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Subscribe to RSSAIKEN, S.C. -- Campaigning here in the Palmetto State, Mitt Romney today sidestepped the withering criticism he's received for his tenure at Bain Capital, and instead praised the free-market system in which it operated.
"I will work to get good jobs back," Romney said. "And a lot of people talk about how we create jobs -- by the way, it is not to walk away from free enterprise; it is not to say that there is something wrong with the free-market system, no it is instead to hold fast to that system and make it work for the American people."
Earlier today, the Obama campaign released a memo ripping Romney for deflecting criticism of his record at Bain onto the free market.
"Free enterprise' isn’t running for president, Mitt Romney is," the memo from Obama campaign strategist Stephanie Cutter read, in part. "And voters deserve straight answers about his record, so they can know how his perspective would influence his decisions and actions if he were president of the United States."
After a brief fundraising sojurn to Florida yesterday, Romney returned to South Carolina for a rally this afternoon with his stump speech subtly tuned to a state with an unemployment rate of 9.9% -- well above the national average.
"If you've been out of work for a long period of time," Romney said, "you know these numbers are not just statistics. These numbers are real people, and real suffering."
In his remarks today, Romney also acknowledged the economy was getting better -- something he has said before -- and declared that the social safety net needs to be protected.
"And [President Obama]'s going to say the economy is getting better," Romney said. "Thank heavens it's getting better. It's getting better not because of him, it's in spite of him and what he's done."
The former Massachusetts governor also made another slight tweak to his usual campaign message, adding a line today about concern for the poor. Traditionally on the stump and in debates, Romney says the poor are "taken care of" by the country's social safety net. Today he appeared to call for reinforcing that net, in addition to helping the middle class.
"I'm concerned about the poor in this country. We have to make sure the safety net is strong and able to help those who can't help themselves," Romney said, before returning to his standard remarks. "I'm not terribly worried about the very wealthiest in our society; they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the vast middle class of our nation, the 90 percent of Americans, the 95 percent of Americans who are having tough times."
Of course, as NBC's Domenico Montanaro reported, based on the Tax Policy Center's analysis, the wealthy would benefit most from Romney tax plan and the poor would effectively see a tax increase.
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Bwhahahaha!
Does Willard who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth & a gold rattle up his a$$ seriously think people are going to fall for this?
This has to be the most outrageous statement ever to leave Flippers lips!
Sorry Willard, we are not buying the damaged goods your peddling!
I knew Feisty had an evil insidious laugh ;o)
A very large and very powerful Cincinnati based religious organization just released the results of poll they conducted with their membership on Presidential candidates. Huntsman <1%, Romney 4%, Paul 4%, Perry 9%, Gingrich 15% and Santorum with 68%.
Think there is any bias against Mormons? I think this shows a larger problem for Mitt than most will/want to acknowledge.
Uh Brian, that's not the end the sound came out of.
Does this very large and very powerful Cincinnati based religious organization have a name?
This is the BEST retort Sniffy, who admitted to having exploding hemorrhoids, can come up with? lol
I'm shocked... NOT!
Give it up old gal - you'll soon be put out to pasture...
JS1,
Citizens for Community Values aka CCV
http://www.ccv.org/
LOL...Hell yes they will! They fell for Obama!
Never understimate the ignorance of the American voter. A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it away.
JoAnna - Thanks! You made my day most excellent. I love a good belly laugh! That was very funny!
Dennis - Do you always draw conclusions that would appear to be low hanging fruit? I know you are a liberal but can't you think a little deeper than that? Making a conclusion based on your biased hatred of religion doesn't cut it unless you are serving up cheese. Huntsman is barely known, and Romney has had a terrible week (thank goodness).
@Michael1969: One wonders the same about any voter who still believes the GOP actually wants smaller government. I'd be inclined to think that were they not all so trigger-happy about amending state constitutions to make second-class citizens out of anyone who doesn't align with their social mores, or weren't so willing to beat the drum of war.
You're only a second-class citizen if you allow someone to make you one. Grow up. Kinda like letting someone else ruin your day. Only if ya let em.
Really. So by your logic, it's any given oppressed group's fault if another larger, more well-armed and monied group sweeps in and deprives them of their basic human rights.
Nothing like giving an intellectual carte blanche to social injustice, war and genocide, is there, Michael?
Ah, to have a silver spoon or multi-millions.
Mitt does, but then again so many belong to the ranks of the multi-millionaire club.
Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Kerry, Schumer, Issa. Fact far too many to list.
Heck, even little old Liz Warren pulls down a cool $500k per year [as does her esteemed Harvard Professor hubby] and together they sit atop a least $5 million in net worth.
Yep, politics - good work if you can stomach it.
Too bad, cause as for the rest of us, well, there are 1 MILLION fewer workers now than in 2009.
Brian,
Just how did you come up with the idea that I hate religion? I am a lifelong Catholic.
Again you know nothing about me so you make an assumption. I have been on the mailing list of the CCV for at least 7 years.
The statement you just made shows a lot about the type of person you are and defines how you think about people.
Do you assume that all liberals are non-Christen? You also assume that I am a Liberal when in fact there are some issues that I am liberal about and there are some issues that I am Conservative about and then there are many issues that my position falls in the Moderate category.
I am Center-Left. I do not appreciate far Right or Left views. I do not like anyone that spouts extreme views on anything. You can have extreme views but please do not try to force them on me.
They're fault by not being better prepared?....yes.
Deprives them of their basic human rights????
Were you a crack baby? Put the OWL sign down for a spell and get a job. You'll feel sooooo much better with yourself when you're earning that $$ in your new bank account.
See, when you have a job, you'll find you don't have that much "free time" to protest to steal other people's hard-earned money.
Spanky Are you in that club? I hear lawyers make allot of money. My son is going to college to be a lawyer. What"s your advice?
I was definitely not born with a silver spoon, but I do alright.
DO NOT let your son go to law school.
Cost is ridiculous, job market for young lawyers is abysmal, and the profession is changing with technology - I can do much more now with few associates, paralegals and staff.
Besides the world needs engineers, plumbers and electricians.
What is this Michael, a kindler and gentler avatar? Or is that the cat from the movie Fallen?
Umm, Smitty - I wouldn't take Spank's advice on the legal profession. It would be mere speculation on his part. I mean him being a process server and all.
I was bored and Googled "pussy". This came up.
Thanks for the compliment! You wouldn't believe how big my heart is.
well, Michael, convincing me you HAVE a heart would be a first step,...
I kid. Have a good weekend,...I take it you've never seen the movie Fallen? Stream it on Netflix. It's excellent.
(just realized I typo'd in the original - word is kinder)
Clara,
You have a better weekend!
OUCH Clara Bell. Words hurt, but I suspect you already know that.
Serving process is kinda fun. Kinda scary too, which is why I leave it to the professionals.
But to Clara Bell's point - our very own Anna Molley and Steeler Fan are also lawyers, so give them a shot out.
@ Brain There is a group of people meeting in Texas this weekend, trying to get someone to drop
out so they can rally around anyone but Romney. One of those people is the President of the Southern Baptist Convention. Think there is any bias against Mormons? I have belonged to the Southern Baptist Church for
40 years. This upsets me because there is suppose to be seperation of church and state.
Spankmeister, I believe you should get some professional help to overcome your millionaire net worth fixation. Might do wonders (AND help your comprehension of certain social matters!)
So spank - are you stating that you are in the midst of a career change? Going into the plumbing business for the good of the world are you? PLEASE.
And Michael1969... please open your eyes and face reality; try to see the world as it truly is (instead of the delusional picture the tea/gop party and fox news tries to sell.)
Moniker - Yes you are
Michael, I rarely if ever agree with you, but thumbs up for a good retort. It's rare I get to chuckle to your group's (the boys and gals in red) posts.
Oh michael1969,
you only wish...
Being prepared, Michael1969? With what? A jar of petroleum jelly, and a 'come hither' look?
What you wrote, Michael1969, was a totally a$$inine statement.
Isn't one of Romney's sons named Michael?
Romney's so concerned about the poor that he plans to cut the safety nets right out from under them and raise their taxes, too. "Pious baloney" is what Gingrich called Romney's words; on that I agree with Newt.
You know it's really difficult to give the grinch kudos for telling the truth, but yeah, he nailed it on that one...
[Romney: 'I'm concerned about the poor']
Just like he's concerned about this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9cn0M_AFWg
But to give credit where credit is due, Mittens did institute "RomneyCare" in MA, which helped countless thousands. The Obama Administration's Health Care Reform bill was modeled after "RomneyCare" as well as the Republicans ideas from the 1990's...
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/February/23/GOP-1993-health-reform-bill.aspx
Here's a comparison:
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/graphics/2010/022310-bill-comparison.aspx
...and Mitt is going to challenge Obama on this? Really? Seems the Republicans can't remember what they had for breakfast.
Mitt: His own worst enemy.
There must be "poor" "rich" people if this 1%er is concerned about the "poor."
How ignorant must the Party of No Electorate be?
Concerned about the poor means making choices that are win-win. Where did the 180 million go from the company that bankrupted with the steel workers?
Sure you are Mr. Romney. I have a bridge I would like to sell you.
it is not to walk away from free enterprise
Does anyone else hear the cadences of Sarah Palin in this quote?
"based on the Tax Policy Center's analysis, the wealthy would benefit most from Romney tax plan and the poor would effectively see a tax increase."
Mittens is thinking, how can I squeeze one more drop from the poor before I convince them that the 'free market' is a good thing. By the time they realize it, I will have their pennies and their jobs (those who survived enough to have a job)!!
Aw shucks Job1 - I'll be he is truly concerned about the poor. In his book the poor are those folks earning between 500k and 1m annually, not nearly enough to exist on.
That a good one RedDev.
That's funny RedDev because that's essentially what Chucky Schumer was saying when they wanted to raise taxes on the 'rich' in NY.
Unfair, Job1
I think he's genuinely concerned about stepping over them in the doorways to the diners he needs to frequent to - you know - appear folksy and all.
What a crock of you-know-what. There are a litany of serious questions about Mitt's character, his honesty, his qualifications for the job, and his record of killing jobs to make himself a fat profit. Romney is winning the GOP fight, but appears to be losing the overall war for the White House. Mitt Romney has probably led to more layoffs of working Americans than any man in this country. His entire fiscal policy platform is designed to give himself as many tax cuts and government giveaways as possible. http://www.sunstateactivist.org
...which is EXACTLY why he is concerned about the poor - afraid they will not be able to generate enough free/cheap labor to support him and his ilk.
some advisor suggested that he say it--Mitt didn't come up with this new "concern" for the poor on his own.
Bingo,
Image re-branding, no doubt. Best advice I saw today was for him to take some STAT acting classes to get over the hump of his DISLIKABILITY factor.
President Obama just made Karen Mills, a venture capitalist who actually created more jobs than Romney, the cabinet level Small Business Administrator. Democrats aren't against free enterprise, we're for improving our nation's economy. Check out this woman's resume:
That's fantastic Amy.
Interesting pick.
And yet he also picked Jeff Imhelt as his jobs czar.
You think Jeff is concerned with improving our nations economy? If you do I wonder why GE isn't super keen on paying it's 'fair share' in taxes, or why it seems to prefer to make it's products overseas?
Amy why won't he dump Imhelt and replace him with Ms. Mills.
Well that article gave me the greatest laugh of all! Seriously, this coming from the richest man ever to run for president, the avatar of Citizens United, the guy who has been running for President for five years understands the poor?? AND Mittens gave the Tea Party even more reason to hate him - he said "the social safety net needs to be protected"!!!
Wow.
Couple this with straight up lies from Romney - 100K jobs created, the usual Euro-centric label, appeaser, apologizer - all demonstrably false - plus that him and his wife have a LOT of money in Cayman Islands-based shell corps, AND that he likes to fire people, and all the Bain mess...well, its been a GREAT week!
Romney shows his sensitivity: I'm not terribly concerned about the wealthy; they're doing just fine. Well, of course they are----the pay the lowest tax rate on their income in a generation and your party has fought tooth and nail to keep it that way.
'They' are doing just fine.
So Steeler - how many of your clients are middle class or poor? Big time tax attorney/MBA like you must be pulling down at least $250 per hour. I suspect some around here might consider that to be 1%-ish.
Rates are a funny thing, as you know Steeler. But as you also know, they are only one part of the tax equation. Of course we could go back to the rates in the 50's and 60's - way higher but far more loopholes, exemptions and avenues to shield income.
Sounds great, right? But funny thing is, NOBODY seems to have an appitite to actually do anything about it. Course we did have Chuck Rangel in charge so so long, eh Steeler?
What should the rates be, and how much money should the feds generate [take] every year.
Steeler, if we raised taxes such that revenue was say $4 trillion next year, how much do you think the idiots would spend?
A. Less than $4 Trillion.
B. Exactly $4 Trillion.
C. Way more than $4 trillion.
As Sung By Frank Sinatra...
Street of Dreams
Love laughs at a king
Kings don't mean a thing
On the street of dreams
Dreams broken in two
Can be made like new
On the street of dreams
Gold, silver and gold
All you can hold
Is in the moonbeam
Poor, no one is poor
As long as love is sure
On the street of dreams
Gold, silver and gold
All you can hold
Is in the moonbeam
Poor, no one is poor
As long as love is sure
On the street of dreams
Mitt Romney is such A FAKE AND PHONY, he can't even hide it in his body language. I cannot say it enough. When he made the Statement people who are AGAINST Wall Street and People like his family (WHO HAVE MONEY) is ALL BECAUSE OF ENVY, I nearly tossed by cookies. Here is my big question to those of you on Newsvine:
Is Mitt also talking about the TEA PARTY? Remember the Tea Party came to power because of Wall Street Bailouts. Does that mean that Tea Party people are also ENVIOUS?
Did Mitt just THROW a MISGUIDED GROUP (Tea Party) of folks under the BUS?
If the above is not true of the Tea Party, then they might be showing they are a Fraud also. They turned out a lot of establishment Republicans because they bailed out Wall Street and Banks. The Candidates and Republicans want to call the OCCUPY Protesttors , freaks, take a bath and you are nothing, because they are highlighting the Rich and Corporations the Republicans LOVE to protect against the masses. These are also, American People.
I love the current job Newt and Ricky Perry are doing on Mitt and pointing out Mitt's Hypocrisy. They are only pointing out the truth. I know that is worrying the Establishment Republicans, Because Mitt is all they have that looks White enough to beat a President Obama. Yes, I said it. The Nomination has come down to who can best talk the down to the middle class, poor, and minorities (African Americans in Particular).
Don't get me wrong folks, I don't want a Newt Gingrich who I think is an even more DESPICABLE PERSON than Mitt. The Republicans just do not have a BENCH in this Election Cycle. I would advise you to vote for President Obama again or just go ahead and sit this out if you are so offended by the President. Whether you are or not, there ARE NO CANDIDATES CURRENTLY RUNNING on the Republican side that can come remotely close. Maybe the Republicans have someone in the WINGS who has not emerged at this time, or they are too sane and not radicall enough. Maybe someday they will put up a person like this.
All of this INSANITY is reflected throughout the Republican Party of today, especially in CONGRESS, where they are CURRENTLY BEING OBSTRUCTIONISTS EXTRAORDINARIES in the ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF THE COUNTRY.
Willard is concerned about the poor? What? Aren't they jealous?
I can only hope Willard will continue with the absurd envy, jealous and class warfare defense against his years as a corporate raider. Gordon Gekko would be so proud! Yep, great strategy, accusing your fellow Americans, the ones you want to elect you, of being envious, jealous and engaging in class warfare. Yep, that is it exactly, we're all jealous of Willard. Allrightythen.
Willard just does not get it. Willard just can't get it. Willard will never get it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/mitt-romney-envy-south-carolina-primary_n_1200454.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=492268,b=facebook
A few typos in that quote. Here, I've fixed them for you:
the problem is that the poor for Romney are those who make only $1,000,000 a year.....we all have to feel sorry for them.
Fact, Romney only consolidated business and killed jobs in the past. This man will only continue the Bush/Obama administrations game. He's in it to win it for himself. He will try to fly under the radar in this campaign, and at the last minute play dirty..Ron Paul has my vote in 2012. Ignore the mainstream media!!WE"RE WINNING!FIGHT THE NDAA!
What??? "Romulian Romney" has NO intention of helping the poor. NONE! The "Romulian's" idea of who the poor are is so "Alien" to his limited thought process. The "Romulian" has NEVER been poor in his whole life, and to even think that he wants to help the poor is a JOKE! He is not only a financial crook, a tax cheat, and is the biggest "flip-flopper" in history. If one puts pointed ears, and pointed eye brows on "Romulian Romney." He not only would be a dead on image of a "Romulian Politician" representing the Romulian Empire. The Romulian does not believe in Free Speech however, he will only speak freely in a quiet room. Sorry Romulian! Here on Earth in the United States Of AMERICA. We the people demand that the issue of ecomomic policy, taxes, and job creation be debated in a public forum. NOT in quiet rooms! Which appears to be the norm on his home planet of Romulus. Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! The "Romulian Politician" has got to go!!
During Romney's NH speech he said that if voters wanted more entitlements that he was not their man. So, the poor, the elderly, he should not be your man. He also said he would like to see medicare and social security privatized. His tax plan has the poor and the middle class paying more and the tax breaks for the 1% permanant. This is the man who is concerned about the poor?
Of course Romney is concerned about the poor. They still get to vote. At least this time around. If they have the proper ID (for which they will have to pay for themselves in many places).
Of course, you have to wonder who actually gets to _count— the votes. Recall the election of 2004, where the guy who owned the voting machines in Ohio was the chairman of Bush's campaign, and said, 'we'll bring Ohio in for the President any way we can.' And he did. Funny about that...exit polling more or less matched the vote in counties where there was paper backup, but there was a ten percent dividend for Bush vis a vis the exit polling when there wasn't any paper backup.
Does Bain own any voting machine companies?