Reader Comments: If you were Mitt Romney, would you push the economy issue?

Tom Garrett 1 year ago

I see that both Mitt and Barack made speeches on the same day over in Ohio. What was interesting about it is the fact that they both focused on the economy.

Now think about that. Obama is no dummy. He knows how to win elections. So why is he harping on a weak economy?

I've been watching the maneuvering that led up this pair of speeches, and I have to tell you, I think Mitt is taking a big risk. He is putting his eggs in the wrong basket. And I can show you why.

Think about it. What has he got to offer?

I'll quote from the major points of his speech to show you what I mean:

a. "[We need] entrepreneurship ... innovation ... job creation ... economic vitality."

b. "[America is] "the land of opportunity ... [and] the home of dreamers."

c. "I happen to like the sources of energy that we have in abundance, oil, coal and natural gas."

d. "Enormous Opportunities" [in Latin America]."

e. "[Employers all across the country think Obama] sees them as their enemy."

Now, ask yourself what Americans who are out of work, or who are looking at cuts in Medicare or Social Security were probably thinking as they heard what he said:

Re a. Hey! It was "entrepreneurship" and "innovation" that got us into this recession. We don't need more of that. We need regulation to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Re b. "Opportunity?" Opportunity for who? Not for me. I'm broke and out a of job.

Re c. "I happen to like the sources of energy that we have in abundance, oil, coal and natural gas." Great! Now could you get rid of commodity speculation so that gasoline can get back down to a buck a gallon?

Re d. "Enormous opportunities in Latin America." How is that going to help me pay the rent? So you sign trade agreements with South Americans. You did that with China, which is why I'm out of work and can't buy a can opener that works.

Re e. "[Employers all across the country think Obama] sees them as their enemy." No kidding? So do I. They caused this recession.

Next: What I would tell Mitt if I could:

Tom Garrett 1 year ago

Mitt, I have heard all this before.

I heard it three times while Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office during the last big blowup in the economy. Then, as now, the economy was the worst possible issue for a Republican to mention in a campaign.

You sound like Wendell Wilkie, for crying out loud! Did he win? No! So learn from the past. At least learn this much: The recession we are in was caused by what were called at the time "innovative" lending policies. You think people have forgotten that? No? Well, why would you want to talk about "innovative" business? Are you TRYING to lose?

Talk to the people about making Congress more responsive. Tell them how you are going to do it. Talk to them about the legitimate duty of the federal government to regulate interstate business for the protection of all of us, but show them the difference between legitimate government regulation and wasteful, interfering government intrusion into places it does not belong. Be specific!

Talk to the people about waste in Washington. Don't tell them that you are going to repeal Obamacare; it's dead. Show them why it was wrong-headed.

Show the people programs that can be cut, how they can be cut, and how much we will save. But for God's sake stay away from entitlement programs; they will kill you at the polls.

Talk to the people about getting rid of tax loopholes. Talk to them about ending the days when billionaires pay less taxes than people who work for a living. Things are lousy right now, and people are going to think that you are for that keeping things the way they are when you talk about not reforming the tax structure. They see you as a pawn of the ultra rich. Are you? No? Show it!

Show the people how a well regulated government runs. Talk about a government, which refuses to listen to special interests--either from the left or from the right. Talk about a government which will be a smaller, more efficient, less costly, and more responsive. Talk to them about getting us back to the rule of law, back to the way our Constitution intended this nation to run.

Those are TRUE conservative points of view.

The things you are advocating aren't, Mitt. Conservatism and selfish business interests are NOT the same thing. Think the way Lincoln thought: Of the... by the... for the people.

Conservatism is Constitutionality, under which business thrives, people have jobs, and everyone, rich and poor, is proud to call himself an American.

Tom Garrett 12 months ago

How about it, folks?

If the economy is not a good subject to bring up during the campaign, what should Mitt Romney talk about? Surely, someone out there must have some good ideas.

Or am I wrong? It wouldn't be the first time, you know.

How about it? Do you think the recession is a good issue to press during the forthcoming campaign?

Dan Haapala 12 months ago

Is there a concerted belief that Romney might win but won't last. Or that Romney could lose but Congress could go Conservative and stop Obama. Or are Republicans planning for 2016 having promised Romney his shot? I see so many promising Americans, who could be president, waiting in the wings. They are fresh new faces and voices that his country is in desperate need to hear. Rubio is one. Let him sprout and prosper. West is one, let him sprout and prosper. Just those two in the House give us hope. They are not alone. Rand Paul in the Senate is wielding more power than any freshman Senator ever because of his views and the backing of the T.E.A. party. His influence, along with Sarah Palin's, have turned many races in the favor of the conservative movement. You don't have to talk about the economy, jobs, food stamps, or anything else. All you have to do is unshackle the greatest energy the world has ever known, the free enterprise, capitalistic, help me make a profit economy. and there will be no stopping us.

Tom Garrett 12 months ago

Right, Dan.

We are so far off the path upon which our founding fathers set our feet upon that we have lost sight of who we are. We need someone who lead us across a political desert toward something that may be far down on the horizon today, but is still there, and still as bright as it ever was--the concept upon which this democracy was formed: A nation of laws instead of a nation of privilege.

It doesn't matter whether that someone is a Democrat or Republican. The question of liberal or conservative should be no more than a minor tweak along the fringes of "freedom loving American." What is important is that rewards come, not to a privileged few, but to all those who work for them.

We've all seen great legislation under both parties. Why not now? After all, 99% of what Washington does is politically neutral if we don't work to make it into something else. When we discuss the military budget, for example, our responses should be driven by national security, by needs balanced against waste, not by glittering generalities like "supporting our fighting men" or negative sound bites like "the military-industrial complex."

The same thing is true of everything we do. The goal should be the needs of the nation, not the need to build a larger political following by smearing red or blue paint on every issue.

I'll only take exception to one word in everything you said, Dan. We don't need to "unshackle" free enterprise; we need to shackle it, force it to play by the Ten Commandments. I am sick of crooks who turn free enterprise into an immoral game of one-upmanship, winner take all, under the table deals, and speculation.

The whole concept of free enterprise is a fair and open market, one in which an individual works hard, produces and ships a product of which he can be proud, and finds his places in that market against all competition by keeping prices down and quality up. That hard won concept has been scuttled by people who are taught to manipulate their way to riches. That's not free enterprise; that's theft. The current manipulation of Wall Street by arrant thieves is so destructive to our nation that we should genuinely "shackle" (I mean imprison) those who try to become latter-day John D. Rockefellers.

My son David, before he came up here, worked for a small manufacturer in the valley who makes high tech gaskets, an important item in today's market where the failure of an o-ring can cause anything up to and including the explosion in mid-air of a space vessel, as you will no doubt remember. The stories that David has told me about the honesty of the man who owns--and actually runs--that business are absolutely inspirational. And the stories he tells me about the sleaze balls who tried to bend the rules, slyly trying to get him to join in, and who were turned down, say a lot too. If we could get every American business back on the "we are honest American businessmen" track we would need to do no more.

Pat Randall 12 months ago

Get rid of all illegals, pink, white, black, green or whatever. That would open up jobs and quit draining unemployment and welfare. As long as people can draw unemployment and welfare why work? If they do work they want to be paid cash under the table. They want a career not a job.
They did not pay into unemployment, that is a cost to the employer! That should be considered into the wage they receive.
I know many people have never filed for it. They are the good workers that want to get ahead. If for some reason they lose thier job they go find another one. Tax everyone the same percentage. Get rid of the unions. Stop all the freebies and retirements to politicians. Get the farmers back on raising our food. Ranchers raising our meat. Have you ever received a prescription that said in really small letters, ingrediants made in China? Is that a scary thought? There has to be one good thought in the above.