Tuesday, October 11, 2011
  Reactions to the Bloomberg/The Washington Post Debate at Dartmouth		 BACK


Romney for President
October 11, 2011 at 9:57 PM

JUDD GREGG: ROMNEY PROVES HE CAN TURN AROUND ECONOMY
 
Boston, MA – Former New Hampshire Governor and U.S. Senator Judd Gregg released the following statement on tonight’s debate in Hanover, New Hampshire:
 
“Mitt Romney won tonight’s debate by demonstrating why he is ready to be president on day one. His experience working in the real economy and his knowledge of how jobs are created was on display tonight. In order to get our economy and country on the right track again, our next president will need that experience and leadership record. Mitt Romney has spent his life turning around struggling enterprises. Our country needs a turnaround.”
RickPerry.org
October 11, 2011 at 10:10 PM

Gov. Rick Perry Touts Unmatched Pro-Jobs Record, Vision to Get America Working Again
Offers strong performance at Washington Post/Bloomberg Debate

HANOVER, N.H. – Gov. Rick Perry this evening reiterated his unmatched job creation record at the Washington Post/Bloomberg Republican Presidential Debate at Dartmouth College.

“Americans want a president with the experience and understanding of how to create jobs and get our nation’s economy back on track,” said Gov. Perry. “I am proud of my work to establish the environment necessary for job creation. I look forward to applying the Texas jobs blueprint to the rest of the country by implementing a predictable tax structure, placing a moratorium on unnecessary regulations, creating a fair legal climate and putting an end to out-of-control government spending.”

During the debate, Gov. Perry shared his record of implementing fiscally conservative policies that have helped Texas lead the nation in job creation. Texas has created more than one million net new jobs under Gov. Perry, and since June of 2009, the state of Texas has been the source of 40 percent of all the jobs created across the nation. In contrast, under President Obama, America has lost 2.5 million jobs.

Gov. Perry emphasized his dedication to implementing low, flat and fair taxes, repealing job-killing regulations, establishing a fair legal climate and restraining government spending in order to get America working again.

Gov. Perry also reiterated his steadfast commitment to repealing Obamacare, the government-mandated healthcare plan President Obama modeled after Mitt Romney’s job-killing and signature accomplishment in Massachusetts. Additionally, while Gov. Perry has presided over the nation’s number one job creating state, Gov. Romney’s Massachusetts ranked 47th in job creation during his term in office. 

For information setting the record straight about various statements made during the debate, please visit http://www.rickperry.org/washington-post-bloomberg-debate-recap/, or follow @PerryTruthTeam on Twitter.

For more information about Gov. Rick Perry’s record, presidential campaign and plan to get America working again, please visit: www.rickperry.org.

Jon Huntsman for President
October 11, 2011 at 10:12 PM

Huntsman Campaign Manager Matt David
Issues Statement Following Washington Post-Bloomberg Debate

Huntsman campaign manager Matt David released the following statement on this evening's Washington Post-Bloomberg debate:

"Governor Huntsman demonstrated tonight the economic savvy our slumped American economy requires, offering a quantifiable return to prosperity that addresses the crisis of unemployment.

"While the jobs plans of Gov. Huntsman's rivals have been panned as 'remarkably vague' and 'surprisingly timid,' his own has been hailed as 'the most pro-growth proposal ever offered by a US presidential candidate.'

"Cheap catchphrases won't create an economic climate in which the legions of unemployed Americans can return to work. The sloganeering offered by others on tonight's stage won't revive the nation's creative and entrepreneurial classes, just as certain more regulation from President Obama won't spur American competition. Jon Huntsman's experience -- as a businessman, governor and diplomat -- can.

"The seriousness of today's broken economy demands a serious leader. America saw only one in tonight's debate."

Bachmann for President
October 11, 2011 at 10:21 PM
Bachmann Dominates at Economic Debate

Hanover, NH – Following the release of her economic blueprint, "American Jobs, Right Now," Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann demonstrated tonight at the Bloomberg/Washington Post GOP Presidential Debate that she is the only candidate equipped to grow our economy and spur job-creation.

As a consistent proponent for pro-business policies, Bachmann criticized the job-killing regulations placed on American businesses by the Obama administration and the federal government. She cited Dodd-Frank and Obamacare as the two chief opponents to job creation.

Referring to Dodd-Frank, Bachmann said, "Freddie and Fannie were the center of the universe in the mortgage meltdown and we had lending standards lowered for the first time in American history. The fault goes back to the federal government. Dodd-Frank institutionalized all of these problems that were put into effect by the federal government. That's why I introduced the bill to repeal Dodd-Frank, it's the Jobs and Housing Destruction Act."

Bachmann has been an unwavering challenger of Obamacare and its overarching policies that would cause irreparable harm to struggling job creators and those who benefit from Medicare.

She affirmed President Obama is out-of-touch with the healthcare needs of the American people when she said, "Senior citizens across the country have no idea that President Obama plans for Medicare to collapse and instead, everyone will be pushed into Obamacare. The way that Obamacare runs; there is a board called IPAB – it's made up of 15 political appointees, these 15 political appointees will make all the major healthcare decisions for over 3 million Americans. I don't want 15 political appointees to make a healthcare decision for a beautiful, fragile 85-year-old woman who should be making her own decisions."

Bachmann acknowledged that the job-killing regulations of the current administration are not the only reasons why our economy is suffering – it is the excessive spending that continues to draw the federal government deeper into debt. She declared, "Our government right now – this is significant – we are spending 40 percent more than what we take in – we all paid a lot of taxes this year, we paid $2.2 trillion in taxes. The American government spent one hundred percent of that $2.2 trillion, but the travesty is they spent $1.5 trillion more than that."

Bachmann continued, "Our answer has to be that we cut back on the spending so we get to balance. We've got to get our spending house in order and cut back on spending."

Bachmann fielded a question from her Republican colleague Mitt Romney regarding her plan to produce jobs for young college graduates. She referred to the job-killing regulations that need to be repealed in order to spur job creation.

"I am a mother of 28 kids, 23 foster kids, 5 biological kids. I get how difficult it is for young people right now to get jobs right out of college. The business world is looking at $1.8 trillion every year in compliance costs, with government regulations. That has to go," Bachmann said. "But the No. 1 reason that employers say that they are not hiring today is Obamacare, and I was the leading critic for President Obama in Washington, D.C. against Obamacare, that's why I was the first member of Congress to introduce that bill to repeal Obamacare. I understand that's what's inhibiting job creation and job growth."

Strongly wrapping up the debate, Bachmann asserted she would never be beholden to powerful lobbyists or political donors, and vowed to end that practice in Washington. "As President of the United States, I would end all of these payoffs to political donors by our legislators. That's wrong. That's got to end."
Rick Santorum for President
October 11, 2011 at 10:35 PM

SANTORUM STANDS AS THE ONE FIGHTER FOR CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES

Hanover, NH - At tonight's Bloomberg/Washington Post Republican Presidential Debate, former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) showed that he is one contender prepared to not just lead the American economy forward, but reinvigorate the manufacturing sector and rebuild the great middle of America suffering under the Obama Administration - a plan so bold that even Governor Romney "agree(d) with Rick" when discussing corporate taxation.

 

Hogan Gidley, National Communications Director, said: "Tonight showed a clear delineation between which candidates understand how to fix America and which candidates' ideas are pipedreams. Senator Santorum does not shy away from calling Democrats, or even his Republican counterparts on stage, to task when they are wrong. When Ron Paul blamed American policies for 9/11, Senator Santorum called him to task. When Rick Perry stood by his mandated inoculation of pre-teen girls and his giveaways to illegal immigrants, Senator Santorum called him to task. And tonight, when Herman Cain refused to acknowledge his 9-9-9 plan was naïve and he stood by his support of TARP, Senator Santorum called him to task. We need a president not afraid to unapologetically stand by conservative principles, and Senator Santorum does just that."

 

ON BRINGING BACK THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR

 

"(Manufacturing) jobs can come back if we create a climate to bring them back... people want to see the fruits of their labor."

 

"The difference between my plan and, say, Herman's is that mine would pass."

 

ON AMERICAN ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS

 

"I don't want to go to war with China, I want to beat China."

 

ON OBAMACARE AND ROMNEY'S FAITH IN WAIVERS

 

"We must repeal Obamacare, not by waivers. Think California will take a waiver? No.   And the people of New Hampshire will be forced to subsidize California's healthcare."

 

ON HERMAN CAIN'S 9-9-9 PLAN

 

"Don't give Nancy Pelosi another pipeline to raise taxes! How many people here are for a sales tax in New Hampshire?... (no hands rise) There you go, Herman. That's how many votes you'll get in New Hampshire."

Democratic National Committee
October 11, 2011 at 10:02 PM

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Statement on Republican Presidential Debate in New Hampshire

Washington, D.C.  – Following the Bloomberg/Washington Post Republican presidential debate held in Hanover, New Hampshire tonight, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement: 

“While the President continues to talk to working families across the country about the American Jobs Act, a plan to create jobs and put more money back into the pockets of middle-class Americans and small businesses, the Republican candidates for President continued to sit on their hands tonight – offering no plan of their own for job creation or economic recovery while also refusing to work with President Obama and Democrats to move our country forward.

“The Republican Presidential candidates have now had many opportunities to articulate a plan for economic recovery.  Instead, they have simply continued their courtship of the Tea Party and its ideology, marching in lockstep with the Republicans in Congress. These are the same Washington Republicans who today rejected the President’s plan for job growth and voted down the American Jobs Act in the Senate—legislation that would provide immediate action on jobs.

“Mitt Romney tonight was perhaps the most audacious - suggesting he's looking out for the middle class, even as his policies would only help the wealthiest and special interests and stating his support of TARP but in the same breath saying he was against extending a structured loan to the auto industry, which saved 1.4 million jobs. From breaking up companies and shipping jobs overseas to an abysmal jobs record in Massachusetts, to policies that favor the wealthy over the middle class, there isn't anything in Mitt Romney's background in the public or private sector that suggests he cares at all about the middle class.

“And what is the GOP’s proposed alternative?  Mitt Romney and the GOP simply want to return to the same failed policies of the past that got us into this mess – more tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, more tax breaks for large corporations, and letting Wall Street write its own rules.  If that’s the Republican candidates’ vision for moving our country forward, maybe it’s time to get their eyes checked. Millions of middle-class families across the country are looking for Republicans and Democrats to come together to create jobs and get our economy back on track – passing the American Jobs Act is an opportunity to answer their call, and we need to do it right away.”

Iowa Democratic Party
October 11, 2011 at 10:53 PM

More, More, More Of The Same

In GOP Debate Candidates Continue To Embrace Failed Economic Policies     

DES MOINES  – In response to tonight’s Republican debate, Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky released the following statement:

“What we heard in tonight’s debate was nothing but more, more, more of the same failed economic policies that took our economy to the brink of a second Great Depression.

“Tonight we heard more calls for tax cuts for the rich, more calls to let Wall Street write their own rules, more plans which would slash Social Security and end Medicare as we know it and more of Mitt Romney debating himself on the issues.

“While President Obama is working to create jobs and invest in middle class Iowans with the American Jobs Act, Republicans continue to try to outdo each other in their run to the right and call for more, more, more of the same failed economic policies.”
Democratic National Committee
October 12, 2011 at 9:04 AM

For immediate release:
New Web Video: Romney's Little Bandaids

From DNC Press Secretary Melanie Roussell:  "On the heels of our “Which Mitt” campaign highlighting Mitt Romney's penchant for conviction-less flip-flopping, the DNC released a new web video following last night's debate highlighting Mitt Romney’s opposition to extending the middle class payroll tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, while claiming he isn’t “running to help the rich.”  Tonight’s debate showed yet again that Mitt Romney’s just doing more of the same: promoting tax cuts for the rich and corporations while offering no immediate relief for middle class Americans; no plan to create jobs; and, by opposing the extension of middle class tax cuts, he is supporting a tax increase on middle income families and small businesses.

"Mitt Romney may think tax relief for the middle class and small businesses is nothing but "little bandaids" but John McCain's former economic advisor has said that extending such tax cuts will create jobs and that not doing so could sink the country back into recession. Perhaps a former Governor whose state finished 47th out of 50 in job creation can't be expected to understand the economic potential and imperative of middle class tax cuts but economists and the America people do understand what Romney does not: middle class Americans need a break - they shouldn't all go to the most fortunate among us."

TITLE: Romney's Little Bandaids
PUBLIC YOUTUBE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Eb75HQzNQU
TRT: 0:37
SCRIPT:

CHYRON: Mitt Romney claims he is not running to help the rich

MITT ROMNEY: "I'm not worried about rich people. They're doing just fine." [Bloomberg/Washington Post Debate, 10/11/2011]

CHYRON: But he called putting money in the pockets of middle class Americans "little Band-Aids"

HOST: "So you would be okay with seeing the payroll tax cut..."

ROMNEY: "Look, I don't like temporary little Band-Aids." [Bloomberg/Washington Post Debate, 10/11/2011]

CHYRON: Even John McCain's economic advisor Mark Zandi says...

CHYRON: Not extending the middle class tax cut would cause another recession

CHYRON: Mitt Romney would raise taxes on the middle class and put our economy at risk

CHYRON: And who would he put first?

ROMNEY: "Corporations are people, my friend." [Iowa State Fair, 8/11/2011]

CHYRON: Mitt Romney: Putting Corporations First
Jon Huntsman for President
October 12, 2011 at 11:21 AM

Mitt Romney: Career Campaigner

Manchester - Jon Huntsman for President Spokesman Tim Miller issued the following statement regarding Governor Romney's insistence that he is not a "career" politician:

"Last night Governor Romney continued his line of attack against so-called 'career' politicians, claiming he spent his entire life in the private sector. The reality is the only reason Mitt Romney is not a career politician is because he has lost so many elections.

"In his first electoral attempt nearly two decades ago, Governor Romney ran for Senate on a platform that was anti-Ronald Reagan, anti-Contract with America, pro-choice, and pro-national healthcare mandate. One wonders whether he would have won that election had he not turned his back on President Reagan.

“As it stands, Mitt Romney may not be a career politician but he certainly is a career campaigner with a bad record, and this campaign is too important to lose."

Background

Romney In Hanover Debate: “I Spent My Entire Career Working In The Private Sector…” “Because I spent my life in the economy. I spent my entire career working in the private sector, starting businesses, helping turn around businesses, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. And I know how to make tough decisions and to gather the input from around the country to help make the important decisions that have to be made.” (Mitt Romney, Remarks At Bloomberg-Washington Post Debate, Hanover, NH, 10/11/11)

Romney During 2012 Campaign: “Career Politicians Got Us Into This Mess And They Simply Don’t Know How To Get Us Out.” “‘Four more years on the same political path could prove disastrous,’ he said, adding: ‘Career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out!’” (Michael A. Memoli, “Mitt Romney Targets Obama, 'Career Politicians' In VFW Speech,” Los Angeles Times, 8/30/11)

EMAIL UPDATE from Family Research Council
October 12, 2011
A Forum for Santorum

For the eight hopefuls, it's been a grueling schedule. In four weeks, the GOP field has had more debates than most TV shows have had episodes. Gov. Mitt Romney joked that voters are going to be so tired of seeing the candidates on television that they'll be calling their stations and asking them to return to their "regularly scheduled programming." But last night's sit-down--the seventh since May--gave voters another chance to get to know the applicants for America's most prestigious job. As our country has learned (often the hard way), you can never know too much about a candidates' agenda. Although the debate, which I attended (along with members of the FRC Action team), was largely focused on the economy, only one candidate made the connection between America's financial mess and its cultural one. In an hour and a half, the word "family" was used six times-four of them by Senator Rick Santorum. Like FRC, he understands that real problem solving starts with an understanding that the economy and the family are indivisible. When Gov. Rick Perry suggested that President Obama is "the biggest deterrent to getting this country back on track," Sen. Santorum interjected. "There is more to it than that," he insisted. "And I agree with Rick [Perry], what he said, but the biggest problem with poverty in America , and we don't talk about here, because it's an economic discussion--and that is the breakdown of the American family. You want to look at the poverty rate among families that have two--that have a husband and wife working in them? It's five percent today. A family that's headed by one person? It's 30 percent today. We need to do something, and we need to talk about economics. The home--the word 'home' in Greek is the basis of the word 'economy.' It is--it is the foundation of our country. We need to have a policy that supports families, that encourages marriage... that has fathers take responsibility for their children. You can't have limited government--you can't have a wealthy society if the family breaks down, that basic unit of society. And that needs to be included in this economic discussion." If the candidates won't, the FRC Action Values Bus will! This morning, the team pulled out of New Hampshire after a local pastors' breakfast and a media-heavy rally with Sen. Santorum. From there, we set the GPS for Rhode Island, where we stopped for a second event in Providence. Tomorrow, October 13th, the Values Bus will be back in my childhood home of Ohio to meet with students in Circleville. You can join our Ohio Christian University rally at 6:00 p.m., followed by a press conference the following morning at the Warren County Manor House in Mason, Ohio with Gov. Mike Huckabee at 10:30 a.m. To keep up with us, follow @ValuesBus on Twitter.