TPM: "GA GOPers Meet Unemployment Debate Question With Awkward Pause (VIDEO)"
Via TPM:
When a moderator for a recent Georgia Republican primary debate asked candidates by a show of hands whether they would vote to extend benefits for the thousands of American workers who have been stuck with long-term unemployment, the question was met with an awkward pause. At the Mayor's Day Senate Forum in Atlanta earlier in the week, none of the six candidates raised their hands in favor of extending benefits, but when the opposite question was asked -- who would vote against such a proposal -- all six candidates raised their hands. Rep. Paul Broun's (R-GA) arm shot up the fastest. The candidates' reaction could indicate that the extension of unemployment benefits could become an issue in Republican primaries.
Rick Scott's 2014 Budget: A Textbook Case Of Election Year Pandering
As Governor Rick Scott delivers his 2014-2015 budget address, Floridians would do well to see Scott’s budget for what it is: A textbook case of election year pandering. While Scott’s budget plans included hundreds of millions of dollars in vague tax breaks for special interests and dramatic cuts to various revenue sources, the Tea Party governor has also discovered an election year infatuation with spending on Everglades reconstruction, child welfare, and teacher pay raises. Scott’s predilection for election year pandering is nothing new, but the extent of it in his latest budget proposal is staggering. Scott Has A History Of Election Year Pandering (VIDEO). According to a news segment highlighting clips of Governor Rick Scott, Scott has a history of election-year pandering. In the clip, a FOX reporter states of Scott: “He’s the Tea Party Republican who slashed school funding then raised it as he prepared for re-election, after he tied teacher pay to performance, before giving out raises regardless of performance.”
BRIDGE BRIEFING: Romney’s Poor Jobs Record In Massachusetts
Massachusetts Job Creation Ranked Poorly Under Romney
In Romney’s Four Years As Governor Massachusetts Ranked 47th Out Of 50 In Jobs Growth. According to Marketwatch, “The Republican contender was the governor of Massachusetts from January 2003 to January 2007. And during that time, according to the U.S. Labor Department, the state ranked 47th in the entire country in jobs growth. Fourth from last. The only ones that did worse? Ohio, Michigan and Louisiana. In other words, two rustbelt states and another that lost its biggest city to a hurricane. The Massachusetts jobs growth over that period, a pitiful 0.9%, badly lagged other high-skill, high-wage, knowledge economy states like New York (2.7%), California (4.7%) and North Carolina (7.6%). The national average: More than 5%.” [Marketwatch, 2/23/10]In Romney’s First Year In Charge, Massachusetts “Ranked Dead Last In America In Job Growth.” According to Marketwatch, “So far Obama has been in office for just one year. How was Romney’s performance by his first anniversary? Fiftieth out of fifty. That’s right. In Romney’s first year in charge, Massachusetts ranked dead last in America in jobs growth.” [Marketwatch, 2/23/10]
Massachusetts Unemployment Rate “Showed Little Movement During Romney’s Tenure” And Went From Below The National Average When He Took Office To Above The National Average When He Left. According to the Associated Press, “The state’s unemployment numbers also showed little movement during Romney’s tenure. In December 2002, as Romney prepared to step into office, Massachusetts unemployment rate stood at 5.6 percent, slightly lower than the national unemployment rate of 6 percent. By December 2006 - Romney’s last full month in office - national unemployment had fallen to just 4.5 percent while Massachusetts unemployment numbers had inched down to 5.2 percent. ‘We’ve had a very slow economic recovery and we’ve trailed most of the rest of the nation,’ said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. ‘It’s not the turnaround he’s advertised.’” [Associated Press, 2/4/08]BRIDGE BRIEFING: Romney And The Auto Rescue
Romney Opposed Government Involvement In The Auto Industry
Romney Wanted To “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” And Said The Demise Of The Auto Industry Would Be “Virtually Guaranteed” By A Government Bailout. According to Romney, “If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed. Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.” [Romney Op-Ed, New York Times, 11/19/08] Romney Opposed The Bailout Of The Domestic Auto Industry. According to the Detroit News, “On the federal ‘bailout’ in 2008 of the domestic auto industry, Romney writes he opposed the billions provided ‘because it enabled GM and Chrysler to avoid the restructuring and productivity improvements essential for their success.’ The federal government has provided the auto industry with $86 billion, including $50 billion for GM and $12 billion for Chrysler. Romney urged a managed bankruptcy, a step the Obama administration eventually took to help stabilize GM and Chrysler Group LLC. ‘The managed bankruptcy that I proposed ultimately occurred,’ Romney writes, ‘but only after tens of billions of taxpayer money had been wasted, and only after sweetheart deals and paybacks for favored interest groups had been engineered with the public’s money.’” [Detroit News, 2/24/10] Romney Believed Automakers Should Have Had Private Bankruptcy Without Federal Aid. According to the Associated Press, “Romney told a diner at the Senate Coney Island restaurant Thursday morning that the automakers should have gone through a private bankruptcy without the federal aid. The businessman and former Massachusetts governor says he believes ‘in the process of law’ rather than bailouts.” [Fox News, Associated Press, 6/9/11] Romney Believed Things In Detroit Would Be Better Without Intervention. According to a Detroit News op-ed, Romney wrote “The president tells us that without his intervention things in Detroit would be worse. I believe that without his intervention things there would be better.” [Detroit News, 2/14/12]Richard Mourdock Can’t Seem To Make Up His Mind On Indiana Jobs.
We are all well aware of Richard Mourdock’s attempt to cripple the Indiana economy and destroy thousands of jobs by suing to block federal assistance to Chrysler. But when campaigning in South Bend, he seems to have suddenly turned over a new leaf. He is now bemoaning the loss of 24,000 jobs and $1.1 billion dollars that would happen as a result of the sequester cuts of defense spending. Mourdock’s apparently forgotten that he claimed government doesn’t create jobs. And he thinks entire branches of the military should be eliminated. And he doesn’t consider it his job to protect Hoosier jobs. So does Richard Mourdock care more about protecting government jobs or dramatically slashing the federal budget? Or is he really most interested in saying whatever it takes to get elected? Mourdock Backed Away From Sequester Cuts To Pentagon Citing Job Loss. According to the South Bend Tribune, “When the congressional "supercommittee" failed last fall to agree on a plan to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years, it set in motion a default plan for cutting spending. The plan calls for $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts, including $600 billion from defense programs, that will start taking effect Jan. 2. Richard Mourdock, the Republican state treasurer running for one of Indiana's seats in the U.S. Senate, believes government needs to be smaller and less expensive. But, during a campaign stop earlier this week in Mishawaka, he warned against allowing the default plan to take effect… Mourdock said the defense cuts would lead to the loss of nearly 24,000 jobs in Indiana and a $1.1 billion hit to the state's economy. He mentioned that companies such as AM General and Honeywell would be affected in the South Bend area.” In addition, “Mourdock said there might be reasonable spending cuts to make in the Department of Defense, but the default reduction of $600 billion would be disastrous.” [South Bend Tribune, 7/25/12] Mourdock Said Government Doesn’t Create Jobs. Mourdock said, “Congress doesn't create any jobs. There are a bunch of private sector companies who want to create those jobs. The fact that we have congressmen of either party claiming they created jobs is just false. There job should be to keep government at its more limited purpose so the private sector can create jobs.” [AB 21 Tracking Footage, 2/15/12] Mourdock Asserted That “I Didn’t Take A Pledge That I Would Support Every Job In Indiana,” Had No Regrets About Position. “‘I didn't take a pledge that I would support every job in Indiana under whatever means it takes to do it,’ Mourdock said. ‘The oath I took said I would support the laws of Indiana and support the Constitution of the United States. Constitutional rights for people for which I had a fiduciary responsibility were being violated, and I had no choice to do what I did. I certainly have no regrets.’” [Indianapolis Star, 10/19/10] Mourdock Question The Necessity Of All The Branches Of The Armed Services. According to the National Review, “‘here’s always going to be a lot of duplication,’ Mourdock said. ‘We look today at the historical setup of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard. There’s a lot of duplication and bureaucracy right there. In the 21st century is that necessary? I’m not sure that it is.’” [National Review, 4/30/12]
MOTHER'S DAY MEMO: Romney's Record On Issues Important To Women And Families
As families across the country celebrate Mother’s Day and honor the women in their life, it is also a good opportunity to reflect on the policies that allow women to pursue equal pay for equal work, protect women and families from violence, and help to prevent serious illnesses. Unfortunately for women and their families, Mitt Romney has consistently advocated against these policies. With the Republican Party consistently advocating an anti-women agenda, they have found the perfect standard bearer in Mitt Romney.
MEMO: Richard Mourdock’s Extreme Record
Let’s be clear about one thing regarding Richard Mourdock’s win over Dick Lugar tonight in the Indiana Republican Senate primary: Richard Mourdock did not win; Dick Lugar lost. Assuredly, Lugar’s precipitous drop in the final weeks was propelled by his stumbles over the residency issue. But Lugar’s vulnerability stemmed from being identified as one of the Tea Party’s top targets of the 2012 election cycle. Lugar will have been felled by the same extreme fringe of the Republican Party that took down several pragmatic Republican candidates in 2010. These extremists found a mouthpiece in State Treasurer Richard Mourdock and are nominating a candidate who is well outside the mainstream of Indiana voters.
The Republican primary has been a referendum on Lugar, not an endorsement of Richard Mourdock. As Hoosiers across the state learn more about Mourdock, they will realize that his soft-spoken demeanor belies a fervent, extreme view of politics and governance that would hurt Indiana’s middle class families, students, veterans, women, seniors, and farmers.BACKGROUND ON RICHARD MOURDOCK’S EXTREMISM
Mourdock Said Auto Bailout Was Illegal. According to a Mourdock Editorial in the South Bend Tribune, “By any traditional legal analysis, fundamental elements of the Obama administration’s Chrysler bankruptcy plan were illegal. It turned 200 years of U.S. bankruptcy law on its head by awarding more value to a select group of unsecured creditors than to secured creditors. Others are apparently willing to tolerate the violation of federal bankruptcy laws simply because they liked the result: It helped their friends. But most Americans, including the Hoosier retirees who had their property stolen away, see such picking and choosing by the federal government as fundamentally un-American.” [Mourdock Editorial, South Bend Tribune, 10/9/10]
Journal Sentinel: Romney Gets Flak Over Wisconsin Anecdote From Long Ago
On March 28, 2012, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:
Talking by conference call with thousands of Wisconsin voters Wednesday, Mitt Romney told them he had a humorous connection to their state. But it didn’t take long for “funny anecdote” to become “campaign fodder.” Romney’s story involved the time more than 50 years ago that his father, George, an American Motors executive, shut down a factory in Michigan and moved the work to Wisconsin.
POLITICO: Romney As Cartoon Millionaire
On February 8, 2012, POLITICO reported:
Meet Mitt Romney, the parody. He’s really rich, worth between $150 million and “$200-odd million,” as he memorably put it. He thinks “corporations are people,” but doesn’t much worry about real people if they’re “very poor.” Homes? Three. Tax returns? None of your business. He invests in the same exotic places a James Bond villain might, the Cayman Islands and a Swiss bank account.
Huffington Post: Denny Rehberg, GOP Congressman And Senate Hopeful, Blasts Child Labor Regulations
On February 2, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:
In a speech expounding on the rift between rural America and Washington D.C., Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) vowed Thursday to use his funding powers to stop the Obama administration from implementing new child-labor rules pertaining to agricultural work, accusing the "urban" Labor Department of meddling in a "rural" industry it doesn't understand.