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Mitt Romney is working to stress his Michigan roots and empathy for the state's auto industry as part of a new offensive ahead of the Great Lake State's Feb. 28 primary.
In a new television ad and an op-ed Tuesday in the Detroit News, Romney reminded Michigan Republicans of his upbringing in the state, while working to better couch his opposition to the 2009 bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler engineered by President Obama.
"I grew up in Michigan; it was exciting to be here," Romney says in the ad, in which he appears driving a Chrysler 300. "Michigan's been my home; this is personal."
In the ad, Romney also addresses the federal bailout of the auto industry in broad terms, asking, "How in the world did an industry and its leaders and its unions get in such a fix," while accusing Obama of having done "all these things the liberals had wanted to do for years" without adding specifics.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event in Mesa, Arizona February 13, 2012.
It's a sentiment echoed in Romney's piece in today's Detroit News, in which he expands on his opposition to the 2009 bailout.
The effort seems directed at softening some of the attacks directed at Romney by Democrats associated with the former Massachusetts governor's opposition to Obama's handling of the bailout, outlined famously in a New York Times op-ed titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."
Obama and his campaign count the revivals for GM and Chrysler among the administration's greatest successes in its first term. Obama trumpeted Chrysler's early repaying of some bridge loans and improved balance sheets by both companies, although the government maintains a significant equity share in both automakers.
"Does anyone believe what Mitt says: that the American auto industry would be better off today if the president hadn't intervened in 2009?" Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod tweeted Tuesday morning.
Other Democratic surrogates attacked Romney for trying to soften or even reverse his position ahead of the primary.
"All of them are wrong," former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said of the GOP field during a DNC conference call Tuesday, "but for Romney in particular it shows that the man has no principles, no core."
"Remember, that was then and this is now. Then he said let them go into bankruptcy," said Michigan Rep. John Dingell, seizing on a portion in Romney's op-ed hailing GM and Chrysler's revival. "He is now finding that success is here, and he wants to rush out and claim success, and claim participation in that success."
Romney's opposition to the bailout does little to distinguish him from his competitors in the Republican primary in Michigan.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who's surged nationally versus Romney since scoring upset victories in a trio of nominating contests last week, appears poised to take a run at Romney on his home turf in Michigan. Santorum's on the air in the Wolverine State, and some automated polls (which aren't recognized by NBC News) suggest Santorum is within striking distance of victory in the Michigan primary, which Romney won during his presidential campaign of 2008.
Moreover, Santorum's position on the auto bailouts is virtually identical to Romney's. "I called for a structured bankruptcy from the very beginning," Santorum said in January on C-SPAN. "They could have gone through a structured bankruptcy. And the only difference between those two companies coming out of bankruptcy versus the bailouts Obama put in place was that the unions wouldn’t take ownership share of the company. The bondholders who were all in line under the rule of law should have gotten their fairer share of the company."
Former House Speaker Gingrich has also voiced opposition to the auto industry bailout.
Romney has homed in now on the treatment of unions as a main point of criticism toward Obama's handling of the managed bankruptcy. Romney says the president had eventually pursued the managed bankruptcy option Romney had preferred, but did so in a way that unfairly advantaged the UAW and organized labor over Chrysler and GM's secured creditors -- most of which are located on Wall Street.
"While a lot of workers and investors got the short end of the stick, Obama's union allies — and his major campaign contributors — reaped reward upon reward, all on the taxpayer's dime," Romney wrote in the Detroit News piece, in which he calls for the government to sell off its shares of GM.
But Romney's new strides this week appear more directed at responding to attacks by Democrats, not his rivals in the presidential campaign. The bailout remains generally popular in Michigan, and even some congressional Republicans who represent the issue are on record in favor of the Obama administration's support for GM and Chrysler. Democrats' attacks are meant to saddle Romney in parts of the Midwest where the auto industry remains dominant, and drive up his negatives both for the Republican primary and the general election. (Obama led Romney, 48 to 40 percent, in a January 2012 EPIC/MRA poll of likely Michigan voters, erasing an advantage that Romney had held over the president in 2011 polls.)
Those efforts to define Romney might be aided by Romney's own history on the issue, now trying to largely take credit for the path the Obama adminstration pursued after having pleaded for Washington to ease the path for automakers during the 2008 GOP primary in Michigan.
"The question is, where is Washington?" Romney said during that campaign, according to an account by the New York Times, specifically decrying new fuel efficiency standards for Detroit's Big Three. "Where does it stop? Is there a point at which someone says 'enough'? Or are we going to allow the entire domestic automotive manufacturing industry to disappear?"
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Now, just what the heck would plastic-smiling howdy-doody-romney know about being unemployed, living paycheck to paycheck, or losing his home to forclosure, having his car repossessed: that grand reward for working hard all your life and the republican wall-street shills stealing not only your present and future, but also those of your children and grandchildren???
romney is a two-faced, flip-flopping liar -- as phony as his tailored blue jeans, $1,000 shoes, and any run-of-the-mill $3-bill.
This low-life, self-serving, ELITIST has been campaigning for SIX NON-STOP years, and has spent tens upon tens of millions$$$ literally trying to BUY AND LIE HIS WAY TO THE GOP NOMINATION, and he still cannot muster more than a few percentage points of a sread, and even often trails behind the other right-wingnuts he's competing against!!!!!!
The good thing about this 2nd run of romney's, and after he's finally stomped good, is that we will not ever have to hear his pathetic flip-flopping lies, ever again..... he will be toast, for good!!!!
RD-numbers: Wow, you sure have your right wing talking points lined up. Too bad the truth is so allusive to you. Independents are going to determine this election and those who know how to compromise are going to get votes... those who just obstruct, bitch, moan and complain won't get anywhere. November can't get here soon enough... I can't wait to see how the voters "reward" the politicians who did everything they could to hurt the middle class.
HOW COULD THE GOP GET SOOO DESPERATE TO EVEN CONSIDER LISTENING TO A MAN THAT BOWS DOWN TO THE ALTAR OR '' M O R O N I '' ?????????? i mean , they are the ones that uses religion as a political crutch all the time. worshiping christ and kneeling down to a false angel is so diferent , until it's accultic. getting baptized for dead people , and having 4 and 5 wives , when JESUS said it's adultery ??? come on REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE TEA PARTIERS , '' HOW IN THE NAME OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD , COULD YA'LL ENTERTAIN SUCH BLASPHEMY ??? GREEEEEDDDDDD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry..."accultic"? This from a guy who believes in a zombie saviour? Did any of what you just wrote make any sense even to you.
@BUFF THE ROAMING '' BUTT '' ; don't mix truth with fiction. it is clear you have a low IQ. I also believe you are BLOOD TYPE A. There is a study that found that almost all white men who are racist have type A Blood. This blood type has very thick blood which results in low blood flow to the heart the muscles and the private parts. This causes you to feel very insecure about your man hood. Women don't stay because they are unhappy with your sexual issues. Because most A's eat so much red meat in America. Your blood coagulates and arterys get clogged. A's in America rarely live past 66 years old. That might be a good thing. It will clear out many of you ....soon....we hope. So tell me....Are you A????
Well, dammit, the answer to that is "yes". But I don't think any of the rest of that is true. For what it is worth, I am a rabid liberal. Just don't agree with you on the comment above.
Wait a minute, teatards think Obama caused the collapse of Detroit, when it was Bush's team that wrote the bailout legislature? Talk about denial............
No, the "teatards" as you so eloquently call them (bet you thought that up all by yourself, aren't you a clever one) think that big government and the UAW caused the collapse of Detroit. The bailout was simply a bailout of the UAW not Detroit. The US automakers would not have closed up shop, as many would have you believe. By declaring bankruptcy they would have voided all the idiotic labor agreements that they had been bullied into by the unions which were not allowing them to compete with foreign manufacturers. They were bailed out to keep them out of bankruptcy, to preserve the unions contracts, and in the end it will be seen for what it was, taxpayer money being given to unions. It was essentially the government saying that free markets don't work. You feel that your money is better spent on a foreign car, which is of a better quality and value, too bad, the government took your money and gave to GM and Chrysler, and you didn't even get a car out of the deal.
Moose - If that was so why didn't the Auto Industry exectutives didn't say no to the bailout and head into bankruptcy. If they could have gotten out from under the unions (as you say) and come out of this in better shape why didn't they.
I'll tell you why, they would not have come out of it. They would not have been able to get enough capital to support the company and would have went out of business.
Remember, the industry executives are free market executives, you know the GOP type..yet when push came to shove they realized without the Governments help they would be out of business.
It's amazing the GOP cries we need to bring back jobs and manufacturing and the moment they can show it they say let the manufacturing industry fall flat on it's face.
There's not chance in hell the GOP carrys Michigan in the General.
hey Moose did you complain about the billions we spent on a war of choice in Iraq, I didn't even get a bag of sand much less any gas for my truck.
Yoour funny. Our you always that witty.
@Heyseed - Yes I did complain about the billions we spent in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just like I complain now about the billions we will spend in Iran over another counterfeit war. I am not a Republican, never have been.
@Don - I must have missed where Ford went bankrupt. Chrysler was in trouble because their vehicles sucked and despite their massive marketing campaign they are still in trouble, because their vehicles still suck. GM was in trouble because their labor costs made them non-competitive in the market. According to GM the average UAW worker employed there cost about $65 an hour (wages and benefits), how do you expect them to compete with Honda and Toyota only average $45 for AMERICAN WORKERS, and most of their vehicles are not made here. So you tell me how it is profitable for GM to make a car at $65 an hour and sell it for $25,000, while Toyota pays $45 an hour, or less overseas, and sells their car for $25,000?
flip, flop, flip, flop, flip........ And the comedy show continues. Comedy Central wants to host the next debate looking for ratings.
It seems like the real issue comes down who are Americans? Who gets to benefit from taxpayer bailouts? What is the definition of "a worker" and "the American people" and "taxpayer." Are auto workers, union employees, American taxpayers, people who work for a living part of the American working class as much as Wall Street executives and bankers, and CEOs and corporate executives who use other people's money to make money?
If you are the president of the United States and you have in your power the ability to save the largest manufacturing base in the United States and you DON"T do it, you shouldn't be called a leader, especially when there were millions of jobs at stake.
To say let them go out of business like Romney,,,well, kiss your %^^%& goodbye in Michigan
The problem with your comment is that the President DOES NOT have the ability to "save" it. Nowhere in the POTUS's job description is there anything about saving jobs, helping the economy, bailing out companies, etc. His job is to sign or veto the laws sent to him by Congress and execute those laws. He has no power to make laws, he has no power to spend money not authorized by Congress. Hitler was a great leader too, or so thought the German people, but by the time they realized that they had given him too much power it was too late.
Where the heck is reverse on this darn political ride?
Anyone politician that thinks Detroit is "a success" is delusional beyond words.
Santorum - This compassionate Christian conservative founded a charity that was actually a bit of a scam. In 2001, following up on a faith-based urban charity initiative around the 2000 GOP convention in Philadelphia, Santorum launched a charitable foundation called the Operation Good Neighbor Foundation. While in its first few years the charity cut checks to community groups for $474,000, Operation Good Neighbor Foundation had actually raised more than $1 million, from donors who overlapped with Santorum's political fund raising. Where did the majority of the charity's money go? In salary and consulting fees to a network of politically connected lobbyists, aides and fundraisers, including rent and office payments to Santorum's finance director Rob Bickhart, later finance chair of the Republican National Committee. When I reported on Santorum's charity for The American Prospect in 2006, experts told me a responsible charity doles out at least 75 percent of its income in grants, and they were shocked to learn the figure for Operation Good Neighbor Fund was less than 36 percent. The charity -- which didn't register with the state of Pennsylvania as required under the law --- was finally disbanded in 2007. Huffington Post
Likewise, a so-called "leadership PAC" created by Santorum that was supposed to fund other Republicans instead seemed to mostly pay for the lifestyle of Santorum and those around him. My investigation of the America's Foundation PAC showed that only 18 percent of its money went to fund political candidates, less -- and typically far less -- than any other "leadership PACs." What America's Foundation did spend a lot on with what looked like everyday expenses, including 66 trips to the Starbucks in Santorum's then-hometown of Leesburg, Va., multiple fast-food outings and expenditures at Walmart, Target and Giant supermarkets. Campaign finance experts said the PAC's expenses -- paid for by donations from wealthy businessmen and lobbyists -- were "unconventional," at best and arguably not legal. Santorum also funded his large Leesburg "McMansion" with a $500,000 mortgage from a private bank run by a major campaign donor, in a program that was only supposed to be open to high-wealth investment clients in the trust, which Santorum was not, and closed to the general public.
I like the comment I just read. What is wrong with asking questions. What do you have to hide? So I asked read this and ask yourself the question why did this happen and what type of person does this? Santorum - This compassionate Christian conservative founded a charity that was actually a bit of a scam. In 2001, following up on a faith-based urban charity initiative around the 2000 GOP convention in Philadelphia, Santorum launched a charitable foundation called the Operation Good Neighbor Foundation. While in its first few years the charity cut checks to community groups for $474,000, Operation Good Neighbor Foundation had actually raised more than $1 million, from donors who overlapped with Santorum's political fund raising. Where did the majority of the charity's money go? In salary and consulting fees to a network of politically connected lobbyists, aides and fundraisers, including rent and office payments to Santorum's finance director Rob Bickhart, later finance chair of the Republican National Committee. When I reported on Santorum's charity for The American Prospect in 2006, experts told me a responsible charity doles out at least 75 percent of its income in grants, and they were shocked to learn the figure for Operation Good Neighbor Fund was less than 36 percent. The charity -- which didn't register with the state of Pennsylvania as required under the law --- was finally disbanded in 2007. Huffington Post
Rick Santorum was named among the corrupt politicians in 2005-2006 by a Washington watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
"Ethics In Washington"...... Bwaa ha ha ha haa What a joke. A place full of politicians full of lobby money and you want to investigate "ethics". I believe the rest of us call that bribery, extortion, embezzlement, tax evasion, money laundering, larceny and most of all Contributing to a Continuing Criminal Organization.
We have them rating Santorum while Obama and his buddies at the Federal Reserve shove $16 trillion out the back door from 2009 to 2010 all going to Goldman Sachs, CitiCorp and a dozen European and Asian billionaire bankers. Obama swore there would be nothing found with the Federal Reserve Audit bill and fought it tooth and nail. When the $16 trillion was revealed Obama had "no comment".
No comment to $16 TRILLION??? THAT IS $700,000 per America family and instantly the end to the depression as it shoots us into the best prosperity this country ever had........... BUT NOooo... Obama knows you wanted to save his billionaire buddies instead. Funny though it didn't save or change a thing. We also had CEO's of the bailed out banks serving on committees for the Federal Reserve when the bailouts happened. It was a corporate coup d'état of the US government and this President Obama was deeply involved in the cover up.
Ethics In Washington......... that's a laugh!
What!? I just read this. Karen Santorum, the ultra-pro-live wife and mother, was a live in with an abortion doctor during her 20s for 6 years. She helped him start one of the 1st hospital-sanctioned abortion clinics in Pennsylvania. (Mary Hass -Newsweek Magazine 16 Jan 2012)
It is not about President Obama; when the three giant auto companies needed the former President Bush to help, he did not give them the help that they needed at that time in 2008 which the three giants was at the brink of the financial collapse.
But the former president he offered quick financial help to the financial institutions back in 2008.
The three giants are still on the brink of collapse. The GM pension fund is totally unsustainable and would destroy any corporation that tried. All Obama did was pour money into a bankrupt company to prop up the worker pension fund because GM has between 2 and 3 retirees for every current worker.
Of course they have "appeared" successful. If you give government tax rebates to the tune of $15K to buy the autos. If you give stimulus money, green energy grant and tax waivers which underwrite the manufacturing, tooling, and operating cost, you will be successful. You want to see if they are successful? Remove all the government money and see if it flies!! They would be dead in a week.
These bailouts were like me emptying your bank account to help my friends bankrupt business. Both he and his employees look at it as a government bailout while you look at it as thievery. They took your money and you don't get squat. You pay for their union wages, FAT pensions and CEO medical plans when neither you, your wife or anyone else you know even has a pension or CEO medical plans etc. But you will pay for decades to support their free medical and big paychecks for sitting on their butts retired after having made some corporate executives and shareholders rich. They all walk away paying nothing. All Obama did was screw one group of workers to help his personal lobby interests.
This crap of "too big to fail" just means they are screwing the rest of us to support their party legacy lobby interests. It is pure Fascism to force people to financially support corporations, shareholders and employees under private contracts with each other. When they screw up THEY bear the burden of their losses.... just as they did their gains. What a bunch of baloney that I as a taxpayer are somehow financially responsible for this mess of private companies, managment, shareholders and their employees.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported that Santorum took the most cash from corporate lobbyists of any other politician in Washington, adding that Santorum "has a black belt in hypocrisy" WAtch this on his corruption.
Obama has over $1 billion in campaign money. The saddest thing is the entire Obama campaign is being run with taxpayer money. All Obama's largest contributors were supported with "bailout money" especially Goldman Sachs who is Obama's largest corporate contributor.
We then have the "unions" whose corporations received bailout money and most of their pension systems that failed are now supported by the US taxpayers through the budget deficit spending. More US taxpayer funded lobby money right there. Then you have all the Federal employees, University employees etc etc More taxpayer money funneled back to Obama to keep the $1.7 trillion dollar deficit going and growing.
Then you have the military contractors who are the biggest problem. Take Lockheed Martin, the nation's largest contractor. The company has received nearly $20 billion in federal contracts so far this year. It's already spent more than $4 million lobbying Obama and Congress. Lockheed has also been spending more than $3 million a year on political contributions to "Presidents" and members of Congress that vote its way. And an undisclosed amount to the Aerospace Industries Association to lobby for a bigger Defense budget. Talk about conflicts of interest and corruption!
There are 20 times this much lobby money being poured into Obama's campaign from the same federal contractors. We have GE, GM, Fannie/Freddie, Teamsters, AIG, FED... I mean the list goes on forever. They toss a million or two into the Obama campaign fund then get billions or tens/hundreds of billions back in federal contracts, bailout money, deregulation, tax deductions etc etc
Give me a break... every dollar in his Campaign Fund is taxpayer money and ever dollar will be paid back a hundred fold with more taxpayer money...... AGAIN
not a whole lot of GOP Teaparty people on this thread. I guess even they know that this is a losing battle.
Romney's new campaign slogan "Dead Man Walking Tour". Go home Willard, you're wasting our time.
Romney, you turned your back on Michigan when they (WE) needed it most you phony puke.
You are continuing to look more ugly as you speak and lie about whatever it takes to get the
presidency. I mean ugly, I don't even like to see your face.
Personally, I think bailouts should not be taken lightly and only done under extreme circumstances. Bailouts tend to correct for poor corporate management (or country management wrt to EU countries). In GM's case and maybe Chrysler's, the bailouts seemed to have worked. The point is, that the companies shouldn't have gotten themselves in that position to start with to require the bailout.
lordpyrinc the bail out worked? Wow worked for who? The average taxpayer who has to foot the bill. The average worker who is now facing higher prices of the vehicles that these companies produce? See my post #78 below.
They do not produce vehicles that the average worker can afford to purchase and the vehicles do not last long enough to pay off the cost.
As far as I am concerned it just continued the same old practices.
@Jon Exner - Thank you for providing a different perspective on the matter (I also read your #78 post). I've also noticed how the price of new cars have increased lately. My first three vehicles were used, the fourth was new (14 miles on the odometer - now sits with a broken transmission), and my fifth is used. After realizing the ridiculous cost of a new vehicle, I have decided to never go down that route again. New vehicles are definitely way overpriced and getting worse. The last used vehicle I purchased only had 27,000 miles on it and 3 model years old, yet it cost me half of the new sticker price. That was 2 and a half years ago and I've only had to do regular maintenance on it.
Dividing the purchase price by the miles driven since purchase, I'm well ahead on the latest used vehicle than I was on the new vehicle. It's a lesson I shouldv'e known after owning previous used vehicles, but many people, including myself at the time, are all about driving something new. I won't make that mistake again.
Good ole "Mulligan Mitt" strikes again, except that his editorial "Let Detroit go Bankrupt" was not only a self inflicting wound. It also showed us, the American people a stark contrast as to why a "Vulture Capitalist" should never be allowed in the WhiteHouse. This flip-flopping two faced hypocryte and his Bain corporate carrion-feeders were circling the auto-industry waiting for it to die, just like vultures do. And if not for the US government. Our so called Auto Industry would be no more as we know it. Never mind that every other nation on this planet helps out it's industries when they are in distress. And never mind that by failing the whole world would have quickly took advantage of our weakness and promptly moved in. Eliminating any chance for the Big Three to ever recouperate. But since President Obama and might I also include President Bush took the initiative and bailed out two of the big three. Therefore giving GM and Chysler a fighting chance again. And in return placing GM in the fabulous position to be the #1 Auto producer in the world again. So for all of you folks that are against this bail out, just know this. If America would have listened to "Mulligan Mitt" and the likes, GM would not be where it is right now... The #1 Auto-producer of the world. And you can't argue with that... Go figure, then go vote...
I can't see how Mutt would have any credibility with Michigan's working class. After all, it's the Repugnicans who put the rust in the Rust Belt. As with the housing market, Mutt wants the decay to continue until nothing but rust is left; then he can swoop in and profit from people's desperation. This is how his personal net worth ballooned over the years.
Let's see? Both Romney and Santorum think that the bankers who created the financial mess should have got more, while the people who work for the companies should have got less? Nothing new here! Just a general continuation of Republican policy!
As a Union member of the United Steelworkers for almost 35 years who has held Local Union office for 30 years and of those 30 years 27 have been as Local Union President I have to say it was reprehensible that the Auto Companies were bailed out by the taxpayers of this country.
In my view they did not learn a thing from their experience. The company I work for in the Steel industry as many Steel companies had over the past 30 years went bankrupt. The reasons are always the same the company has poor management and the Union goes too far in their bargaining and strike tactics.
The auto companies should not have been bailed out they should have had their contracts rewritten and the pensions and benefits reduced as was the case in the Steel industry.
A couple of years after the bail out the industry just last week announced that new car prices will increase by 6-8%. Taxes have increased by X%, utilities have increased by X%, food has increased by X%, health care has increased by X% the only damn thing that has not increased X% to keep up with the increases listed is the pay of the average working stiff.
They are now producing vehicles with a price tag that will take longer to pay off than the life of that vehicle.
We have a serious derangement in this country that tells us that the sky is the limit and that can not be further from the truth. The average person can not afford to go out and purchase a new vehicle at these prices. Not to mention that during the same announcement the costs of used vehicles are also going up which is also being complicated by the fact that the cash for clunkers that our imperial president obama implemented has reduced the number of affordable used cars on the market.
THESE TRICKLED DOWN ECONOMICAL '' WANNA BE REAGAN '' ROBOTS ; they are just sooooo easy to see right through. haven't gotten an idea since reagan died , and trickled '' fickled '' with that long time ago generation. GET A CLUE REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE BIGOTS , TRICKLED DOWN ECONOMICS DIED WITH THE WHITES ONLY SIGNS '' LONG , LONG , LONG TIME AGO. HELLLLLLOOOOOO , I SEE THE PORCH LIGHT ON , ANYBODY HOME ?? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trickle down is like the Republicans pissing on you and telling you its raining. It is like they are saying you can eat any of the crumbs that happen to fall from my table. Look at Germany. They have more unions than we do yet they are doing well. They have 15% corporate tax and a much higher than us individual tax rates and they are doing great. Lets be proud and find ways to reward companies that put Americans back to work. We have to start building things in America again. The economy has always done the best when the middle class is strong. Lets build the middle class up again and America as a whole will do much better than just rewarding the Haves and the Haves mores like Bush joked about in 2004.
When everybody knows the elections is being rigged, do issues really matter?