Holding Mitt Romney Accountable

DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse joined local elected officials, students, seniors and veterans to ask a simple question: Who is Mitt Romney talking about when he says 47 percent of Americans don’t take responsibility for their lives and want to be dependent on government?

Did he mean seniors who worked their whole lives and now live on a fixed income? Was he talking about servicemen and women and veterans who have fought for our country? Maybe he meant students who are working to build a better future for themselves? Or was it people who have fallen on hard times and are looking for work? These are the people Mitt Romney says are looking for a hand out.

Mitt Romney was wrong to accuse tens of millions of Americans of not paying their fair share in taxes. In fact, for most of them, the percentage they pay in taxes is higher than the 14% percent that Mitt Romney pays. These Americans shouldn’t be put down. They should be respected for working hard and contributing to their communities.

Mitt Romney is either massively insulting half of Americans or he’s massively out of touch with our lives.

Below are the remarks from a recent press conference as prepared for delivery.

Brad Woodhouse

“The choice this election could not be clearer. Just last week we learned what Mitt Romney really thinks about Americans who don’t have Swiss bank accounts or bi-coastal mansions of car elevators. Yes, a video surfaced last week of Romney, who – surrounded by his wealthy donors – disdainfully wrote off half the American people. He said that people just like you – believe they are “victims,” who feel they are entitled to handouts, and who are unwilling to take “personal responsibility” for their lives.

“[I]f that wasn’t bad enough – Romney went on to say – and I quote – ‘My job is not to worry about those people.’ And just last night, Mitt Romney confirmed what many Americans suspected: his tax plan is for millionaires and billionaires like him to pay a lower tax rate than many middle class families. He went so far as to say that it is fair for someone like him to pay a lower rate than a worker in Ohio making $50,000. He says that’s fair. Mitt Romney thinks he should pay a lower rate than many Ohioans — because as he claims — it would promote economic growth. But independent economists say that refusing to ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share will only lead to endless deficits – not economic prosperity. It sounds like Mitt Romney’s tax plan is looking out for one person – Mitt Romney.”

Senator Nina Turner

“Just who is Mitt Romney talking about when he says half of all Americans don’t take responsibility for their lives and want to be dependent on government? “Seniors who worked their whole lives and now live on a fixed income. Servicemen and women and veterans who have fought for our country. Students who are working to build a better future for themselves. And hardworking folks who have fallen on hard times and are looking for work. These are the people Mitt Romney says are looking for a hand out. Mitt Romney is either massively insulting half of Americans or he’s massively out of touch with our lives.

“Mitt Romney was wrong to accuse tens of millions of Americans of not paying their fair share in taxes. Hard-working people who make 25, 35, 45 thousand dollars a year pay plenty in taxes: social security and Medicare taxes, state taxes, local taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, property taxes. For most of them, the percentage they pay in taxes is higher than the 14 percent that Mitt Romney has paid in the last two years. These Americans shouldn’t be put down. They should be respected for working hard and contributing to their communities.”

Richard Nixon, Good Year Tire Worker

“Just look at where we were here in Ohio. One out of every eight jobs in Ohio is connected to the auto industry, and when President Obama took office, the auto industry was headed toward a crash, and all of those jobs in Ohio could have disappeared. While Mitt Romney said, “Let Detroit go bankrupt,” President Obama stood up and fought for the workers of Ohio and helped save more than a million jobs up and down the supply chain. In fact, nearly 200,000 jobs were saved right here in Ohio. Plants are now adding third shifts, and Ohio has already added over 16,000 auto jobs on top of the jobs that were saved. That’s the kind of fight and leadership we need in Washington to keep our country moving forward.

“And like Senator Turner said, saving the auto industry wasn’t just good for auto parts manufacturers, it was good for tire manufacturers and workers in the tire industry like me. When President Obama took aggressive action to defend American tire companies from Chinese competition, my coworkers and I were so happy and proud to have a President who would stand up to trade practices that were purposefully making it harder for us to compete. But we couldn’t believe it when Romney said standing up to China would be bad for our overall productivity. At Good Year Tires we wondered, ‘Just whose side was Mitt Romney on?'”

Mattie Williams

“As a senior who receives Social Security and Medicare, I want to tell Mitt Romney one thing: ‘I am not a freeloader.’ I worked hard every day for years, and I paid my Social Security and Medicare for decades. Mitt Romney’s offensive comments show his true colors, a callous indifference to millions of hard-working Americans . . . We are part of a generation of hard-working men and women, and the Social Security and Medicare we receive is in exchange for a lifetime of that hard work – all so we can retire with some security and dignity.”

Cierra Norris, Student at Baldwin Wallace University

“I don’t believe a vast majority of young people in this country want a handout either. We just want a hand-up. The chance to make it on our own, to be successful, and give back to the country that we love. I worked hard to get into college, and I’ve sacrificed a lot and had to work hard every day to graduate. But for students like me, when we voice our concerns about the growing cost of school, Mitt Romney says we should just shop around or borrow more money from their parents . . . [President Obama] has made college affordability a priority by doubling funding for Pell Grants and preventing rates for student loans from doubling, making college more accessible to millions more students. He’s given 9.4 families like mine a $10,000 tax credit so that we can afford college and enter the work force with the knowledge and skills to really contribute to our economy.”

Dr. Jonathan Heavey

“I love this country, and that’s why I joined the military to protect and preserve the rights and freedoms this country has provided me. And the millions of veterans across this country have done the same. When I completed my military service, I was eager to heal, recover, and get an education, so that I could give back even more to the country I love so much. With the help of the VA, I was able to get the care I needed to heal. And only through the GI Bill, I was able to attend college. I am a Doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. And I couldn’t have done it if I didn’t receive health care from the VA or education opportunities through the Vocational Rehabilitation Program. It helped me fulfill my dreams.”

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