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Subscribe to RSS“U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will launch a new attack against President Barack Obama on Tuesday, taking aim at the Democrat's plan to waive parts of a landmark welfare-to-work law,” Reuters notes.
The ad claims: “On July 12, President Obama quietly announced a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements. Under Obama’s plan, you wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job. They just send you your welfare check. And welfare to work just goes back to being plain old welfare.”
But this breezy claim is misleading. The change Romney is attacking was actually designed to give states more flexibility – something for which Republican often argue. By the way, it’s also another attack that began with House Republicans.
Reuters has the context: “The directive from the Health and Human Services Department allows states to pursue a waiver from the work requirement of the welfare law in order to test alternative strategies that would help needy families find jobs. The aim is to give states some flexibility in how they carry out the welfare law as some state governors have advocated, rather than sticking to a rigid formula. But the health department's decision has generated strong opposition from Republicans. In the House, 76 Republicans complained in a letter to Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who sought to assure them that states will have to move at least 20 percent more people from welfare to work. But in a bare-knuckled presidential campaign, such nuances are quickly cast aside, and Romney is going full throttle after Obama on the issue.”
The Washington Post: “The Obama campaign responded by noting that in 2005, then-Massachusetts governor Romney and most other Republican governors requested state waivers similar to those the Obama administration began allowing with the Department of Health and Human Services’ July 12 announcement.”
GOP 12 notes that this is the fourth time that Romney or his allies have used Bill Clinton in an ad.
That’s not the only misleading Romney ad. The Washington Post’s fact checker: While there may have been good political reasons for Obama to make a trip to Jerusalem, the basic frame of the ad is misleading, especially the claim that he’s traveled all through the Middle East at the expense of a visit to Israel. The Romney ad also misleadingly suggests Obama’s failure to visit Israel is unusual since it asks, ‘Who shares your values?’” In fact, just four of the last 11 presidents have traveled to Israel. George W. Bush didn’t do it until he was in his eighth year as president and his father, George H.W. Bush, never visited.
“Romney's July [money] advantage was the biggest yet, leading to increasingly urgent fundraising appeals from Obama and the Democrats,” USA Today writes. “One e-mail to supporters from Obama's campaign chief operating officer, Ann Marie Habershaw, used the subject line, ‘This is why I keep asking.’”
Harry Reid to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, per Politcal Wire: "The whole controversy would end very quickly if he would just release his income tax returns just like everybody else that runs for president."
(The White House, by the way, distanced itself yesterday fro Reid’s comments, per NBC’s Kristen Welker.)
The RNC announced a few more speakers, NBC’s Garrett Haake reports, including: Gov. Mary Fallin, Sen. Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, and Jeb Bush.
Hey, Romney campaign… Reagan’s campaign manager says this isn’t 1980.
Reince Priebus on FOX on the Reid attacks, per GOP 12: "We are not going to get pushed around by these baseless accusations that the president's behind. I mean, the president is behind this. All he has to do is say to Harry Reid, 'You know what, cut this garbage out. This is not what I'm about. This is not what I campaigned on in 2008'. The problem is this president isn't who he said he was, and all of this is going to come unraveled."
And get this… Political Wire: “RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said he hopes Sarah Palin will speak at the Republican convention in Tampa, Politico reports. Said Priebus: ‘I think a lot of her and hope that she does speak.’ Palin told the Tampa Bay Times that she'd ‘have an announcement in a couple of days’ regarding the convention, though no announcement came.”
Priebus has previously touted Palin’s role in American politics and how closely he was able to work with her as chairman of the Wisconsin state GOP.
Cheney backs off Palin: “Former vice president Dick Cheney backed off criticism of 2008 veep nominee Sarah Palin today, saying her selection was "a mistake" because of the process, not her as an individual. ‘It wasn't aimed so much at Gov. Palin as it was against the basic process that (GOP nominee John) McCain used,’ Cheney told Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity,” per USA Today.
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Cheney is told he mis-spoke and better make nice with Romney, so he attacks McCain.
Cheney throws McCain under the bus! Why is McCain still a republican?
He used to be a Maverick until Karl Rove went after him and made him stick to the party line. Isn't he tired of taking all these hits to his integrity?
You are making an assumption that a Republican has integrity. I have yet to see one Republican with integrity, not since Eisenhower passed away.
You're so right, dirp. Today's Republicans make Nixon look good.
Democrats controlled the Senate and the House during the last two years of the Bush administration, held the Presidency and controlled all of Congress for two years of the Obama administration and now control the Presidency and the Senate. There has been ample time and control for the Democrats to do something fiscally responsible. Yet, our nation is in terrible financial condition. The federal debt has grown to over $16 trillion and annual deficits exceed $1 trillion by far. However, the Democrats did narrowly pass Obamacare which will add another trillion in costs in the near term. If interest rates tick up, which they will, each 1% increase in rate will cost us $160 billion in additional interest costs. Even Hilliary Clinton has stated that our massive debt places us in a much weaker position in the world.
Think about this as Obama tours the nation on Air Force One campaigning about minor issues and trying to divide Americans with class warfare. His fiscal irresponsibility has put us in grave danger and to give him another chance to lead our country would be disastrous. Remember, Obama did prepare a budget, however, it was voted down in the Senate 99-0 and in the House 414-0 with not even one Democrat voting for it. Obama has us on the path to become Greece. He has no budget. He has no plans. He has no ideas. He is totally irresponsibile fiscally.
Devdoc12able -- It's hard to tell if posts like yours are just trolling--going off topic with lies--or if you just *swoop and poop* without reading other posts or the articles, or if you have a reading and comprehension problem.
It's not going to work. Romney -- Where are your tax returns!
To collect unemployment, it is already not required to accept a job below one's last earning level, only to look for work. In regard to other assistance, during a depression when there is no work, if working is a requirement then of course people won't get any assistance. Now we realize the "Race to the Bottom" every man, woman, and child for his/herself Teabaggers who only like government programs when they want to use it, love to force people to dumpster dive. But right now the reason for a waiver is obvious, and Romney only shows himself once again for cow pie distortions and no heart.
Edit to post #1.5 above -- The waiver is only given to states that present a program to produce 20% more jobs. Why don't rightwingers support states' rights and programs with strings attached -- In this case promoting work?
I guess the same reason veteran groups are falling for Romney shamelessly using our military as a political football in regard to early voting in Ohio. The president is trying to keep early voting available for ALL voters including the military.
Making up lies is what Romney is resorting to now out of desperation, and the low-information voters are falling for it as usual. Pathetic.
Romney talking outta his @$$ again. In a related story, the sun rose in the east this morning.
Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and Sarah Palin speaking at the convention? Fabulous! Bring the whole damn clown car!! Show America what you're all about - complete insanity!!
Correct Auntie - wonder who is going to clean up all those elephant droppings in Tampa when that circus leaves town? The Taxpayers, of course!
Auntie,
Don't forget Bachmann and Trump. It will indeed be a three ring circus.
BTW, isn't this also hurricane season on the gulf coast ??
In 1980, candidate Reagan was seen as likable, while President Carter was seen as stiff and by the book. Americans even questioned Carter's Patriotism with the Iran hostages.
Today, President Obama is seen as likable, while candidate Romney is seen as stiff and by the book. Today, Americans question Romney's Patriotism because he put his money in foreign tax havens.
As the election grows closer, Romney will see a small bounce, but come late September, look for Romney to fall off the cliff. Any time Romney attacks, President Obama will simply follow President Reagan's playbook and ask Americans if Romney had nothing to hide, why did he put his money in foreign tax havens.
This is why Republicans were screaming for another candidate to get in the race. They knew Romney cared more about money than he did about Americans.
I agree with Debbie. Especially as Mitt Romney embodies the type who caused the financial crisis in the first place - the type who put profit before country.
President Carter also had the hostages in Iran. GOP insiders manipulated that situation to Reagan's advantage. Hostages for power, indeed.
As I remember it, the hostages in Iran at first worked to Carter's advantage because of the natural patriotism bump for any incumbent president when we are attacked.
That bump was flattened by the reverberations of Ted Kennedy's primary challenge and Kennedy's asinine refusal to show unity on the convention stage after the nomination. With Carter weakened by his own party, that opened the opportunity for the Republicans to exploit the Iran crisis.
Romney and another "truthy" attack ad that leaves out the majority of the facts? This guy is beyond pathetic. Once again Mitt, why don't you tell us what a great job you did in MA, or put forth some policies that tell us what a (God forbid) Romney presidency would look like? Oh, that's right, you've got nothing but fear and smear.
Wavers and healthcare, both seem great when romney was gov of Mass, but now they are a big no, no, someone is going to have to buy romney a new pair of flip flops, this pair is just plain worn out!
Romney’s ad is misleading? Really!!! Hasn’t most of what Romney does or say misleading. I don’t know how anyone can pull that political lever in November knowing that everything this presidential candidate says is misleading, secretive or vague.
With the way republicans are keeping our businesses from hiring our graduates, get ready to see your kids either at your doors or in the homeless camps - compliments of Mitt, Bain, Kochs, and all of those that want to Hostage the 99%.
BigBearcatBill, we actually have a business owner, a big teapublican, who likes to use the free labor of high school and college grads - calls them interns, works them to death for 3 or 4 months, then suddenly, he can't afford to hire them for a real paycheck, which was promised at the beginning of their internship! And that is how the rich keep getting richer, by working the rest of us to death for nothing or little of nothing.
For First Read , any headline of a Romney "attack" results in a one sentence summary of the "attack"; the rest of the space is rented out by the Obama reelection team, spinning for Obama and setting out all the left wing talking points.
Why dont you give the context of the historic welfare reform's work requirement which was a tremendous success....are the previous requests for waivers , such as by Gov Romney, similiar to what the Obama Administration is doing now? Why dont you find out, instead of spamming the daily attack points from Axelrod's minions?
Why dont you quote from the piece written by Gov McDonnell on welfare reform ?
Bob - see my post, I am actually comparing both to each other, the big difference is that now that Mitt is no longer governor and using this plan, somehow it is bad? Come on, buddy, even in Virginia that dog just won't hunt.
Bob - try as you will, as usual Romney is dishonest because he really has nothing to sell. He is nothing. He stands for nothing. He has no plans. He is the epitome of the empty suit!
Obama/Biden 2012
How can you people support the likes of Willard Romney, the talking lying buffoon!!!
All the evidence shows, trickle-down economics doesn't work. Apparently, neither does trickle-up morality. Bush's compassionate conservatism was a lie. Now, the Republicans don't even try.
This is a huge part of what is taring the U.S. apart. In today's America, misinformation flows more freely than the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution. People don't know what to believe or who to trust and who can blame them? America needs to hold its politicians liable for propagating misinformation and panic. At the end of the day, this is what leads us down the road to ruin.
Neither party cares to protect the people, only their own interests.
As an additional comment, albeit out of the context of those earlier but aligned with Twit's reputation as a reliable reporter of his own thoughts, comments and experiences... where is WikiLeaks with these Romney tax returns? We can get all kinds of classified documents from all different realms of government, but not the tax filings of Sir Twit A Lot?... Just saying...
Romney should change his name to Mitt smearme. Smear this Pres. is all he knows how to do. He knows nothing of running a government, he could not even run a state! No, Romney Hood will never be President!
Go get a job libtards, become productive, earn money, and then you'll understand why Republicans are sick of paying you to sit on your asses collecting federal checks...
They should help instead of pointing fingers. Cause there isn't another country on the face of this planet that they could take their circus to and last a day and a nite. Mainland Europe has union, taxes and socialism, England has the Queen, Canada has the Queen, Australia has the Queen, Japan doesn't want you, China doesn't want you , Soviet Union will kick your butt and take your lunch money. Where can a GOP'er go?