E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
IRVINE, CA -- After a weekend in which the presidential race took a back seat to a national period of mourning for the victim's of Friday's shootings in Aurora, Colorado, the Romney and Obama campaigns resumed their attacks against one another with gusto on Monday.
At a fundraiser here in Southern California, Mitt Romney spent almost no time resuming his attack on the president's economic policies, and what he said was the president's failure to "do what's necessary," to pull the United States out of a recession.
"Instead, he pursued his liberal agenda," Romney told a crowd of some 400 donors. "He's a liberal through and through."
Romney's supporters said that the Obama campaign's top strategist David Axelrod was the first to break the campaign's weekend ceasefire, in which the two men refrained from personal attacks or aggressive campaigning, and took political ads off the air in Colorado.
"Tax returns. Bundlers. Bain. MA records & now key docs from Olympics. When it comes to secrecy, Mitt takes the gold!" Axelrod tweeted earlier this morning.
A new ad from the Obama team, which features the president speaking directly to the camera, pulls back from the campaign's dissection of Romney's tax returns and tenure at Bain Capital but offers a broad contrast between both men's economic visions
"Sometimes politics can seem very small," the president says in the ad. "But the choice you face, it couldn’t be bigger."
While Romney's fundraiser was ongoing, the Obama campaign also held a conference call with reporters, looking to undermine the presumptive GOP nominee's upcoming trip to the United Kingdom, Israel and Poland.
"He'll need to prove to the American people that he sees foreign policy issues as worthy of substantive discussion rather than just generalities and soundbites in this campaign," former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on the call.
Meanwhile, true to form, Romney picked up where his campaign left off on Thursday by returning to the president's "You didn't build that," remark at a fundraiser one week ago Friday, calling it an "extraordinarily revealing" insight into the president's economic ideology.
"With the president's logic, by the way, that somehow everything is owed to government, would extend in some remarkable ways to the perception of an achievement nation," Romney said, adding later: "It's an ideology that somehow says its the collective and government that we need to celebrate. The truth is, we do celebrate our government and our collective goodness as a nation, but we also celebrate and extol the accomplishments of the individual."
At his only public event of the day, a roundtable with small business owners in Costa Mesa, Romney's criticisms were more muted. He mostly sat and listened, while business owners, carefully selected by the campaign, complained of onerous regulations and job-crushing tax burdens.
Romney's only direct attack on the president came in the form of a snarky bit of advice for the president, who Romney pointed out in his closing remarks, had not met with his Jobs Council, a bipartisan group of business leaders who's stated purpose is to advise the president on creating jobs, in more than six months.
"I would suggest between the fundraisers, get together with jobs council and learn from people who are working hard to create jobs," Romney said.
And while Romney did not directly refer to the "You didn't build that," controversy, behind him hung a visual reminder of the unstated message: A brand new banner sign reading: "We DID built it."
NBC's Carrie Dann contributed reporting
Leave a Comment:
No truce on MSNBC this weekend.
I was treated to many renditions of Mitt signing.
If only Obama would work on getting us a truce on all these terrible economic numbers.
Is there anyone out there that does not think we are in a recession?
"We DID built it." In front of a hand-picked audience of supporters.
That...summarizes the republican base perfectly.
Thanks, Mitt!
I don't think we're in a recession, though.
I think we're in a depression :) Difference is, a recession is relatively quickly recoverable.
What Bush did to this country? There's nothing 'quick' to that fix.
Tax returns. Bundlers. Bain. MA records & now key docs from Olympics. When it comes to secrecy, Mitt takes the gold!" Axelrod tweeted earlier this morning.
If Mitten's discloses any of that info, he is guaranteed to lose...However, he only stands an 80% of losing if he doesn't....
Obama/Biden 2012
Kinda makes you miss the good ol' days of 2008, right?
I agree Tek, depression.
Global depression. Bush's fault I'm sure, but true none the less.
Tek - sorry about last week and La Hainia's I had to go to court Wed. Afternoon. I good this week if you want. Or we could meet at the Beach House in Del Mar, although with the race track I'd prefer to stay away from that area.
I didn't make it, that drive is too merciless for my schedule.
Beach House sometime. Not this week, FEC campaign reports are due ^.^ We're going to the registrar to file ammended 410 and campaign finance reports.
No, the global depression was a bunch of culminating factors, starting with the era of de-regulation (Reagan), peaking with a repeal of Glass-Steagall (Clinton), and then compounded by a declaration of war (Bush 43) without the funds to pay for them.
New rule - Whenever the US goes to war, it should sell War Bonds to finance the combat. We did it in WW2, because we had civilian support. Does anyone think it would've worked for the most recent wars? Vietnam? It's a sign...if the war is crap, they never sell war-bonds.
Alright - Beach House, you say when.
I'd prefer - new rule, no more wars unless we are attached. Pearl Harbor, not 9/11
You sepnt the weekend watching MSNBC? Hooked on those "To Catch a Predator" reruns?
Many Californians cheered, while others were silent thinking, if only the president really was liberal and not a moderate.
...more generalities and soundbites. What cease fire? I never ceased, that's for sure! Romney pisses me off.
Agreed, however it is more than just Dubya, it's Republican ideology going back to Reagan (everything after Nixon, really) that has shipped away at the middle class and upward mobility to the point of final decimation during Dubya. Until the rightwing realizes this is about supply-side economics and not a single administration, it will be a problrm
What cease-fire?
Willard sent his pet Portman out to keep up the attack?
How many of Obama surrogates did the same thing?
MSNBC you really should quit with this 'false equivalency' meme you're stuck on!
In case you forget, your bud Andrew Rafferty even reported on it;
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/20/12861199-portman-keeps-up-attack-role?lite
Yeah!........Mitt takes the gold!....Yeah!
There has to be something above gold in politics if liberals think Mitt takes it... Obama is heads above him in secrecy - education records, grades, graduation status, past acquaintances, affiliations and associations. Hell, there are many millions out there that aren't even sure of his birth records. Producing a photo shopped birth certificate doesn't really cut it... especially since some of the data on it was era wrong.
I'm glad the liberals have so much faith in Obama... it only goes to show how really really gullible they are.
Brian, Based on your post, I can see you're a bona fide "Conspiraphile". You forgot mention the Aliens hidden out at that hangar at Area 51........
Well, then there is Mitts. Multiple wives, numerous bastard children (since only one wife is legal), millions of unreported Swiss bank accounts holding trillions in dollars, money laundering in the Cayman's, photo shopped IRS forms, secret ties to Mexican cartels owned by his south of the border family, enacting massive laws in Mass. to limit gun ownership, and the scariest of all, replacing the national pastime of baseball with Fancy-Prancy-Horsie-Dancing.
Red - Good post! LMAO!!!!
The freakin' hilarious part about that statement is guys like Gingrich and Santorum said the same bloody thing about Romney back in January.
The freakin' hilarious part about that statement is guys like Gingrich and Santorum said the same bloody thing about Romney back in January.
Noid - Doesn't matter when you're using the Etch-a-Sketch strategy.
So do tell us what exactly is Romney's plan for bringing us out of a recession.
Sorry if I don't believe that tax cuts and wars and deregulation, the way we got in a recession is the way out. Do you?
Romney has hired most of bush old advisers and wants to re-instate the bush policies of war and tax cuts and deficits don't matter and want you to believe it will end different this time.
You can't be very bright and buy into that kind of thinking. The republicans like to claim they are independent thinkers but then buy easily into the republicans con job.
So do tell us what exactly is Romney's plan for bringing us out of a recession.
How can we tell you his plan, when NitMitt doesn't even know what it is.
Obama/Biden 2012
Feisty, someone else BEAT you to the first comment!! Shame on ya. You usually manage to get your nonsensical dribble up before the rest of us have even finished reading the article.
Axelrod went back into attack mode, so Romney was entirely justified in reciprocating. The reason the Left is going crazy is that Romney has a LOT more to draw from when he wants to criticize Obama than the Left has. Look at Axelrod's list in his Tweet. It's pathetic. Romney could fill 100 Tweets of Obama failures and lies EASILY.
I think Feisty works for the democratic machine.
She may, actually. Holder put together a multi-million dollar department of bloggers and social networkers to defend Obama's policies on sites like these. I'm not making that up.
And the fact that all she does is regurgitate talking points and never sticks around long enough to defend her stances is a bit suspect as well.
Actually, Feisty would kick you a$$ in a debate.
*yawn*
Yet again, a right wing nitwit gets it WRONG!
I VOLUNTEER for the democratic machine & I am PROUD of it!
Are we clear now?
CubsFan2012 -- We don't allow conspiracy theories here. Prove your comment about Holder, or step off.
So Willard is playing the old "look Mommy, he started it" card. Once a schoolyard bully, always a schoolyard bully.
Willard is such a puss.
It is time to dump this disgusting dog-eater and elect a REAL President. Elect Mitt Romney for the next eight years. The first four will be needed to fix all this Obama crap, the second four to usher in a new era of blessed GOP designed prosperity for those willing to work for it.
Sorry libs, that "work for it" condition eliminates so many of you right at the starting gate. Oh well. LOL
Work for it?
Why is it you think liberal Democrats don't work?
Ask me why I am a Liberal Democrat? Further Ask me why I am an Ex-Republican.
There's more Ex-Republicans out there every day....We are informed have seen behind the curtain and we do not like what we see in the Republican Party.
The USA needs to make a change in the office of the president this fall. Otherwise, we are doomed.
That change in 2016 when President Obama leaves off. Too bad he can't run again in 2016.
Rolling My eyes QQ to the right
Whine(we did not know how bad it was), discount (any one who really cares), lie (about everything), demagogue (your opposition),cry (when you don't get your way), whimper (about atms), sulk (over so called do nothing congress), be dishonest (about your record), blame others(FOR THE INABILITY TO BE AN EFFECTIVE LEADER), ostrich syndrome (Hide from the Issues), pass the buck (trillions more debt for future generations), go bankrupt (borrowing .40+ of every dollar spent), snivel (about Europe economy), stomp your feet, throw yourself, on the ground, bang your head on the floor (When you don't get your way), scream (foul when others bring up your record), piss & moan (constantly about previous Administration), pull your hair, bite your nails, throw a general tantrum (about fast & furious accountability) , frown (when asked about fast and furious), be sad , be mad(on way back to Chicago), believe your own lies (About Gov't expansion), get in bed & pull the covers up over your head, have no accountability( For the economic destruction of America), Bitch about others (pointing out your failure), complain constantly(about congress), misrepresent the truth ( in every way), spin (lies), wear your panties in a wad (About missing a putt), suck your thumb (while on AF 1) , sweat (The small stuff rainbow guy & galls), crap your pants (When rats run down the anchor rope) , envy( Mitt Romney), be dishonest ( National Security Leaks), hide behind falsehood ( When ever politically expedient), be corrupt (in thought), Steal someone Else's cheese (to give to others redistribute wealth), boo hoo (about tea party people in congress), deceitful (all the time), be Hateful of any one who disagrees with your point of view( say that they are racist). Be liberal............be 4WARD.................Be the Obama.........
!!! OR Grow the Hell UP !!!
and Vote No BHO m m mmm
Possibly the voters should forget the issues, not because they aren’t important but because you really can’t trust what is offered. Everything said is just aimed to excite, to manipulate people’s thinking and to use people’s fears and biases to control their emotional responses, much of it being done with deception / dishonesty and all of it for self-serving purposes. Who would deny that it has become a game over who can spend the most money to get their propaganda in front of the people, to saturate people’s minds with their deceptive rhetoric? The results should never be controlled by who can spend the most - that really can’t ever fairly represent the people’s interests.
Take Obamacare as an example. Both sides aggressively pitch their angle with those pushing for repeal, saying it will drastically raise costs, and those touting it’s benefits, advocating it will actually save money. The reality is that the reform is desperately needed and that while fine-tuning Obamacare is reasonable, trusting those who aggressively fought it and now want to repeal it, to then implement something real, is not very realistic.
The Republican / Tea Party has become owned and controlled by “the money” and to now fail to recognize that just leaves us open to being conned and manipulated, as if simply “pawns” to be used for their purposes. The only way to break the strangle-hold “the money” has on the Republican Party, and to regain the Grande Ole Party with a true conscience for the people, is to refuse to be controlled by the mega-millions being spent, by their propaganda saturation and to firmly and totally reject their “puppet” politicians who serve just them, as together they just con the people for their own purposes. This country really can’t take “more of the same”, Bush-Cheney style, that stubbornly placates “the few” and arrogantly takes the majority for granted.
The more everyone finds out about Mitt Romney's finances, the more questions they have. Perhaps that's why he's hiding as much as he thinks he can get away with.
Today, The Boston Globe reported that Romney was still running Bain Capital two years after he claims he left the firm, directly contradicting his campaign's denial that he was involved in deals that led to layoffs 30,000 Americans, bankruptcies, and more American jobs getting shipped overseas.
It's a pattern of secrecy, and this is just the latest example of him trying to hide the truth from us. There are a number of issues in play right now -- and we deserve answers:
1) Mitt Romney refuses to release multiple years of taxes, ignoring decades of precedent.
2) He won't disclose his "bundlers," the people raising millions for his campaign.
3) He is the sole owner of a questionable shell corporation in Bermuda.
4) Until recently, Romney kept cash in a Swiss bank account.
5) According to the Globe, he hasn't been honest about when he was running Bain Capital, even though legal documents refute his claims.
Please forward this email and share this with everyone you know who cares about the outcome of this election.
Everyone deserves the right to judge for themselves whether Romney's motivations, experience, and perspective are what they want in a president. But Mitt Romney doesn't want people to have the information they need to make those judgments.
Romney is only for Mitt Romney
he made at least 250 million for himself.
thats the kind of guy we need running the largest economy on the planet
DUUUUHHHH
Romney made that money by putting Americans out of work. before you take about some one read all about them first.
Right about October mitt will unleash his plan, proving Obozo the doofus in chief that hes been.
With all the Obozo camp spending, King obozo has lost ground.
Bye bye baracalypse!
The "choice" ...
Jobless, lazy losers - you can choose between having to get a job and staying on welfare letting others pay your way.
Productive folks - you get to pay for it.