[SFDXA] The Full Story

[Bill Marx]

Full Text from previous email from Sherry W4STB

Yesterday, a story <http://ema.arrl.org/node/802> made the rounds of 
Twitter and Google+ (and probably Facebook as well but I personally 
didn't see it there) that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney 
"dissed" amateur radio in an interview.  Here is what Romney said that 
raised the ire of amateur radio operators:

    Host and moderator Natalie Jacobson asked an increasingly-agitated
    Governor Romney questions about communications interoperability, and
    communication without commercial power. Romney was next asked by
    Jacobson, "...so does it come down to ham radio?..."

    The Governor replied in a disgusted tone, "No, we don't need to deal
    with ham radio operators..."

The only problem is that I don't think some of those posting this 
article noticed that it was an old article.  It is 6 years old. It's 
datelined 11/16/2005 and clearly refers to Romney as the current 
Governor of Massachusetts, which he no longer is.  It turns out that 
Romney changed his mind after this interview and no longer holds the 
same view.

The first thought I had was not to get angry about his statement, it was 
to wonder if he still held the position that "we don't need to deal with 
ham radio operators."  The article mentions actions that ARRL, ARES, and 
RACES officials amongst other such as National Weather Service and 
Salvation Army officials took afterwards to educate Romney on just what 
amateur radio could do.  Clearly there was the opportunity for Romney 
change his mind.

Yesterday afternoon, I traded tweets with Brian Arsenault, N1FIY 
<http://www.twitter.com/N1FIY>.  Brian was  involved in the effort to 
inform Romney and I asked him if he knew whether or not the incident 
changed Romney's mind about the usefulness of amateur radio during 
emergencies:

    @KF4LMT I agree. When I read it, I said 'I was part of the ARRL
    Field Org that sent him a letter. Did he do it again?' Nope

    @N1FIY Since you have personal knowledge, you might be able to
    answer my question -- Did he change his mind?

    @KF4LMT Yes. About 2 weeks after that interview, he said his eyes
    were opened to recent events where hams proved vital...

Because it was an old article, I thought it was important to go beyond 
the initial reporting to see what his current position prior to using 
the information to decide who or who not to vote for. Romney indeed 
changed his mind. I'm glad that Brian brought up his involvement because 
it gave me the opportunity to find out.  Everyone is free to make their 
own judgments but this is not an issue that we as hams still need to 
hold against Romney when we decide whether or not to vote for him.