Romney in Allentown, PA: ‘Obama is Playing Golf, Campaigning, and Blaming’

By Jayde Wyatt | June 30, 2011 - 10:01 PM | 2012 Election, Barack Obama, Economy, GOP, Jobs, Media Appearances, Mitt Romney, Videos 1 views

4 Comments

Romney takes questions from reporters outside of now-defunct Allentown Metal Works in Allentown, PA. June 30, 2011

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were on the same Keystone State turf today…

While at a fundraiser in Philadelphia, PA Obama postulated that he was busy “attacking the country’s problems” while his Republican opponents were targeting him.

Romney was in Allentown, PA to draw attention to the plight of a factory Obama once touted as one that would benefit from his $800 billion Stimulus Plan.

The reality of Obama’s misery index was evident. As Romney’s press conference began, he stood by the entrance to Allentown Metal Works… in weeds in front of a chained and locked gate bearing a ‘No Trespassing’ sign:

WaPo

In 2009, Obama visited the Allentown Metal Works plant here, touting it as a symbol of the nation’s manufacturing might — an employer that would benefit from his $787 billion economic stimulus bill. But by this year, the plant had closed, laying off its workers and ending this city’s century of manufacturing history.

“Look around you: This is what he called the symbol of hope,” Romney said, staging a news conference in front of the factory’s locked fence. “There are weeds, boarded-up windows. . . . This was the spot he picked to symbolize the success of the stimulus. And my eyes tell me it ain’t working.”

The former Massachusetts governor repeatedly called Obama a “failure,” stressing his own 25-year background of working in the private sector and saying of the president: “He’s out of his depth when it comes to getting the economy going. It’s just not something that he understands.”

(emphasis added)
Continue reading here.

Romney press conference quotes:

“The plant here has been open a 100 years. It survived The Great Depression. It couldn’t survive the Obama economy.”

“The president’s time is being focused on playing golf, and campaigning – he’s campaigning in Pennsylvania today – and blaming.”

“He [Obama] should be spending his time and energy working on getting Americans back to work and fixing this economy.”

A portion of Romney’s presser:

See additional video here.

“I can assure voters that if I were President of the United States I would spend every waking moment doing what I could to get Americans back to work. I would focus my energy and my passion on the economy and on getting Americans good jobs.” ~ Mitt Romney

Before his visit, Romney’s campaign released an “Obama isn’t working” video on YouTube showing that more than 100,000 jobs have been lost in Pennsylvania since 2009. Laura Ingraham (substituting for Sean Hannity on FOX News) called the ad “Very dramatic. Very powerful. Very hot.” Dana Perino (former George W. Bush White House Press Secretary and FOX News contributor), a guest on Ingraham’s show, said “The Romney campaign consistently puts out good ads. Provocative. Well put together.”

On another FOX News program, after seeing Romney’s ad, FOX contributor Monica Crowley exclaimed, “Wow, guys. That is such a powerful ad!”

► Jayde Wyatt

Perry and Palin Poll: Will They or Won’t They?

By Nate Gunderson | June 30, 2011 - 5:42 PM | 2012 Election, Sarah Palin 1 views

17 Comments

palin-perry

Just a couple months ago there were a high number of potential GOP candidates whose 2012 decision was still up in the air. So far we have:

IN: Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, and even Gary Johnson.

OUT: Mitch Daniels, Mike Huckabee, Haley Barbour and even Donald Trump. Christie, DeMint, Rubio, and Jindal are also out, but they never hinted at any 2012 ambitions. Giuliani has also teased about it, but I don’t personally take his “teasing” seriously.

That now leaves us with two whose plans are unknown, and around whom many rumors swirl: Sarah Palin and Rick Perry. Sarah has recently launched a bus tour and a documentary film (vindication?) which premiered in where else but Iowa. Rick Perry is also doing the rounds heavily and his aides hinting strongly at a run.

So will they or won’t they – what do you think? Vote in the polls below.

(more…)

Romney Greets Obama in PA with "Devastating" New Video

By Luke Gunderson | June 30, 2011 - 7:53 AM | 2012 Election, Barack Obama, Economy, Pennsylvania, Videos 1 views

3 Comments

UPDATE:

To watch Governor Romney’s Allentown press conference LIVE today @ 4:10 PM ET, click here.

Face off: As Jayde reported yesterday, Gov. Romney and President Obama will both be campaigning in (important swing state) Pennsylvania today.

Romney’s new web video, released this morning, is a timely blow to Obama. As is typical with Romney videos thus far, this one hits the mark dead on:

Reaction from Fox News’ Stephen Hayes and former Romney spokesman, Kevin Madden:

Devastating RT: @kevinmadden New ad: As Obama visits PA today, Romney ad on effects of Obama’s economy. http://t.co/fMdetDEless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyStephen Hayes
stephenfhayes

The Important Q2 Fundraising Deadline is June 30th 11:59 PM EST: The MittRomney.com Store Opens Just in Time

By Rebel Ross | June 29, 2011 - 5:57 PM | 2012 Election, Barack Obama, Fundraising, Jobs, Mitt Romney, Store 1 views

8 Comments

On Thursday, June 30th, we reach this year’s first major fundraising deadline. The Obama campaign along with his Democratic allies plan to run a billion dollar operation to reelect the President.

Recently, President Obama said, “I’m extraordinarily proud of the economic record that we were able to produce over the first two and half years.” Yet, last month, over 20 million Americans were out of work, underemployed, or had just quit looking for work — not to mention the fact that our nation faces record deficits and a national debt that will soon surpass our GDP. Extraordinarily proud?

We need a president who understands how markets work; we need a president who knows how jobs are created; and we need a president who will focus on fixing the economy from day one. Clearly, Obama isn’t working. The campaign needs our help to put America’s focus back on the American people.

By making a contribution before Thursday, your support will help show that this campaign is ready to challenge Obama and the Democrats who wish to continue down the same path we’ve traveled the last two and half years.

Donate to the campaign today and help Mitt change America’s course and spread Mitt’s message and vision for a working America.

Gov. Romney cannot run a successful campaign without our help and others like us. Join the team today, stand with Mitt, and donate. Click here to contribute today to receive a Stand with Mitt t-shirt for a friend or family member.

Also, not to be confused with the MRC Store which helps offset the costs of hosting this site, the Official Mitt Romney for President Campaign Store has been launched! Some really cool stuff there and since your purchase counts as a donation to the campaign, today and tomorrow are great days to make your purchase to pad Mitt’s Q2 fundraising totals.

Finally, check out the latest from MittRomney.com:

PRESIDENT OBAMA SIDES WITH UNIONS INSTEAD OF IOWA WORKERS

-and-

NEW HAMPSHIRE IS OUT OF PATIENCE

Obama’s Allentown, PA Fail: Romney to Hold News Conference

By Jayde Wyatt | June 29, 2011 - 5:34 PM | 2012 Election, Barack Obama, Deficit Spending, Economy, Family Values, Jobs, Media Appearances, Mitt Romney 1 views

1 Comment

UPDATE:

To watch Governor Romney’s Allentown press conference LIVE today @ 4:10 PM ET, click here.

Gates closed forever at Allentown Metal Works in Allentown, PA. (Jan 7, 2011) Photo by E. Carter

Mitt Romney is focused on the over 14 million Americans who are out of work…

and the countless more who are underemployed.

The Gov is holding a NEWS CONFERENCE tomorrow at boarded-up Allentown Metal Works in Pennsylvania – a factory that Obama said would benefit from his $800 billion stimulus bill:

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney will take dead aim at President Obama’s handling of the economy tomorrow when he holds a news conference at a closed Pennsylvania factory the president once said would benefit from the federal stimulus law.

Obama visited the Allentown Metal Works in December 2009 as he touted his $787 billion stimulus bill.

The more than 100-year-old plant, which made heavy steel construction components including trusses beneath the new World Trade Center, subsequently closed this past January.

Romney has argued that Obama’s plans have not worked and the country should give an experienced businessman such as him a chance to resurrect the economy.

“The 2012 election is going to be a referendum on the president’s failure to turn around the economy,” Romney told the Philadelphia Inquirer today. “He’s grown detached and isolated from what people are feeling and experiencing.”

(emphasis added)

A little history on Allentown Metal Works:

Every book has an ending and the same is true with corporate success stories. In America, the endings for books are much easier to accept than the end of a company[...]

Allentown Metal Works, a 100 year old plant in south Allentown, will close its doors for good sometime in 2011.

In 2005 it was used a gritty backdrop in the city’s mayoral election and was held up as a symbol of bringing manufacturing back to the region. It also was a stop on President Barack Obama’s tour of the Lehigh Valley in a recent visit.

However, it more accurately represented a bygone era of when manufacturing was king of the economy in the Lehigh Valley and around the country.

The press will be there:

Event: Romney Press Conference at Allentown Metal Works

When: Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 4:10 PM EDT

Location: Allentown Metal Works, 600 South 10th Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania

► Jayde Wyatt

Romney on Capitol Hill, Will Sign ‘Cut, Cap, & Balance’ Pledge

By Jayde Wyatt | June 29, 2011 - 3:06 PM | 2012 Election, Barack Obama, Conservatives, Deficit Spending, Economy, GOP, Jobs, Jon Huntsman Jr., Mitt Romney 1 views

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Mr. Mitt goes to Washington…

Mitt Romney is making the rounds on Capitol Hill today to meet with seven Republican senators: Jeff Sessions (AL), James Risch (ID), Mike Lee (UT), Orrin Hatch (UT),Thad Cochran (MS), Scott Brown (MA), and Bob Corker (TN).

In between meetings, as Romney hustled between offices, he told reporters that he supports the ‘Cut, Cap and Balance’ Pledge.

WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney said this afternoon that he would sign a pledge that would encourage Congress to block an increase of the federal debt limit unless the legislation includes spending cuts and budget caps.

Joining five other Republican presidential candidates, Romney said he would support the ”Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge.” The pledge, which has been pushed by a wide range of conservative groups, urges Congress to oppose debt limit increases unless it includes: “substantial cuts” in spending; spending caps that would put limits on the federal budget; and passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
[...]

“I expressed my view that we are currently dealing with the critical fiscal issues of this generation and that we need strong leadership on these issues,” Lee said in a statement following their meeting. “I was happy to hear that Governor Romney supports the Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge including a Balanced Budget Amendment—one of my top priorities—and that his focus remains on growing the economy to create good jobs for our country.”

The pledge has also been signed by several of Romney’s presidential rivals: businessman Herman Cain; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty; Representative Ron Paul, of Texas; and former Senator Rick Santorum, of Pennsylvania.

Jon Huntsman, Jr., the former Utah governor, has said he would not sign the pledge.

(emphasis added)

The pledge is supported by more than 100 conservative and Tea Party groups.

► Jayde Wyatt

Hubbub in Iowa: Des Moines Register Interviews Mitt Romney

By Jayde Wyatt | June 28, 2011 - 8:03 AM | 2012 Election, Barack Obama, Economy, GOP, Iowa, Jobs, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin 1 views

5 Comments

A look at the political hubbub in Iowa yesterday and today…

Obama is flying in to Bettendorf today to tout his job creation record at the Alcoa aluminum plant, Sarah Palin will be in Pella to preview her new movie, and Michele Bachmann announced her presidential candidacy in Waterloo yesterday.

Adding to the mix, the Des Moines Register conducted a telephone interview yesterday with Mitt Romney. The Gov underscored Obama’s anti-business policies:

Romney: Obama created uncertainty for U.S. businesses

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney believes President Barack Obama has promoted a series of policies “that have done the one thing employers can’t deal with, and that is he’s created more uncertainty.”

“The first thing I plan to do is reverse the course of the decisions of the past 2½ years,” Romney told The Des Moines Register in a telephone interview Monday.
[...]
Americans’ uncertainty about the economy has dominated Obama’s domestic agenda and threatens his re-election efforts. As the economy continues to send mixed signals, Obama has been traveling the country in recent weeks to highlight job-creation initiatives.[...]
[...]
Obama will visit the Alcoa Davenport Works today, which makes parts for the aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co.

Boeing is embroiled in a dispute over allegations the company wants to move a Washington-based assembly line for its 787 airliner to a new nonunion factory in South Carolina in retaliation for past strikes in Washington.

Romney on Monday took at swipe at the National Labor Relations Board, which launched a complaint against the aircraft manufacturer.

“The decision slanted the field toward labor bosses, and that creates uncertainty,” said Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts. “We have to abide by the rule of law, and the president’s NLRB is carrying out a power grab which violates that principle.”

Obama’s close relationship with “union bosses” threatens jobs, Romney said.

“Boeing has been dealt a ruling which is favorable to the union bosses that helped elect president Obama, and by the president kowtowing to the union bosses, he puts at risk the jobs of American workers.”

(emphasis added)

Mitt Romney shakes hands at a rally with then- Iowa gubernatorial hopeful Terry Branstad. Romney provided mid-term campaign support for Branstad, his running mate Kim Reynolds (Lt. Gov) and other Iowan GOP candidates. October 25, 2010

• Romney was asked if he would be back in Iowa before the August 11th debate:

On Monday he said he doesn’t know if he’ll be here before the Aug. 11 debate because he’ll be outside the country and then on vacation for a week with his family.

The Boston Globe reported last week that Romney will be in London to solicit campaign contributions from Americans abroad.

A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll published Sunday shows Romney has a loyal core of supporters in Iowa, with 22 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers naming him as their top choice.

Asked about the theory that if he doesn’t nurture that base, some followers will drift away and give his GOP opponents opportunity to build momentum in Iowa, Romney answered: “I will work hard to receive support from Iowa voters. I would like to have the support of people across the country and because Iowa is first, Iowa’s support means a great deal to me as I’m sure it would to anyone else, so I intend to be in Iowa and campaign.”

UPDATE

To read related info from Romney: Believe in America click here.

Is Iowa Predictive?

If Iowans are representative of any Republicans east of the Mississippi or west of the Missouri Rivers a very important question was: “Regardless of whom you support now, do you think there is at least one Republican candidate in the field who can defeat Barack Obama?”

The answer? 86 percent of those polled believe Obama is beatable by at least one of the GOP candidates already in the field.

On the fiscal v social conservative axis, the poll found that 62 percent of Iowa Republicans think being a fiscal conservative is most important, while only 20 percent believe being a social conservative is more important.

(emphasis added)

► Jayde Wyatt

Mitt Romney Attracts Small Business Owners & Financial Service Workers at Events in NH

By Jayde Wyatt | June 27, 2011 - 5:59 PM | 2012 Election, Barack Obama, Deficit Spending, Jobs, New Hampshire, Videos 1 views

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Romney listens to small business owners at Mosaic Technology in Salem, NH. 6/27/11 (Photo taken by Ryan O'Connor)

It was a full day for Mitt Romney in New Hampshire today.

Small business owners in Salem were treated to a morning roundtable discussion at Mosiac Technology. Later, Romney spoke to hundreds of financial service workers at Lincoln Financial Group in Concord.

● Romney Talks Business in Salem

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was at Mosaic Technology in Salem this morning for a business round-table event.

The Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce helped organize this morning’s event[...]

During his Salem stop, Romney held a roundtable conversation with local business leaders, plus a handful of politicians like state Sen. Chuck Morse and House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt.

Romney said he wanted to hear ideas from local business people, but wound up mostly taking questions from those in attendance. He talked a lot about stimulating the economy, but also spent a good deal of time criticizing the Obama administration.

(emphasis added)

VIDEO UPDATE from Jayde (6/29/11) – The video of Gov Romney at Mosaic Technology has played for a couple of days. Because it automatically begins to play when the MRC page is opened, it was time to link it. You may view the video here.

▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬

Mitt Romney talks to the press after his Lincoln Financial event in Concord, NH. 6/27/11 (Photo taken by Tony Schinella)

● Romney Talks Jobs, Economy in Concord

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made a campaign swing through New Hampshire on Monday, discussing jobs and the economy with a couple of hundred Lincoln Financial Group employees in Concord.
Employees in the packed company cafeteria, which has hosted numerous presidential aspirants in years past, peppered the candidate with questions about entitlements, employee benefits, what the candidate’s real job creation record was, and how the nation can work to depolarize its political system.

Romney opened with a seven-minute stump speech, cracking jokes and talking about the weather, and then focused on a sharp critique of the incumbent, calling President Barack Obama a “nice guy” and “a good speaker” but someone few people knew a lot about before he ran, who had limited private sector job experience. He also stated that Obama had “failed” in fixing the nation’s ills.

“The Obama Administration has not been able to deal with the number one issue the country was concerned about when he became president, the economy,” he said. “He did not cause the recession, but he made it worse.”

Instead of focusing on the economy, Romney said Obama created “more uncertainty,” by proposing to end the Bush tax cuts on investment profits, pushed a cap-and-trade proposal that Romney said would harm businesses, and filled the National Labor Relations Board with “union stooges.”

Obama also created a federal takeover of health care, instead of allowing states to handle the issue, and filled his cabinet with people who had little to no private sector experience, according to Romney. Romney noted that in February 2009, Obama went on “The Today Show” and said if he couldn’t get the country turned around, his presidency would be a single-term.

“I agree, it’s a one-term proposition,” Romney said.

Romney also took questions from the audience on the polarization of politics, government regulation and regulators, Social Security benefits, and commented on the amount of debt young people are being burdened with. He was also asked whether he actually created jobs or destroyed them when he was in the private sector:

Romney said Bain started and financed a number of businesses and altogether, the company helped create tens of thousands of jobs. He said some of the companies were collapsing at the time that Bain became involved in them.

“Sometimes you have to carry out surgery to save them and turn them around,” he said. “So they can start creating jobs again. Net-net? We added a lot of jobs and saved a lot of businesses. But not every case was successful.”

Here’s how one attendee summed up the event:

Laura Upton, a recent hire at Lincoln Financial, called Romney “well-spoken” and said she felt he answered the questions from her co-workers open and honestly and was aware of the issues facing people in Concord.

“I was impressed that he actually answered the questions,” she said after the event. “He didn’t skirt around the answers … a lot of them skirt around the answers.”

(emphasis added)

Continue reading here.

► Jayde Wyatt

Romney Talks Jobs & Economy Before Big Crowd in Utah

By Jayde Wyatt | June 25, 2011 - 3:11 PM | 2012 Election, Ann Romney, Economy, Fundraising, GOP, Mitt Romney, Utah, Videos 1 views

3 Comments

'Photo of the Day' on Mitt Romney's website features picture taken by MRC's own Luke Gunderson at Romney's event held at Hires Big H fast food restaurant in Salt Lake City, UT. Mitt and Ann Romney are standing in a pick-up bed in the background. June 24, 2011

Things were hopping at Hires Big H in Salt Lake City, Utah yesterday!

Mitt and Ann Romney, accompanied by sons Josh and Craig, were in town to address a throng of excited supporters prior to holding a hamburger ‘n fries roundtable discussion for small business owners at a locally owned fast food restaurant.

The event marked Governor Romney’s first official visit to The Beehive State since announcing his presidential candidacy.

Deseret News:

SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney couldn’t resist grabbing a few more French fries as he was leaving a campaign stop Friday at Hires Big H that included a meeting with local business and political leaders.

The front-runner in the GOP presidential race jokingly explained after posing for a photo with one of the hundreds of supporters who turned out to see him that he didn’t smile because he was still chewing.

It was the rare moment during his nearly 90-minute appearance that the former leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City wasn’t beaming back at the crowd gathered at the popular drive-in to cheer on his second White House bid.

“Mitt not Jon,” someone chanted briefly as Romney shook hands, posed for pictures and hugged children after delivering a speech from the bed of a red Dodge pickup truck that criticized President Barack Obama for failing America, especially on the economy.

“The American people are struggling,” Romney said. “We need to have a president who has had a job if we’re going to be able to create jobs. I’m excited and anxious to get America growing again, to put people back to work.”

There was no mention in the speech of the other Republican candidate running for president who shares Romney’s Mormon faith and ties to Utah, former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

Asked whether he thought Huntsman’s entry into the race would affect his popularity in Utah, Romney told the Deseret News, “It’s great to be back in Utah, to be campaigning here. I’ve got great support. Jon is a friend, and I wish him the very best.”
[...]
Huntsman also had a Friday fundraiser scheduled but moved the Alta Club event to Tuesday. The former governor and U.S. ambassador to China is also expected to hold a public event that will be announced Monday.

(emphasis added)

Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell was among the roundtable participants.

Romney also attended an earlier fundraiser held in a private home in Orem, Utah and an evening reception at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.