Romney's "You Didn't Build That" Fails

[ProSense]

Romney's "You Didn't Build That" Fails

—By Adam Serwer

Mitt Romney is having a hard time finding businesses that didn't get any help from the government.

Romney has been holding events and making speeches focusing on a set of remarks President Barack Obama made about how government and other people help individuals succeed. The original line Obama used was "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business—you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

The Romney campaign has spent the last couple of weeks deliberately ripping Obama's remarks earlier this month out of context, implying that Obama was disparaging business people by suggesting individual initiative has nothing to do with success. As Slate's Dave Weigel writes, conservatives have seized on this misinterpretation as "proof" Obama is actually a secret Marxist. The implication here is really twofold: Obama can't fix the economy because he doesn't understand business, and because "you didn't build that," Obama thinks it's perfectly fine to take from hardworking rugged individualists (like you) and give to a bunch of freeloaders who'd rather not work for a living (like them).

The problem is that the real-world examples Romney keeps seizing on include people who got help from the government. As ABC News' Jake Tapper reported Monday, the star of a recent Romney ad hitting Obama over "you didn't build that" had received millions in government loans and contracts. Romney stopped in Costa Mesa, California Monday to meet with a "roundtable" of small business leaders, held in front of a sign that says "We did build it!"

- more -

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/07/romney-didnt-build-that-fail

Romney Camp Holds 24 ‘We Did Build This’ Events Today
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-camp-holds-24-we-did-build-this

Where is the media outrage?

Their first response to the Bain/offshoring/Swiss bank account/tax return issue was to engage in a frenzy of claims that Obama was "Swiftboating" Romney.

Oh for God's sake, it isn't a swiftboating.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002946401

Media: If you can't do your job . . .
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002951274

The media and factchecking organizations deliberately blunted the impact of the fact-based charges against Romney by casting doubt on the Obama campaign. They shifted to barely acknowledging the facts because no one bought their spin.

Romney loses WaPo fact checker Glenn Kessler
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002980717

Finally, Fact-Checking Romney’s Lie
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021009082

Keep hitting Romney hard.

[malaise]

1. It must fail because the State has always been the facilitator for the

private sector.

Rmoney might tell us how he used the Federal and state governments to get rich - fucking idiot LIAR.

[HughBeaumont]

10. And We The People always bail OUT Trickle Down Capitalism when it inevitably crashes.

He can AT LEAST acknowledge that.

But he won't.

[malaise]

16. Of course not

Willard is a pathological LIAR

[mucifer]

2. I keep hearing on the msm how rmoney is pummeling President Obama with this

I don't get it? Is it really working?

[lunatica]

3. No.

People know better. Especially small business people.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. I don't know if it is resonating

Romney is still perceived as *stronger* on the economy but I'm not really sure I know why that is since nobody really knows much about his as-yet-unrevealed master plan to fix the economy. If I had to speculate, I'd say that Romney is favored just because he's not President Obama and some people seem to think that all that it would take to fix the economy (or any other problem) is just to go out and get a new POTUS while ignoring all of the other structural problems that are contributing to our economic doldrums. I'd like to believe that people are smarter than Romney and the Republicans think we are and realize that it's folly to believe that businesses just grow on trees without any help or assistance from the government (i.e. everybody) but a lot of people have been brainwashed into believing the superiority of the private sector "job creators" and the inferiority and incompetence of the federal government, so they might not "get" the connection. I think that President Obama's campaign, every time Romney shows off another one of these "self-made" businesses, should put out press releases showing the tax abatements, SBA loans, etc. these "self-made" businesses received to hit the point home that it's impossible for capitalism to initiate and thrive without the government.

[HughBeaumont]

11. Nobody really knows his master plan on ANYthing.

That's another facet of his big biznezz background - "Sell the Mystery, Not the Mastery". Of course, that's probably just a Kinder and Gentler "Caveat Emptor" in his case.

I think WE know his master plan . . . . we just want him to SAY it.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

15. I think that it will be impossible for him to continue to avoid it during the debates

If the moderators don't do it, I bet that President Obama will find some way to try to pin him down on things. I don't think that this country is so far gone that they will elect somebody who is a complete cipher on most issues. I don't believe that Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODS) runs THAT deep in this country.

[AlbertCat]

18. Nobody really knows his master plan on ANYthing.

Honey Lamb... that's because YOU could never understand the complex intricacies of business and finance. Leave it to the priests of commerce and don't worry your pointed little head about this. As with the past decades, the adults have it all under control. Look how well we.... the adults... have done so far! Have faith!

[HughBeaumont]

35. Here's another reason why RMoney's going to lose, possibly bigger than people think:

What we consider complete sarcasm is how "his station" thinks and voices for real. It's far worse than love/hate with them; it's that they simply don't care or think of the plight of the "help" or the "useless eaters". Not even the most slobbering idiot Repub who continually votes against their own interests can get behind Romney or the way The Big Club thinks and governs.

It was asked earlier: Have you seen one Romney sticker in your area? I only see pro-Obama or Anti-Obama. Can they win with "We hate our candidate . . . but yours sucks worse"? Something tells me they're not going to.

[justabob]

32. we just want him to SAY it

Indeed.

I can't find a link right now, but a while back, when the GOP primary circus was going on, I remember Romney said he wasn't going to detail his plans because if he did, he wouldn't be elected.

on edit: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/03/mitt-i-wont-detail-plans-because-then-id-lose.html

[xtraxritical]

39. We know his "master plan" he has wholeheartedly endorsed the Ryan budget, that says it all!

Save this country VOTE A STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC BALLOT.

[nc4bo]

4. Here's one that made the local news here in NC

Snoopy's and here's the local news spot.

http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2012/jul/24/popular-raleigh-hotdog-place-gains-notoriety-quest-ar-2459633/

Edited to add they'll be receiving at least 1 phone call from me, just on principle.

[uponit7771]

5. NPR did the false equivalency shit this morning, the M$M is disgusting at assigning blame

...and it doesn't matter if the GOP said it was out to destroy all Muslims the M$M would draw some kind of equivalence

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Romney (and Republicans) continue to promote the worldview of "every man is a island"

by contrast, President Obama (and Democrats in general) promote the worldview of "we're all in this together". Which one sounds more "real" and more like the country you want to live in?

[BumRushDaShow]

7. When they do these spurious ad hoc attacks

you know you hit the bullseye again.

[Coyotl]

47. They fear the rationales for revisiting the Reagan & Bush tax cuts to corporations and millionaires

It is not about Obama, it is about attacking any sane political discourse about taxation and past abuses of wealth and political power.

[n2doc]

9. It worked very well

All these pundit and internet types need to get out into the real world. The meme is everywhere. I was at a jiffy lube last sunday, and when the ad came on the tv there it immediately set off the wingnuts; They stared talking about 'I'm glad he said that, now they can use it against him" and "he's a communist". It's also all over all the comments sections in every newspaper. This was a damaging shot because it feeds precisely into the preconceptions the righties have about Obama.

Doesn't matter if some blogger on the internet says it is a lie, the general populace doesn't hear it.

[ProSense]

12. Maybe you're

"It worked very well"

...right, but Obama's ads worked better:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021015366

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021014925

[n2doc]

13. Haven't seen them in Georgia

I just don't think anything will get through to these people. However, Mitts lie really got them worked up, which is a bad thing.

I am not trying to put Obama down, I am just relaying how things look down here in Georgia, and it ain't pretty. It is very depressing.

[kemah]

17. Are these the same people collecting food stamps and medicare?

Riding around on their medicare hover rounds complaining about government spending.

[n2doc]

20. No.

The 2 that were most animated were a woman and guy in their 20's or early 30's. Both white. Both reasonably well off judging from their clothes. It was really kind of shocking, especially when the woman started talking about how she was really worried about "the UN plan for America" I have to guess that this is crap they got from Rush, or maybe Hannity.

There a a lot of really brainwashed people around here.

[nenagh]

37. A woman from an evangelical, conservative background moved from the US to Canada, maybe to Toronto.

& she wrote about her misconceptions about socialized Canadian healthcare. She found out she was pregnant shortly after the move: she already had 2 children born in the US.

On her first visit to the Dr she was very unpleasant to the staff, thinking that she would have to be assigned a Dr.. or whatever the conservative line is.

She had no trouble lining up a midwife (which was her choice) who worked in coordination with a physician. She found out that the large Catholic Hospital in the area did not have to perform abortions.. all these things she had been told were false.

She had many more obstetrical visits than she ever had in her US hometown. Then she began to realize how often she avoided Dr visits because of cost.

In the US, she had even economized by getting one injection rather than two injections for Rh incompatibility.

Finally she realized this 'socialized medicine' worked very well, and that Canadians she spoke to were horrified that her family had been forced to avoid physician visits in the US, because her family couldn't afford it.

She had been home schooled...

What stunned her finally was the degree to which she realized she had been 'brainwashed' & would have remained brainwashed if she had not moved.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. Georgia's electoral votes haven't gone to a Democrat since 1992

so there are deeper issues there than Obama.

[n2doc]

21. Of Course

And maybe this doesn't reflect anything either, but virtually every comment board I have looked at has several people spouting the "didn't make that yourself" meme. If it is all being organized by the Koch bros., or Mittens, they are damn efficient.

(and on edit) Clearly, even if Obama isn't going to contest Georgia, Mittens is spending money here. Or his proxies are. I don't know why, maybe they are worried about enthusiasm, or lack thereof.

[BumRushDaShow]

28. I think you hit on something

if Rmoney has to actually spend money on places that should be a lock for him "as a republican" (in quotes).

He's not a "southerner" and may even be getting demerits for being a "Northeast Librul" while governor of Massachusetts. Gingrich must have done a doozy on him down there. He lost to Gingrich almost 2:1 (47% to 25%) in the primary.

He is going to end up running from all the states that he resided in - MI, MA, and UT.

[bluedigger]

25. And you probably won't.

Why would they waste money in Georgia? I'm seeing lots of them in Colorado.

[DearAbby]

41. Live in Colorado as well

I have more faith in the electorate out here. People have pretty much made up their minds, the teeny % these ads are directed too. The only people this kind of advertising would appeal to, are those who already hate Obama.

Romney must feel his base is soft, he is constantly tending to it. Should make you smile.

[RagAss]

33. Why would Obama spend five cents on ads in Georgia?

[Tarheel_Dem]

40. Doesn't Georgia always look bad? I mean really, it's Georgia.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

31. Use the term "cherry-picked".

Like they did with WMD intel.

[southernyankeebelle]

14. The media and Republicans want you to believe their lying eyes. The more you read, hear and

see they think you will believe them. Yet over and over we know the media games aren't working. I think americans for a while now realize we are being played. You know with all these polls I am really wondering if Obama lead is bigger then they are telling us. Mittens isn't liked by many because he flip flops so much from one extreme to the other. Remember how Kerry did and he wasn't as bad. I just have a feeling that Obama is alot more ahead then the media is giving him credit for.

[randome]

24. I believe you're right.

The polls flip-flop as much as Romney's positions. I think Reality will show a blowout for Obama in November.

[southernyankeebelle]

26. There is only one worry for me. Voter supression and filpping voting machines.

[goclark]

34. My worry too

[southernyankeebelle]

43. And I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

[bigtree]

22. I know, it's pathetic

The business owner Romney used in his ad to indignantly argue with the President that he had he built his business all on his own got over $800,000 in taxpayer-dollars to start-up his enterprise.

[moondust]

23. They sure want it to be true.

I suppose some still have the moral integrity to feel guilty that they've taken so much from taxpayers and then turned around and screwed taxpayers by doing away with their jobs and compensation and the attendant tax revenues. Pretending to not owe anybody anything makes them feel bigger and better. Pathetic.

[lonestarnot]

27. They sure are swirming over this lie's massive exposure. Must have hit them where it hurt.

Fuck you bootstrappers!

[paparush]

29. Hey,Rmoney...We're out here building your f#cking stage!!

[Initech]

30. The man is so damn clueless - and yet he's ahead of Obama on economic issues?

Stockholm syndrome perhaps?

[rustydog]

36. Actually, it is a success with the, sorry for the name-calling, stupid voters out there.

Several of the under-educated conservatives I work around are livid with Obama's you didn't build it comments.
I try to show them the entire statement for clarity and they don't want to hear it. The right wing media is doing a bang-up job of getting the memo out there.

[Scurrilous]

38. K & R

[backscatter712]

42. Obama's playing right by pushing back on this.

Romney was clearly trying to pull a Swiftboat on him, and thankfully Obama's smart enough not to "stay above the fray."

He damned well needed to push back on this, and did, and is damned right to be throwing punches in this race.

[Cryptoad]

44. Push Back!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

45. I still can't believe the incompetence of the Romney campaign that they would run on that.

This is going to be the first ever campaign from the bubble. Run BY the bubble.

Bush was close but he had his father pulling him back to reality. Romney has his experience as a used car salesman with a bunch of clunkers.

[ProSense]

46. They're

running on the hope that all the RW-funded distortions will confuse people.

[kemah]

48. Well didn't the Louisiana Purchase made possilbe the Mid West

All of that was government spending.

[rks306]

49. Romney

He doesn't have any ideas. Two things that GOP always runs on. Tax cuts mainly for the rich deregulating things that corporations want. You know corporations are people and money is speech.