Obama has decided that he’d like to tussle with Romney in the economic playground this week, releasing an ad that has echoes of Gingrich’s SuperPAC spots but with even less factual basis. It’s cleverly named “Steel.”
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My favorite line from the video: “Those guys were all rich. They all had more money than they’ll ever spend.” They aren’t even trying to cover up the class warfare these days. It’s just gross.
To say nothing of the fact that Mitt Romney wasn’t even at Bain Capital during these layoffs, the person who was actually leading the charge on these steel factory shut downs happens to be an Obama bundler. But it’s irrelevant anyway because I reject the entire premise. Sometimes jobs are lost and companies go bankrupt. Just ask Obama, he knows.
On a conference call with Mitt Romney’s Senior Campaign Advisor Ed Gillespie, it became clear quickly that the Romney camp is happy to have this fight.
In the coming week, the Romney campaign says they are going to focus on Obama’s tax & spend record, the failed stimulus, Obama’s debt being on track to come in larger than the last 43 president’s combined, as well as the well-documented hoodwinking of the American taxpayer through failed green investment programs like Solyndra.
Of note on the call was the mention of more specificity around entitlement reform and the need to create a sustainable Social Security & Medicare system for future generations. Entitlements, and specifically Social Security, is somewhat of a sore spot for the conservative base when it comes to Governor Romney. He took the opportunity early in the primary season to attack Governor Perry for calling Social Security a ponzi scheme which many conservatives believe it to be.
For many, Romney’s position wasn’t bold enough and played into conservative fears of a moderate candidate unwilling to tackle an issue that has been front and center on the minds of the Tea Party, not to mention the addition of the all new entitlement, Obamacare.
The campaign informed me that Governor Romney has gone into great detail on his plans already though I’m not convinced that what currently sits at MittRomney.com qualifies as “specific” at least as it relates to Social Security.
President Obama has had three years in office, during which time he has attacked every serious proposal to preserve and strengthen America’s entitlement programs. Mitt Romney has laid out the approach he would take to modernizing America’s entitlement programs, guaranteeing their continued vitality for future generations. Mitt’s proposals will not raise taxes and will not affect today’s seniors or those nearing retirement. He proposes that Social Security should be adjusted in a couple of commonsense ways that will put it on the path of solvency and ensure that it is preserved for future generations.
First, for future generations of seniors, Mitt believes that the retirement age should be slowly increased to account for increases in longevity. Second, for future generations of seniors, Mitt believes that benefits should continue to grow but that the growth rate should be lower for those with higher incomes.
With just those two simple steps, and no change in benefits for those at or near retirement, America can guarantee the preservation of the Social Security system for the foreseeable future.
The Republican nominee must be someone who is committed to saving Social Security. Mitt will ensure that America honors all of its commitments to today’s seniors and strengthens the program so that it is financially secure for future generations.
Hopefully the campaign will work to provide a little more detail around this soon to alleviate the concerns of the base and to provide ammunition against the inevitable “Romney wants to destroy Social Security ads” that will undoubtedly be coming soon.
Romney will kick off his economy focused week at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa tomorrow.
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