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News & ArtsFriday, June 8, 2012
2012 Mitt Romney Says America Doesn't Need Any More Police, Firefighters, or Teachers
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 2:28 PM
To me, this is way worse than President Obama's misstatement about the economy this morning:
Romney said of Obama, “he wants another stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more fireman, more policeman, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people.”
This is the kind of statement that makes Romney's new teabagger fans really happy, but it should scare the shit out of average Americans. Is Romney calling for a nationwide hiring freeze? Is he calling for cutbacks? How many police and firefighters does he think is the right amount? Do we really need fewer teachers? The press should be slamming Romney on this, but he'll get a pass because it's more difficult for the media to explain than a one-sentence misstep in a press conference that you can play on a loop.
1
He's pitching to the base, scared old stingy white folks in Scottsdale. They have private security in their gated lairs, have no use for schools or any other public amenities. They have theirs, all the rest of you get fucked.
2
I guess that makes sense if you think that the main problems Americans are faced with are that their children attend classes that are too small, they live in communities that are too well-policed, and they would like their homes to burn for a little while longer before some interfering government employee shows up to extinguish the blaze.
"Cut back on government and help the American People."
I guess that makes sense if you think that the main problems Americans are faced with are that their children attend classes that are too small, they live in communities that are too well-policed, and they would like their homes to burn for a little while longer before some interfering government employee shows up to extinguish the blaze.
3
It's been pointed out elsewhere on the net, but the policies conservatives support indicate that they look at the world as a hostile place, where you grab what you can for yourself and fuck anyone else.
4
I agree, dick blunder Mitt.
But, the press will be slamming him and won't give him a pass. Who are you kidding Paul?
But, the press will be slamming him and won't give him a pass. Who are you kidding Paul?
5
What do we need police for? If you see a suspicious black kid wearing a hoodie and carrying something that looks like an Arizona Iced Tea, but you're pretty sure it's a grenade, just shoot him!
As for teachers and firefighters, what do we need them for? Homeschools and garden hoses people!
As for teachers and firefighters, what do we need them for? Homeschools and garden hoses people!
7
@6: teachers went on the attack in WI. police & firefighters didn't have their back. divide & conquer.
8
We haven't had a Republican president yet who hasn't fucked up this country for decades after. And it's always left to Democrats to clean up their mess. And what happens? Dems get critisised for not cleaning up the mess they left fast enough!
9
@7, exactly, this is obviously a smackdown in celebration of beating the unions in Wisconsin. The press won't even report it while Karl Rove, Crossroads and Gay for Mitbot will be quoting it in the fundraising materials.
10
@8:
I think the attitude of many people is something along the lines of, "well, if it took eight years to get us into that mess, it should therefore only take eight years - or less - to get us out, and if you can't do it, you're not doing it right." It's the typical 'Murkin sense of entitlement to instant gratification, combined with a seemingly bi-polar compulsion to swing back-and-forth between what is perceived as only two possible outcome-based approaches. If one doesn't work, then let's try the other - oops! That didn't work, either - back to the first one - uh... and on and on.
The problem is, that one side (Republican administrations typically) tends to create all the problems, while the other (Democratic administrations) is consistently charged with cleaning it up. But no matter how much progress they make in that direction, its never fast enough or full enough to satisfy the hoi polloi, who basically have the attention-spans of gnats, and who then invariably buy the GOP line that it was all the Dems fault in the first place, and that if put back in charge THEY will make things right - at which point they fuck things up even MORE, and the Dems come back four or eight years later and get the job of trying to clean up yet another fine mess.
Lather, rinse, repeat...
I think the attitude of many people is something along the lines of, "well, if it took eight years to get us into that mess, it should therefore only take eight years - or less - to get us out, and if you can't do it, you're not doing it right." It's the typical 'Murkin sense of entitlement to instant gratification, combined with a seemingly bi-polar compulsion to swing back-and-forth between what is perceived as only two possible outcome-based approaches. If one doesn't work, then let's try the other - oops! That didn't work, either - back to the first one - uh... and on and on.
The problem is, that one side (Republican administrations typically) tends to create all the problems, while the other (Democratic administrations) is consistently charged with cleaning it up. But no matter how much progress they make in that direction, its never fast enough or full enough to satisfy the hoi polloi, who basically have the attention-spans of gnats, and who then invariably buy the GOP line that it was all the Dems fault in the first place, and that if put back in charge THEY will make things right - at which point they fuck things up even MORE, and the Dems come back four or eight years later and get the job of trying to clean up yet another fine mess.
Lather, rinse, repeat...
11
@10, I don't know about that Comte (the cheese or a name?). The dotcom bubble blew up just when Bush2 took over, and the economy didn't "recover" until the housing bubble. Much of the deregulation fiasco is also bipartisan (from Carter to Clinton).
12
Well on this for the most part he's right, outside of a few cities. The only category of public servants I can think of that we could really use a lot more of is mental health workers.
14
Why should Romney care if some local city wants to hire more firefighters? Why is it the federal government's business? Who is advocating for that kind of federal power now?
15
Wouldn't it be funny if one of Romney's houses caught fire, and the Fire Dept. showed up and just watched it burn to the ground?
I'm not saying this SHOULD HAPPEN, I'm just saying, wouldn't it be funny if it did?
I'm not saying this SHOULD HAPPEN, I'm just saying, wouldn't it be funny if it did?
17
If Obama can get a job-centered stimulus package through congress, and if he plays this right (and, c'mon...the guy might actually be a better politician than Nixon or Clinton), then it's time to call this one and be done with it.
I predicted this jobs package after the May job numbers came out. The projected 150,000 jobs that were to be created in May came from an expected cut of 13,000 in Gov't jobs and a projected 160,000 jobs created in the private sector. The private sector fell short by 80,000.
If Obama can ram a jobs bill through congress fast and actually have some of those jobs being filled prior to the election, it shows an actual, positive effect from one of his policies and should be enough to get him over the hump...assuming Europe doesn't fall apart by then.
And, GOP senators will be lining up to vote for this bill, because EVERYONE is facing challenges from any alternative that people can latch onto right now. The economy sucks in the south as well right now.
Romney is stupid for coming out against this bill, but hell...he's tripped over every opportunity presented to him so far. Why should this one be any different?
Too bad every year isn't an election year...Obama might have not been a half bad president if, like now, he were constantly fighting for his job.
I predicted this jobs package after the May job numbers came out. The projected 150,000 jobs that were to be created in May came from an expected cut of 13,000 in Gov't jobs and a projected 160,000 jobs created in the private sector. The private sector fell short by 80,000.
If Obama can ram a jobs bill through congress fast and actually have some of those jobs being filled prior to the election, it shows an actual, positive effect from one of his policies and should be enough to get him over the hump...assuming Europe doesn't fall apart by then.
And, GOP senators will be lining up to vote for this bill, because EVERYONE is facing challenges from any alternative that people can latch onto right now. The economy sucks in the south as well right now.
Romney is stupid for coming out against this bill, but hell...he's tripped over every opportunity presented to him so far. Why should this one be any different?
Too bad every year isn't an election year...Obama might have not been a half bad president if, like now, he were constantly fighting for his job.
18
The underlying message in the "cutback government" mantra is that there are a lot of people who don't deserve government. It makes sense to have a smaller government if there are fewer people to be governed.
Deportations and disenfranchisement - that's what this is about.
Deportations and disenfranchisement - that's what this is about.
19
why is when republicans want to cut back government workers, it never seems to include soldiers, and the military in general, who use way more of the federal budget than teachers?
20
GOPers always claim they want to shrink government, yet they always do the opposite, yet they still manage to destroy the regulatory and developmental functions of the state. It's a telling twist that such anti-republican rhetoric end up being the main message of the Republican party.
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