stress on little children to rush around and get where they need to be.

I acknowledge individual differences - in parents as well as children - but it would be an interesting statistic to see how many parents with small children who work fulltime would rather be home - or at least have that option.

Doesn't France provide 2 years of parental leave at the birth of a child?

[MADem]

86. No one will remember who Hillary Rosen is, in a week or three. What they WILL remember is this:

Ann Romney never worked a day in her life.

She has a caddy and a horse at every home.

Her own damn nanny said she never worked as a kid.

Bottom line: Ann Romney never worked a day in her life.

All the other fluff is just fluff.

[cilla4progress]

85. Just for interest...

check out Wikipedia on parental leave around the world.

Guess where the US comes in. You guessed it...

[MADem]

87. Ann Romney never had to worry about that.

She never worked a day in her life.

And I'm betting she had cooks, housekeepers and nannies to handle the everyday, mundane chores. After all, floor mopping and clothes washing and cooking and scrubbing take up time that could be better spent riding three horses at three separate mansions--and driving those caddies to and from the barn, doncha know.

[gateley]

73. I LOVE this, MADem! "Ann Romney Proudly Stands Up For Rich Housewives " nt

[MADem]

88. Someone's gotta hold up the side for the Beverley Hills set, I guess!

[tclambert]

98. "She rides Austrian warmbloods." Somehow I imagined her riding cold-bloods . . .

Republican cold-bloods.

[dkf]

103. Ugh. Yuck. Double yuck.

[liberalmike27]

53. I heard it too

She provided a lot of detail, the family names, what she did for the family, talked about her horses, etc...

Stephanie is now playing on Current TV, as well as on the stream of AM 1090 Seattle, along with a few other web sites, and it's a great show to wake up to. She's funny, and it's like an injection of hilarity, and her supporting cast is great too.

I understand she's tripled the ratings on Current since she came on--sadly Keith left, so their nighttime lineup isn't as great now.

[goclark]

95. Lived in that area too

It is lovely.

Ann was living the good life and still is ~ I don't have a problem with her being a "Stay at home mom" I just have a problem with all the phony way they say things--
"IMO ~ "there is no there there" for Mitt for sure and she seems like a nice person that is living the good life. I don't blame her for that either.

I just can't bare to have 4 years of either one of them.

[BlueToTheBone]

2. Wow. Sure undercuts Ann as ambassador. n/t

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Primpin' ain't easy!

Think of all the work that goes into keeping up appearances within her social circle.

[MADem]

23. Best comment yet! nt

[snappyturtle]

5. Love it! nt

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Somebody ought to find that woman

& get her into a commercial portraying the super-elite nature of the Romneys' lives in contrast to that of the average person.

[enough]

8. This is why I've been saying that the phrase "never worked a day in her life" will resonate

from here on in, no matter how much outrage is expressed or how many apologies are made. Everybody knows exactly what that phrase means, and it fits Ann Romney.

[kristopher]

38. +1

[Rosa Luxemburg]

54. yes

[cilla4progress]

74. 'zactly!

I think (and hope) it comes back to bite the Repubs. Sorry Ann. I'm sure you are a lovely woman, and I really get you about horses (they are my therapy, too). But I kinda feel like you asked for this..you put your status out there as Mitt's ambassador to women. There is certainly a deep divide between your experience of work vs. stay-at-home calculations, from those of the vast majority of women in this country. You don't really have the street cred on that issue.

Just sayin', and I think Hilary Rosen was just sayin' too. (Not to mention Mitt should do his own field work; especially if he is then going to turn around and expect commentators and all to be hands off on his chosen delegate, should she become the subject of commentary.)

[BlueCaliDem]

9. This didn't surprise me when I heard it on The Stephanie Miller Show on CurrentTV

I can rewind my DVR to see it happen real time since I was busy making lunch for hubby and didn't see it. I LOVE DVR!

So, it's just more faux outrage by the well-funded elite in this country hoping to fool Americans into buying a bad product - Romney for Prez - to secure more power (and profits) for corporate rule (fascism) in our government.

Republicans have zero policies to run on. Tax cuts for the "job creators" fell flat (no one's buying it) and now they have to grasp on anything even slightly controversial to propel Romney and Republicans back into power.

I'm surprised why Rep. Allan West's hateful comments aren't reported as zealously as Hilary Rosen's mishap. Hm. In fact, West is pooh-poohed away with the caveat that he's not even popular among the Republicans, but has anyone yet heard or seen a prominent GOPer admonish him for any of his hateful comments?

Rosen, on the other hand, who is not even part of the Obama Reelection Campaign, has had her words taken out of context and is being excoriated with false accusations with impunity. If the "news" outlets are reporting she has nothing to do with the Obama Campaign, it's hard to tell when you listen to news outlets - including MSNBC - that seem to propagate that rightwing lie over and over and over again.

[LiberalFighter]

12. This is what we need to know and understand.

Even better that Ann had basically the same life experience in youth.

It is also important to stress that anything to do with Ann's MS in connection with raising her sons is more than likely BS. Her youngest was 17 and not likely to need that much motherly attention if that is really possible for her to provide. And there is a big difference between a stay at home mom in the middle class who do most of the cleaning, cooking, etc and someone like Ann that has nannies and others to rear the children for them.

[uncle ray]

14. and apparantly didn't pay her nanny very well either.n/t.

[pink-o]

15. Stephanie Miller has also nailed it

When she calls Mitt and Ann "Thurston and Lovie". They really are that clueless, with the car elevators, the plural Cadillacs and the horse farms. It's right up there with HW freakin out over the supermarket scanner and his idiot son telling the woman how awesome and "uniquely American" it is to have 3 jobs.

These two are just typical rich Goppers continuing a long tradition of having NO understanding how life works for real people. That's basically all that Hilary Rosen was saying, and that's what we should be emphasizing in the coming months.

[gateley]

76. "Thurston and Lovie" -- just perfect. nt

[whathehell]

104. +100...n/t

[rhett o rick]

16. This was the nanny before she was married. Mean more if it was the nanny that raised

her children.

[MADem]

24. She probably hired undocumented workers, who would prefer to not call attention to their

immigration status.

[KansDem]

50. The "Meg Whitman *JobOne* Employment Program."

These hypocrites annoy me...

[pnwmom]

61. This nanny wouldn't know -- you're absolutely right. n/t

[LynneSin]

17. Well someone had to order the nanny around - that could be really hard work

[MADem]

37. She probably has the butler do that, or the housekeeper!

It's probably a regular Mormon Downton Abbey up in there!

They meet for jello in the drawing room instead of cocktails...

[Johnny2X2X]

19. This will back for for Repugs

You just know Ann Romney is not a stay at home full time moth, no way, no how! The ultra rich seldom do this on their own, there will be nannies and other care givers who did the bulk of the child rearing, there are housekeepers, maids, gardeners, and cooks who took care of all of the rest.

Ann Romney not working and staying home with the kids is a whole lot different than the wife of an auto worker staying at home with the kids.

[RegieRocker]

22. She should have worked somewhere as a teenager if not...

she is a spoiled brat.

[TahitiNut]

40. PLEASE!! The Cranbrook Preppie kids WORK???? Gawd forbid!

They hung out at the country club, their backyard pools, or at their families' lake 'cottage'!! You just weren't 'rich' without a nice house on one of the lakes ... Houghton Lake, Walloon Lake, and many others. Believe me, I worked as a caddy at THEIR country clubs in that day and I can swear on this with complete confidence. Yes, THEIR country clubs ... Oakland Hills and Birmingham Country Club. Just a short bicycle ride away from Cranbrook School for filthy rich kids. 'Caddieshack' doesn't even come close to portraying how spoiled these shits were.

[eridani]

48. True dat. Lots of affluent and very rich parents make sure their kids--

--have job experience, or at least do some work around the house. Raising spoiled brats is a choice.

[AtheistCrusader]

25. I'M SHOCKED

Shocked I tell you

[jberryhill]

26. This is demeaning to women who hire domestic help

[polichick]

39. lol - I guess the nanny shouldn't have called in then.

[CoffeeCat]

28. I'm a stay-at-home-mom...

...and I could write a book.

I live in a middle-upper/middle class suburb--and there are many SAHMs around here. All I can say
is that there are a quite a few SAHMs who don't "stay at home" a lot! They hire babysitters and are
out getting mani/pedis and shopping for strappy sandals. Their kids are often watched by nannies,
and their homes are cleaned by housekeepers.

I'm sure this is politically incorrect to even say these things--but there are two kinds of SAHMs and
anyone inside these circles knows that. The first group--actually stays home with their children; the second kind doesn't have a job because she doesn't need a job as the family is wealthy. These women really aren't SAHMs.
True, they don't work. Also true, that they have kids. However, they aren't working at home because they
have people to do that for them. Having a nanny, a housekeeper, a gardener and someone to run your kids to
all of their activities--isn't YOU being AT HOME.

I have seen this outsourcing happen with people who make low six-figure incomes. So, please don't tell me that
someone who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars isn't doing the same. Is someone really going to really try to score
political points by suggesting that Ann Romney made chicken nuggets for lunch, watched Barney with her kids and
was home with them full time during most days changing diapers and spraying Shout on grape-juice stains? Come now!

I don't begrudge stay-at-home moms who choose to outsource. But please, let's not call yourself "stay-at-home moms" just because you have kids and you don't work outside the home. If you aren't spending the majority of your day hours taking care of the kids--then you're not really a "stay-at-home-mom".

If Ann Romney did spend most of her time at home, then I'm sorry for mischaracterizing her life. However, if I'm right--she needs to quit calling herself a stay-at-home mom for political gain and feigning outrage because Rosen told the truth about Ann never working a day in her life.

Stay-at-home moms work very hard, and so do the moms who work outside of the home. The point of this entire
debate is that Ann Romney is in NEITHER of those categories and she should quit pretending that she is--for political
purposes.

[KarenS]

29. Exactly, you nailed it with this!! n/t

[CoffeeCat]

32. I think I might post this as an OP...

I think it needs to be said louder, if I do say so myself.

[Bozita]

33. Please do!

[jberryhill]

45. Absolutely do

You nailed it here.

[aquart]

68. I agree. Do it.

[Tumbulu]

92. Yes it does- I have observed the same thing (nt)

[SamG]

31. Great points! Mrs. Romney had 3-4 homes in which

to "stay at home" IN!

When I saw that off-the-record tape of Romney talking with Fox News before the interview, it was March, one doesn't go riding horses much in Northern NH in March, nor in Mass, it's in the 30's if one is lucky. She was probably riding horses in S. California.

Also, I understand her youngest "child" is now a grown adult. So what kind of grand-ma stays at home and rides horses?

[polichick]

41. I agree - you describe two very different kinds of sahms...

I have a hard time imagining Ann Romney scurrying around doing things like cleaning the toilets and scrubbing the floors while she was busy with her boys - or even driving them to all of their activities.

[enough]

46. +1 (nt)

[gateley]

80. Brava, CoffeeCat! VERY well done! nt

[indie_voter]

102. Applause!! You nailed it.

I stayed at home with my kids when they were younger. My husband and I are both engineers. We could live on one salary but we certainly couldn't afford nanny, house cleaners or the rest. If we did hire any of those, we'd be living beyond our means and saving nothing for college.

You are SPOT on with this.

I don't begrudge stay-at-home moms who choose to outsource. But please, let's not call yourself "stay-at-home moms" just because you have kids and you don't work outside the home. If you aren't spending the majority of your day hours taking care of the kids--then you're not really a "stay-at-home-mom".

Ann Romney is hiding behind the "Stay at Home" label and I think trying to sow dissension between stay at home moms and work outside the house moms. I think the GOP is in for a nasty surprise when they realize the majority of women are smart enough to understand their little game and won't play it.

[CanOfWhoopAss]

30. When being a SAHM is a supervisory position.

[Historic NY]

64. 19th century womens work was just so taxings.......

from the house hold budget to planning those summer long trips and keep the staff in line ...

[TahitiNut]

36. Well, she sure did learn how to shovel the horseshit for herself.

She obviously learned from the Mitt-wit.

[bleever]

42. Hey! Michael Moore tweeted a link to this post!!

From Twitter:

Michael Moore ? @MMFlint
Ann Romney's NANNY weighs in on the dust-up: http://bit.ly/J7hdM6

Hi Mike!

[gateley]

83. I love that guy! nt

[Ian David]

43. Yet somehow she manages to staff three homes for only $20k a year in wages.

Mitt Romney's Maids' Salary Raises Questions

WASHINGTON -- For a woman with three houses and sixteen grandkids, Ann Romney doesn't have very much help around the house, according to her 2010 tax return.

IRS forms released Tuesday by Mitt Romney's presidential campaign show that despite reporting income of $21.7 million, the couple paid only $20,603 in taxable wages for household help in 2010. This figure was divided among four women: Rosania Costa ($4,808), Kelli Harrison ($8,667), Susan Moore ($2,238) and Valerie Cravens Anae ($4,890).

More:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=553885

[Beaverhausen]

49. that's only what they reported

just sayin'

[SemperEadem]

51. and I'll bet

Rosania, Kelli, Susan and Valerie don't have a choice whether to stay at home with their children.

[Tx4obama]

58. Ann's kids are grown now. I want to see what she paid the nannies when kids were young n/t

[Rozlee]

79. I don't know if it was in DU or some other liberal site

that someone who was a former Mormon said that the younger missionaries were sometimes put to work for the high ranking LDS leaders as unpaid servants. They were expected to cook, clean, tutor, babysit, landscape and do practically all home and garden work for their church leaders and if any of them had special skills such as mechanics, they were pressed to work on their vehicles as well. As generous a contributor as Romney's been to his church, I'm sure they're very grateful. It sounds awful, though.

[greymattermom]

116. the tithe

and tuition at Brigham Young is low. Sort of like taxes being used to help education, isn't it?

[tksabunchjohn]

44. Ann knows nothing about what women are going through...

When I had my son I quit my administrative position to be with him, I didn't want him in daycare. I couldn't afford not to work, so I took a job as a food server at a country club in the evenings. When my husband got home, I was waiting in my uniform to hand the baby to him and leave for my job. We never got to spend time as a family together except one day on the weekends, as I worked either Saturday or Sunday, which were weddings or parties that I wouldn't come home until 1 or 2 in the morning. We wanted another child, but were waiting until finances improved. They eventually did, but by then it was too late.

And then the republican "crash" happened. My husband was forced to take a 25% cut in his salary. By then I had started a small business, which absolutely tanked. We lost our home, but not after raiding our savings to try to save it, including my son's college fund. To keep our son in the same school system we are paying a high rent. There is no money for any extras. I lie awake worrying how on earth my son will go to college, and he is so bright. My health has suffered, and I already have a rare bone disease that goes untreated. Our insurance is $600 a month with a $10,000 deductible.

So no, dear Ann knows nothing of the struggles of women today. Struggles that her wonderful husband looks to compound and ratchet up even further.

She should be ashamed of herself.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

52. I agree

[Tumbulu]

93. I am so sorry- your story is heartbreaking

and I wish I could say that it is the only one I have ever heard like it.....but no, raising children with both a crumbling personal economy and fragile community are a nightmare for so many of us.....

Good luck to you and to all of us.

[Beacool]

115. I'm so sorry that you and your family are going through such hard times.

Have faith in yourself. Somehow, things do get better. You said that you have a bright son, he might get scholarships to help him pay for college. Student loans is another way to go. Don't despair, something always comes through in the end.

Best of luck to all of you.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

55. Besides Romney could have 4 wives like her

he can afford them! Maybe he has more wives overseas?

[MADem]

89. Mexico or Canada? He's got connections to both countries, and there are huge

Mormon settlements over each border...

[Ian David]

56. Ann Romney's "Childhood Nanny" Dishes On Privileged Upbringing

Ann Romney's "Childhood Nanny" Dishes On Privileged Upbringing

“Juanita” calls into Current TV claiming she worked for Ann's wealthy family as a cook and babysitter. Says she and Mitt were “nice,” but confirms she “never worked a day in her life.” There's also a strange story about a parakeet. posted Apr 13, 2012 2:25pm EDT

BuzzFeed has reached out to the Romney campaign for comment, and will update when they respond. The only woman of the right age in the Pontiac area identified in public records as "Juanita" was listed with a telephone number that has been disconnected.

The call took place on Current's morning program, the Stephanie Miller Show.

More (including video):
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/ann-romneys-childhood-nanny-dishes-on-privilege

[Tx4obama]

59. I am SO looking forward to hearing from ALL the other NANNIES that...

worked for Ann when her five boys were young.

I think when all is said and done Ann will not look so good

[Squinch]

60. Oh, SNAP!

Wait! Does this mean she may not accurately report to Mitt about my life issues and my, ya' know, women issues? If she won't do it, who will report to him about the gals? How will he possibly get information about those gals!!!???

[pnwmom]

62. So Ann still needed a nanny while she was old enough to be dating Mitt?

[countryjake]

66. Old time nanny jobs often turned into life-long commitments...

to the care of a wealthy family. My grandma was one who raised one set of kids, then proceeded to find herself in charge of their next generation, too. Tho drudge was generally her required work, she became an "honorary" member of that family and worked for them til she was 85 yrs. old, even walking their dogs as an elderly woman. But she began as a simple nanny to two baby boys.

[pnwmom]

94. Interesting, countryjake. I guess I have heard of that kind of thing before. Thanks. n/t

[Tx4obama]

69. The nanny in the video said after the marriage she did maid work (cooking/cleaning) for Ann

And that was even before Ann had any kids.

[timesup]

63. Standard marry a rich guy fare.

No shock and awe here, that shot of Romney doing laundry was laughable as well.

If in their shoes, probably do the same thing, so for me it's not a big deal.

He's a supreme pandering, job thrashing, company murdering, smile while you ruin people dufus, that's all I needed to know?

[the antichristie]

67. Now THIS deserves a K&R!!!

[FarLeftFist]

77. This OP is getting alot of Twitter love on my timeline.

[midnight]

90. Did Ann have a nanny for her sons that did all the work too?

[polichick]

106. Nobody has come forward that I know of...

But it's hard to believe there wasn't help - both for the kids and for the house. Oops, I mean for the houses.

[limpyhobbler]

91. Aha!

I knew it!

[OKNancy]

99. My problem with Ann Romney critique is that

I don't like it to go overboard. I looked up when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and it was 1998.
I'm sure she needed some help at that time. Looks like her cancer was cured with a lumpectomy, so she is fine on that front.
But I don't want to look ugly about all this stuff.
It reminds me too much of the nasty stuff written about Hillary and Michelle.

Don't get me wrong, she isn't really qualified to advise on what it's like for the average Joan, but I'm going to temper my remarks so as not to look irrational.

[FlaGranny]

119. There are many courses MS can take, but

I was diagnosed at approximately the same time. Maybe I could have been diagnosed earlier if I'd had the money to see doctors. When people are older at diagnosis many times their MS is relatively benign, as hers is and mine is too. She can walk, she can speak, she can function at a high level, she can travel. My condition is the same and I've never needed any help. I can guarantee you that if she were of my means she wouldn't have needed help either. Many, many people with MS don't have and can't get help, even with much worse cases. So the MS doesn't make me feel the slightist bit "sorry" for her. I started working in my teens and I'm still working today at 72 years old with MS, migraines, and arthritis. Grandma watched the kids while I worked when they were little - I felt privileged to have her. Ms. Romney no doubt has no clue about what kind of life an ordinary person lives.

[spicegal]

100. The thing is you know it's true. There's a big difference

between stay home moms who clean their own homes, directly manage their children with no help from a nanny, and do all the other jobs involved in taking care of the home front, as compared to someone like Ann with lots and lots of money to hire help. It doesn't mean she's a bad person, but she is quite privileged and pampered. There are plenty of stay home moms in my neighborhood. Many have maid service, and none of them are as rich as the Romneys. Some live on tight budgets and have to make sacrifices to stay home. Others lead a fairly pampered life. Me, I work and have never had even had someone to help clean the house or do yard work, although my husband does his share.

[geckosfeet]

101. From the mouth of true working woman.

[lonestarnot]

107. Wasn't any doubt about that pig before the nanny spoke up.

[arely staircase]

110. ok, is it normal for rich people who are old enough to be dating

to have nannies?

[polichick]

111. Some wealthy families keep the household staff but the job morphs a bit...

...to taking care of horses and whatever else needs doing, instead of hands on caring for the kids.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

112. kick

[Beacool]

114. Ann Romney is rich, so what?

So was Eleanor Roosevelt. She too never had to work for a living and had nannies to help her raise her children. We may disapprove of her husband and his politics, but Ann's wealth shouldn't be the ruler by which she is measured.

[FlaGranny]

120. Missed the point? n/t

[JoeyT]

122. That may be the case,

if she and her husband weren't out there insisting she knows what life is like for struggling women that are trying to decide between putting gas in the car or buying food. Since they ARE doing that, it makes a fine ruler indeed.

[Beacool]

123. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in Ann's corner.

I just don't like the blank judgments that some people make about rich people. The Roosevelts and Kennedys were wealthy and those two families gave the country three fine presidents.

[Cali_Democrat]

121. Ann Romney is a fraud

she outsourced the house work to nannies while she sat on her arse sipping fine french wine and cheeses. And she would like us to believe she raised 5 kids all by herself.

What a joke.

[tje1211]

124. We can't judge her

We have many many more people in our party that have been freeloading their entire lives while having 6+ kids and never working a day in their life.

[siligut]

125. So glad you are gone. nt