Four days after Mitt Romney endorsed layoffs of school teachers, police officers, and firefighters, the Republican and his campaign are struggling to keep their story straight.
The first sign of trouble came over the weekend, when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) distanced himself from Romney's argument. The second stumble came yesterday when one Romney surrogate doubled down on the candidate's argument, only to be contradicted a few hours later by a different surrogate who said Romney had been taken out of context.
This morning, Romney visited with "Fox & Friends" to try to put things right.
For those who can't watch clips online, here's what the former governor said, when asked about cutting teachers and first responders.
"Well, that's a very strange accusation. Of course, teachers and firemen and policemen are hired at the local level and also by states. The federal government doesn't pay for teachers, firefighters or policemen. So obviously that's completely absurd.
"[Obama's] got a new idea, though, and that is to have another stimulus and to have the federal government send money to try and bail out cities and states. It didn't work the first time. It certainly wouldn't work the second time."
I have a sinking suspicion that Romney believes voters aren't terribly bright.
The main problem with Romney's new line is that it doesn't make any sense. "The federal government doesn't pay for teachers, firefighters or policemen"? Well, actually, the federal government can provide resources to states and municipalities to either hire new teachers and first responders, or prevent layoffs that would otherwise be made. If Washington would do this, we'd see an immediate drop in the unemployment rate, but Republicans refuse to even consider the idea.
What's more, when Romney says President Obama's "new idea ... didn't work the first time," that's the exact opposite of reality. Obama's new idea isn't exactly new -- the last three Republican presidents strengthened the national economy through public-sector hiring -- and it worked perfectly when Obama protected these jobs in 2009. Here's a possible follow-up question for Romney: when you say public-sector hiring didn't work the first time, what in the world are you talking about?
And finally, Romney's position from Friday hasn't changed. He sees President Obama fighting for school teachers, police officers, and firefighters, and Romney's still convinced the economy will be better off if those teachers and first responders are unemployed.
That's not "completely absurd"; that's just Romney's stated position.
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This is what he does now whenever he flips or gaffes, or if someone else flips or gaffs on his behalf; he goes on FOX News to clear the air. Pretty sure you can track that now over the last few months of his Fox and Friends morning appearances.
Essentially, whatever he says on Fox, THAT is what we have to hold him to now, not anywhere else :P
Actually, he's sure 90% of the people covering him in the MSM are either too dumb, too thoroughly corrupted and co-opted, or just too jaded and lazy to make him pay any price for his pathological mendacity and hopes 50%+1 of the voters in eight or nine swing states aren't very bright.
If Romney assumes the average voter is not terribly bright, I doubt he would be wrong. Just consider the reading grade level most newspapers and national magazines are written to.
Grammar-nazi alert: (I'm on your side though Robert, truly I am)
"Just consider the reading grade level to which most newspapers and national magazines are written."
If we're going to complain about education levels, let's at least get it right ourselves.
Anti-nazi underground resistance alert: There's not a thing wrong with ending a sentence with a preposition.
anti-anti-nazi underground resistance-resistance :-) : just because something has become "normal" in usage ie. made up words like "irregardless" or "dethaw" for the love of god, doesn't actually make it fine. I've heard the argument that it makes a person sound snobby or pretentious but so what? Surely it doesn't overly tax one to write one's native language well.
If Romney assumes the average voter is not terribly bright, I doubt he would be wrong. Just consider the reading grade level most newspapers and national magazines are written to.
Or, "...written for." not "...written to."
I, too, am an amateur (I don't get paid) grammarian, and I have many quibbles with how posters on many blogs use the American-English language. I observe that "conservative" posters are less literate than "liberal" posters. I feel that the message is more persuasive when delivered with correct grammar and word use. I wonder if poor grammar, spelling and syntax are a result of an inadequate education, laziness, haste, culture or some other factor.
Steve, come on it is obvious that Romney doesn't think we are very bright. He insults our intelligence every single day. He makes up stuff that is so blatantly false even the least observant recognizes it.
Iam surprised anyone listens to him anymore muchless takes him serious. The ones who do are either willfully blind, willfully deaf and/or willfully ignorant.
Mitt Romney impersonated a police officer in his spectacularly callow youth; recently harangued the police to better enforce the drug laws near his gigantic beachfront mansion; and pledged last week to fire police officers if elected. Why is Mitt Romney waging war on the people who sacrifice so much, and sometimes sacrifice even their lives, to keep our neighborhoods and citizens safe from violent street crime, drug dealers, and terrorists?
I can watch clips online, but I just can't force myself to watch anything from Faux Fake Newz because it makes me ill. Now that Willard only goes on Faux Fake Newz tells me all I need to know about him and why he also makes me ill.
The reason the stimulus didn't work last time was because the States used it to give to their rich buddies.They wasted it by remodeling their City Halls and such. In Arizona they invested in a rail system that drives up and down 1 street....6 million dollars for a Mr. Rogers' trolley.The stimulus packages that the States received were used for personal gain and not to help the people most badly affected by the depression. And it wasn't enough. So, for him to go on the 1 newstation that will let him and lie is just par for the course. Keep talking Romney, and that's all I have to say about that.
So you agree with him that the stimulus didn't work. I know of nothing that has changed that would allow it to work this time , so why try it again?
The stimulus didn't work for many reasons, but partly because it didn't address the fundamental problems of state and local govts - unsustainable union benefits. For years, local officials hid the costs of these benefits in order to announce success in negotiating low wage increases.
Many private companies have faced this dilemma and have solved them in different ways - bankruptcy, changing benefits, etc.
Many on this blog deny this reality, preferring to follow the misleading remarks of Benin. When did Romney suggest firing Teaches, etc? And, to fortify Benin, go on a rant as to how "stupid", "ignorant", and other insulting words people who disagree are.
I implore all, including Benin, to respect the thoughts of others.
Unsustainable union benefits? If you want to talk about unsustainable benefits, take a look at congress. Heaven forbid people who work in the public sector should want to make more than minimum wage (which isn't even enough to afford rent most places)
The stimulus didn't work? Since when?
It's not that R-money thinks the voters aren't very bright, it's that he's not very bright. Of course, he is a Moron, er, I mean a Mormon.
I have a sinking suspicion that Romney believes voters aren't terribly bright.
Unfortunately I think that is more true than not. If the average voter was bright, there would really be no need for the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on 30 second negative ads and those silly stupid lawn signs to remind folks who they are supposed to vote for. I would venture to say that the "average" american voter knows more about the finalists on American Idol than they do about the President or their state's Senators and Representatives. The vast vast majority of folks out there are not even thinking of the election yet.
Except in Wisconsin.
Well c5499351 I guess....but why did Walker still win? Unless you mean that Republican voters are more into the election now than Democrats. I mean all that effort to recall the Governor and some state congress people and they really didn't change anything.
I mean the folks in Wis. were MORE in tune with the issue at hand than the average election.
Not really, but the language that was used distorted their understanding...see George Lakoff's article on The Wisconsin Blues at Huffington Post today.
"Unions were presented as serving self-interest...pensions were presented as...'benefits' given for free as a result of union bargaining" NOT THAT " Pensions are delayed earnings for work already done; eliminating them is theft....Unions protect workers from low salaries, no job security, managerial threats, and inhumane working conditions."
It's well worth reading.
Teachers and police officers are the foundation of society.
Teachers are responsible for teaching socializing our children. They teach the rules of civilized behavior.
Policemen risk their lives everyday when they confront people who didn't learn those lessons.
Mitt would save money by reducing the number of these workers who labor for the common good. These savings would go to his fellow rich who do nothing more than manipulate the rules to prey on the working class of this country.
The GOP talks about the risks that those 'wonderful job creators' take with their money. What of the actual very real physical risks of our policemen?
The GOP is a poster child for the sickness that engulfs our society. Material greed rules and the common good is treated as weakness.
pretty sure many states used stimulus money to balance their budgets and keep government employees working
"I have a sinking suspicion that Romney believes voters aren't terribly bright."
Steve, I have a sinking suspicion that many of your statements are somewhat sarcastic ;)
The untrained eye might see Mitt Romney as a pathological liar, and they might be correct. One might get the idea that this is the way Mitt Romney conducted his professional life, by lying, deceiving, misconstruing, and by being basically dishonest. Romney is a congenital and habitual and unabashed liar. Therefore he is the leader of the modern GOP.
If a Republican says something, then it's true.
Romney claims the attacks against him are absurd, therefore they are. To claim anything else is just petty partisan sniping. Why do you people hate America so much that you won't recognize one of your better as the one to lead you? Keep this up and rich people will have no right but to lobby Congress to take away your right to vote unless you sign an oath to always vote Republican. Because what you people are insinuating is unDemocratic.
I'm a Republican automaton...AND I VOTE.
"attacks against him are absurd"
And so are attacks suggesting the WH leaked security info to the press. Even the author said he spoke to admin officials
Dear Mittens,
Where do I begin? Do I start with the fact that "greed isn't good, it's just greed" - and it would appear that you and your cronies actually believe that "WE the PEOPLE should afford you a lifestyle on our bent backs? Do I mention that over the last 30+ as you and your NASCAR owners have enjoyed lavish tax breaks, as WE the PEOPLE have reaped more polluted air, agri-business/oil/coal/pharma all have been gifted the welfare of our tax dollars, class sizes in the public schools have grown while teacher salaries have NOT, neither have police or firemen been compensated at other-worldly rates.
What has happened is a "divide & conquer" strategy that has pitted American vs. American, and the sheeple are dumbed down and dangerous in their ignorance! No Mittens it is the GOP that is the problem, their intransigence, their refusal to look at the real destruction that has been caused by their policies to working Americans and actually comprehend that it is the POLICY that is corrosive and damaging to our democracy!
And it is because you live in a "shadow world" where up is down, wrong is right, and corporations are people, where you have sold your morality, heart, and soul that is why you and the GOP are sooooooo wrong for working Americans.
Barack Obama: Republican.
Mitt Rmoney: Teatard.
Where is the Democrat in this race again? Is it Ron Paul?
Too soon?
He did no such thing. This is remarkable manufacture. Once again the quote is...
Is that a proposal to decimate our favorite civil servants? No. Perhaps Mr. Benen should avoid ascribing unstated motives to other people. Unless of course mind reading has been mastered.
Otherwise, it's fair game to ascribe unstated motives to Obama's own gaffe...
What kind of gaffe is it when businesses in America are sitting on TWO TRILLION DOLLARS IN PROFITS? Wouldn't even Mitt Romney call that doing fine?
They've even had, however reluctantly, to hire more new people in the past three years than G W Bush saw hired in his full eight years.
The drag on employment has been mightily contributed to by the contraction of public sector workers: there goes a mighty horde of taxpayers, consumers, and contributors to the community that could certainly have grown the economy more than the kinds of jobs Romney managed to 'create' at Bain: all those positions at Staples paying $18,000/yr...
So who are your "nonfavorite" civil servants?
IRS
Romney isn't very bright himself and he clearly imagines the people have to be less bright than he is because he's rich!
Candidate Willard's entire platform seems to be Starve the Serfs and Feed the Fat Cats. Who's gonna tell the TParty folk they're NOT the Fat Cats? Even serfs with guns are still serfs.
Of course in the media's eyes, this is no where near the "gaffe" like the sin Obama presented the world with last week. Nah, this is just a flip-flop, an etch-a-sketch after-the-fact redo after being so fu king clueless as to actually believe getting rid of teachers, etc. is really a good thing. Then when the mitt wit got a little schooling by his own band of highly paid teachers and found out it might not necessarily be a good thing to go around saying such dumbassery, Mitt simply "clarifies" his position, as opposed to Obama (whose true statement) had to be "walked-back," according to the media.
If you're not disgusted by all this, you're either stupid or an asswhole. But it'll get worse, you can bank on that, and we'll all have other opportunities for vomiting.
Not such a big deal to me. Politicians say pretty much anything depending on the audience. Whether he meant it or not, or whether President Obama wants healthcare for all or reduce the deficits in half, it is all just "promises" - if elected they will try to do. The reality is they are not king and need the 500+ people in Congress to go along (who also make mostly unmet promises to their constitiuents to get elected). This flip-flopping and "gaffes" is as old as politics and to make a big deal out of it now is just a "silly" media argument. And of course the talking heads and bloggers will focus on statments like this for days or weeks and ignore anything of substance on this election. It is very entertaining to be sure, but I will not base my vote on it :).
Wrong. Mitt Romney is unequaled in political history in duplicity. Save for totalitarian regimes, of course.
This goes WAY, WAY past the phony-ass "they all do it" bullshhit that gets accepted as somehow being a reasonable position by ignorant people not paying attention. Get that weak shhit outta here. An intelligent person knows better.
And there it is , the guns. The Republicans have convinced the brain dead that if they vote democratic they will lose their guns. Of course the fact that not one single new gun bill has been introduced doesn't seem to matter. They will give up their livelyhood for their guns and their god. Even when they are not threatened. Who cares if it costs them their jobs! I guess they'll need them to commit suicide when they lose everything to the 1%.
Are republican voters really that stupid, to think that DEMOCRATS don't own GUNS????
"I have a sinking suspicion that Romney believes voters aren't terribly bright."
I don't doubt it. It's one of the few things I would agree with him about. Given most people's meager understanding of issues and the way they're easily manipulated by TV advertisements, it's hard to reach any other conclusion.
It's not just Romney that thinks the american people are stupid, the people from all over the world think american workers are stupid. The U.S. 1st Black President should in-front of the country and said, "I have the BEST HEALTHCARE this country has to offer and I want ALL americans to have it too"...... & the people went crazy, oh no!! oh my god!! I don't want that, that's socialized!!!, healthcare for everyone is reparation for black people!!! if every american has healthcare it will cause loss of jobs, I don't want no stinking government run healthcare!!!!!
FACT:working people in america are so stupid they don't even know that every politician they vote for has GOVERNMENT run HEALTHCARE, that also cover family members & the voters foot the bill......
FACT: these same REPUBLICAN politicians have convinced their followers, their families don't deserve government run HEALTHCARE!!!.......
from SALON on Willard and firefighters:
Romney’s long assault on firefighters
Mitt Romney has a long history of attacking firefighters and their unions, going back to his days in Massachusetts
By Alex Seitz-Wald
In fact, he has a long, bitter history with them. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney often ended up sparring with firefighters and their unions. He proposed stripping collective bargaining rights for firefighters and police officers in a city that needed a state bailout, and cut funding to a fire station to be built on the site where six firemen died. He also proposed tripling the state police budget to deal with homeland security concerns in the years after 9/11, but didn’t offer a dime for firefighters, angering many at the time.
In 2004, when the city of Springfield was facing bankruptcy, Romney proposed a $52 million bailout package that included suspending collective bargaining and civil service benefits for the city’s unions, including public safety officers. “He hates us,” Robert McCarthy, the president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, told the Associated Press at the time. “Unions are what made this state what it is,” he said, but Romney “won’t even talk to us.” Romney spokesperson Nicole St. Peter defended the suspension of union benefits, telling the AP that the “control board” the governor appointed to oversee the city’s finances “needs maximum flexibility to restore Springfield’s financial footing.” The Democratic-controlled state Legislature eventually overrode Romney and preserved the bargaining rights, though the control board remained controversial in the city.
http://www.salon.com/2012/06/11/romneys_fight_against_firefighters/
My goodness, whyever would he think that?
[listens to voices in head]
Oh. The American Voter elected George W Bush. Twice.
Once. The Supreme Court elected him the other time. Still a fair point though.