Romney closes out the primaries by attacking Obama’s unfairness
The news from last night was not that Mitt Romney easily swept the five states that held primaries; that was assured once Rick Santorum left the race, if not before. Nor was it the prospect, which is being confirmed this morning, that Newt Gingrich would also drop out of the race as a result.
No, the news is that Romney finally gave the speech some of us have been waiting for him to give. (Click here to see a video of the speech, which lasted about 13 minutes, or here to read the prepared remarks; he didn’t stray too far from them.)
The heart of it was the contrast he drew between himself and President Obama. First, what he said about the president:
Government is at the center of his vision. It dispenses the benefits, borrows what it can’t take, consumes a greater and greater share of the economy. You know, with Obamacare fully installed, government would have control of almost half of the economy, and we would have effectively ceased to be a free enterprise society.
This President is putting us on a path where our lives will be ruled by bureaucrats and boards, commissions and czars. He’s asking us to accept that Washington knows best — and can provide all.
We’ve already seen where that path leads. It erodes freedom. It deadens the entrepreneurial spirit. And it hurts the very people it’s supposed to help. Those who promise to spread the wealth around only ever succeed in spreading poverty around. Other nations have chosen that path. It leads to chronic high unemployment, crushing debt, and stagnant wages.
And then there’s his counteroffer:
I have a very different vision for America, and for our future. It’s an America driven by freedom, where free people, pursuing happiness in their own unique ways, create free enterprises that employ more and more Americans. And because there are so many enterprises that are succeeding, the competition for hard-working, educated, skilled employees is intense, so wages and salaries rise.
I see an America with a growing middle class, with rising standards of living. I see children even more successful than their parents — some successful even beyond their wildest dreams — and others congratulating them for their achievement, not attacking them for it.
The repeated mentions of free enterprise, and the good line about congratulating people on their success rather than attacking them for it, are welcome. But here’s where Romney signaled an important theme leading to November:
This America is fundamentally fair. We will stop the unfairness of urban children being denied access to the good schools of their choice; we will stop the unfairness of politicians giving taxpayer money to their friends’ businesses; we will stop the unfairness of requiring union workers to contribute to politicians not of their choosing; we will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the very taxpayers they serve; and we will stop the unfairness of one generation passing larger and larger debts on to the next.
When an opponent — as Romney correctly said Obama would do — wants to run not on his record but on distractions and distortions and fuzzy notions of “fairness,” you hit back at what other people might consider unfair. And there is a great deal of unfairness to be found in Obama’s conventional liberal positions, some of which Romney catalogued.
This is a promising start to turning Obama’s raw populism on its ear.
– By Kyle Wingfield
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
693 comments Add your comment
getalife
April 26th, 2012
7:38 pm
“obl is dead, GM is alive” Vice President Joe Biden.
Beat that willard.
Tiberius - Banned by Bookman and proud of it!
April 26th, 2012
7:52 pm
And it only took $5 trillion of debt slammed on Malia and Sasha’s grandchildren.
Beat that Biden.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
8:28 pm
Biden, ha ha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTIHorI9Zf4
Mitt Rob-Me and Ann Wannabe First Lady
April 26th, 2012
8:34 pm
LET DETROIT GO BANKRUPT
By Mitt Romney
November 18, 2008
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.
******************************************
HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR YA MITT WITT?
heeheeheeheeheeheeheheeheeheeheehee
Mitt Rob-Me and Ann Wannabe First Lady
April 26th, 2012
8:38 pm
@moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
8:28 pm
Biden, ha ha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTIHorI9Zf4
**********************************************************************************
WHEW……………………………….
What’s that SMELL?
Smells like WET DOGS.
Thanks Betty for POINTING THAT OUT TO US.
Rafe Hollister
April 26th, 2012
8:41 pm
Trashman have you a new name? Mitt Rob Me per chance. Might Morphin Trashman.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
8:44 pm
Yep- We gots a bunch of WET DOGS in the house Mitt Rob.
Rafe Hollister
April 26th, 2012
8:49 pm
Barbados, checking out a location for you and Alex Baldwin to move to after Nov 2012?
Mitt Rob-Me and Ann Wannabe First Lady
April 26th, 2012
8:50 pm
@Rafe Hollister
April 26th, 2012
8:41 pm
Trashman have you a new name? Mitt Rob Me per chance. Might Morphin Trashman.
******************************************************************
Who is this TRASHMAN you speak of?
Mitt Rob-Me and Ann Wannabe First Lady
April 26th, 2012
8:55 pm
@Rafe Hollister
April 26th, 2012
8:49 pm
Barbados, checking out a location for you and Alex Baldwin to move to after Nov 2012?
***********************************************************
My parents have a vacation home there.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
8:58 pm
Obama is a wet dog.
Hillbilly D
April 26th, 2012
9:00 pm
@@
In my experience, I’ve never seen a chicken live long enough to retire……….unless you consider sticking its neck on the chop block as retiring. (IW&SH)
Rafe Hollister
April 26th, 2012
9:01 pm
Congress once had Cynthia McKinney, just as this blog has the Trashman. Both served as bad examples.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:02 pm
Man, it freaks me out when I think about how many chickens died to give me my basket of hot wings at Hooters.
Wed Dog.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:04 pm
For all of you waiting with baited breaf, that should be “Wet” Dog, not “Wed”.
booya!
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
9:06 pm
This blog has turned into smog.
No longer a commentary but a dumpster.
For our ludicrous libs, Bookman is ready when you are.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:06 pm
same thing.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:08 pm
“This blog has turned into smog.”
Dusty,
This ain’t LA yet, honey.
Hillbilly D
April 26th, 2012
9:09 pm
When I was a kid, my youngest sibling ate the wings, cause everything else was spoke for. Got to hand it to a guy who can get rich off the scraps.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:13 pm
That’s true, HD.
You got that right, HD.
As you got older, you moved up the chicken.
If that chicken wing is open, that’s gold when you are on the bottom of the totem pole.
Hillbilly D
April 26th, 2012
9:21 pm
betty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8wLI4gHvts
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:33 pm
so true, HD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIuAQPKp4×0
Tarred…
Nite nite.
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
9:35 pm
Hillbilly D @ 9:09
“Gotta hand it to the guy who can get rich off of scraps!”
I thought so too until I read about “pink slime”. Somebody went too far with that one.
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:40 pm
Hi, Dusty.
How are you doing this fine evening?
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
9:46 pm
Hi Betty,
I’m fine, thank you. Just wandering around the internet trying to find out what’s going on.
Tomorrow night will be better. The BRAVES will be playing!
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
9:49 pm
WoooHooo!
Go Braves!
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
9:56 pm
Now I’m mad at you and HD, Betty.
My mouth is watering for a piece of fried chicken and there’s not even a wing in the house.
You should not have done that!! Cruel!!
@@
April 26th, 2012
10:00 pm
Egypt Plans ‘Farewell Intercourse Law’ So Husbands Can Have Sex With DEAD Wives Up to Six Hours After Their Death”
ew is right!!!!
Read an article the other day where some guy (scientist?) dissected an 86-year old female cadaver in search of her G-spot.
Wouldn’t it have been more fun to look for it on a much younger living female?
People are weird.
Hillbilly D
April 26th, 2012
10:04 pm
@@
You just ain’t right. (ISH)
Dusty
You should live where I do. My neighbor has 80,000. He probably wouldn’t miss 2 or 3………
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
10:05 pm
@@, 10:00
I think we can stop complaining about our lawmakers after reading about Egypt’s new “laws”.
I gather they have given up on mummies and are working on dead mommies.
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
10:07 pm
HillBilly D, 10:04
If all eighty thousand of those chicks are fried, I’ll never complain again.
Hillbilly D
April 26th, 2012
10:26 pm
Dusty
Well, they aren’t yet but those are broilers (which is what you buy at the store). Life expectancy: 7-8 weeks.
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
10:38 pm
HillBilly D @ 10:26
Life expectancy 7-8 weeks??? Awww….I ‘ve been a little more sympathetic about chickens ever since I read about “Chicken Man” and his sad demise. He did love his chickens! No so, some of his neighbors.
Tell me, with 80 thousand chicks living next door, do you ever sleep late?
moonbat betty
April 26th, 2012
10:41 pm
Hey, @@,
You ever heard why you never greet them with a hand shake?
Hillbilly D
April 26th, 2012
10:45 pm
Dusty
7-8 weeks isn’t old enough to crow, so noise isn’t a problem. They do smell sometimes but that’s country living. Not near as aggravating as some people that I know.
Dusty
April 26th, 2012
10:53 pm
Hillbilly D
Aint it the truth!!
G’nite! This chick has gone to roost….
Jay not jay
April 26th, 2012
11:12 pm
Word up to the Bravos!
Joe Biden
April 26th, 2012
11:54 pm
Osama Ben Laden got the kiss of death from Barack Hussein Obama , Gaddafi the killer of Americans is dead and GM and Chrysler are alive and thriving- What has Bain Capital and Willard Romney done for you lately?
Jack
April 27th, 2012
7:21 am
Obama’s lack of leadership and his insistance on taxing producers to support parasites should be part of Romney’s campaign theme.
@@
April 27th, 2012
8:01 am
moonbat betty:
You ever heard why you never greet them with a hand shake?
Them, being scientists? Nope.
Scientists have “researched” what constitutes the perfect handshake though.
Firm squeeze and three shakes: Scientists devise formula for the perfect handshake
I’ve no doubt that “the COMMON man” already knew that.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
April 27th, 2012
8:22 am
A little summary from yesterday. First, my challenge:
Tiberius – Banned from Bookman’s and proud of it!
April 26th, 2012
11:01 am
I’d like to see a single, substantial post by a liberal on this blog who can accurately articulate a real, stated policy of Mitt Romney’s during this election cycle and give us a detailed and thoughtful argument against it.
Now, the responses from the libs:
carlosgvv
April 26th, 2012
11:21 am
It’s difficult to comment on a “real, stated policy of Mitt Romney’s during this election cycle” when all he’s actually given us is banal Republican double-speak.
Jefferson
April 26th, 2012
11:32 am
t- are you smarter than everybody ? Smarter than Romney ?
DannyX
April 26th, 2012
11:52 am
Just google “Romney flip flops”! 1,080,000 results!
Partisay
April 26th, 2012
12:19 pm
And sorry Tiberius..you don’t control what other people post on here. You can demand all you want, but we will post what we want, when we want.
grated
April 26th, 2012
12:34 pm
Romney is the grey Richard Nixon, and is unelectable. Obama is the black JFK and is beloved by a clear majority of voters. Kyle.is.a.hack.
Rockerbabe
April 26th, 2012
1:00 pm
Tiberius: your unnecessary sabre rattling is way past old and stale. Have you nothing to say that is sane, reasonable and illuminating? I bet you are retired and have absolutely nothing to do that is useful? Go drink some cool-aide and leave the rest of us alone.
carlosgvv
April 26th, 2012
1:37 pm
Tiberius
I haven’t named one actual policy of Romney’s because he doesn’t really have a good, solid
program for leadership.
Real Athens
Where are you employed?
April 26th, 2012
5:13 pm
Tibby:
Is mom out of the house today?
saywhat?
April 26th, 2012
5:24 pm
Perhaps it is because if somebody is so lame as to get banned at Bookman’s, and even lamer to be proud out it, their posts aren’t really worth reading, let alone responding to? There. Now you’ve wasted my time.
So there you have it, fellow Wingfield bloggers. THIS is the “depth” of the liberal mind. You give them a softball right over the plate (seeing as they are all such “experts” on what Mitt Romney believes in – they’ll tell you that every day of the week), and what do you get? Cut and run. Insults. Deflection. Misdirection.
ANYTHING BUT what you asked for. They can’t articulate ONE actual policy of Mitt Romney’s – let alone write semi-intelligently about their concerns regarding it.
So it begs the question: “Why are you here, losers?” Don’t bother answering that. I will.
You’re trolls, wasting your lives on a conservative blog with one goal in mind: Insult and denigrate anyone who doesn’t agree with you.
Your own words above are the mountain of evidence against you.
Is this what makes you feel good for the rest of your miserable day, libs? Is this how shallow you people really are? Don’t bother answering those questions, either.
Yes. And yes.
Mary Elizabeth
April 27th, 2012
8:57 am
“we will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the very taxpayers they serve”
———————————————————————————–
This is what the current Republican vision, and what capitalism, itself, unchecked by the public sector and by government, can instill in citizens, i.e., one sector of Americans pitted against another, jealousies created by sizing up what you have as opposed to what I have, and a worldview of “everyman or woman for him or herself,” which is a vision of “survival of the fittest.”
Why not, instead, create another vision, one in which America’s citizens understand that “we are all in this together” and that every American might have, provided by their government, basic human rights, and safety nets of security, that all contribute toward receiving, such as those outlined by Franklin Roosevelt in his last inaugural address, referred to as America’s “Second Bill of Rights.” The people, themselves, should decide, through their votes, what they want from their government and what they want their government to be. They are, in fact, their government – a representative government.
Please view FDR’s 2nd Bill of Rights Speech Footage provided on YouTube in the link, below. What American would not support what FDR proposes? Roosevelt’s last line: “For unless there is security here at home, there cannot be lasting peace in the world.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EZ5bx9AyI4
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
April 27th, 2012
9:22 am
The people, themselves, should decide, through their votes, what they want from their government and what they want their government to be. They are, in fact, their government – a representative government.
I want the government small and out of my life. I don’t want to hold hands and sing Kumbaya with a bunch of libs. As far as anyone quoting Joe Biden, i just made a deposit in a toilet that was less offensive and had a higher IQ than that crass idiot.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 27th, 2012
9:35 am
U.S. GDP growth–revised down.
Mary Elizabeth
April 27th, 2012
9:39 am
“. . .i just made a deposit in a toilet that was less offensive and had a higher IQ than that crass idiot”
=============================================
Your words do not instill confidence that your vision would be in America’s best interest.
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
April 27th, 2012
9:41 am
This should be known as the “manipulation administration”. The cost of Obamacare, employment numbers, deficit numbers, gdp,…. liberal propogandists!
Odis
April 27th, 2012
9:48 am
After cutting more taxes for the wealthy and undoing regulations that protect the average American, Romney has no plan or vision for the country. What does he really stand for?
MarkV
April 27th, 2012
10:02 am
“I want the government small and out of my life.”
This characterizes quite well the mindless stupidity of some conservatives. You want the government out of your life? Where do you want it to be?
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
April 27th, 2012
10:07 am
I suppose it’s better than taxing the rich more only to realize that it doesn’t even put dent in O’deficits spending habits. What does your clown prince stand for?
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
April 27th, 2012
10:15 am
Needy MarkV wants to cuddle up and spoon with government. Isnt that special?