Last Days: The Spectre of Mitt Romney's Dishonesty
Last Days: The Spectre of Mitt Romney's Dishonesty
The editorial board of The New York Times:
But, of course, that's The New York Times. What about the heartland? What about "middle America"?
The editorial board of The Toledo Blade offers something of an answer:
As the campaigns wind down into their last days, the spectre of Mitt Romney's dishonesty now looms over the GOP nominee. For many Democratic supporters, the question is whether newspaper editorials criticizing Mitt's mendacity, will have any real effect. And it isn't just a question of too little, too late. During the GOP primary contest last year, President Obama held a slight lead in polling. Over time, that lead has actually narrowed, and all the while Mitt Romney has lied through his teeth.
Perhaps the Republican nominee had good reason to choose that strategy; despite forty weeks of MSNBC producer Steve Benen's reports on Romney's consistent lying, issues of honesty and trust have not played a significant role in the larger political arena—except, if we wish to be cynical about it, to sensationalize conservative conspiracy theories.
But despite the Republican effort to convince the public of Romney's inevitable momentum, the reality is that the GOP nominee is trailing in several battleground states his path to victory requires. In Ohio, at least, we can expect the Toledo Blade editorial to have some impact.
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Notes:
Editorial Board. "Romney Versus the Automakers". The New York Times. October 31, 2012. NYTimes.com. November 1, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/opinion/mitt-romney-versus-the-automakers.html
Editorial Board. "Auto toxin". The Toledo Blade. November 1, 2012. ToledoBlade.com. Novembe 1, 2012. http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2012/11/01/Auto-toxin.html
Benen, Steve. "Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XL". The Maddow Blog. October 26, 2012. MaddowBlog.MSNBC.com. November 1, 2012. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/26/14725019-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xl
Last Days: The Spectre of Mitt Romney's Dishonesty
The editorial board of The New York Times:
When General Motors tells a presidential campaign that it is engaging in "cynical campaign politics at its worst," that's a pretty good signal that the campaign has crossed a red line and ought to pull back. Not Mitt Romney's campaign. Having broadcast an outrageously deceitful ad attacking the auto bailout, the campaign ignored the howls from carmakers and came back with more.
Mr. Romney apparently plans to end his race as he began it: playing lowest-common-denominator politics, saying anything necessary to achieve power and blithely deceiving voters desperate for clarity and truth ....
.... What Mr. Romney cannot admit is that all this is a direct result of the government investment he would have rejected. It's bad enough to be wrong on the policy. It takes an especially dishonest candidate to simply turn up the volume on a lie and keep repeating it.
By doing that in a flailing, last-minute grab for Ohio, Mr. Romney is providing a grim preview of what kind of president he would be.
Mr. Romney apparently plans to end his race as he began it: playing lowest-common-denominator politics, saying anything necessary to achieve power and blithely deceiving voters desperate for clarity and truth ....
.... What Mr. Romney cannot admit is that all this is a direct result of the government investment he would have rejected. It's bad enough to be wrong on the policy. It takes an especially dishonest candidate to simply turn up the volume on a lie and keep repeating it.
By doing that in a flailing, last-minute grab for Ohio, Mr. Romney is providing a grim preview of what kind of president he would be.
But, of course, that's The New York Times. What about the heartland? What about "middle America"?
The editorial board of The Toledo Blade offers something of an answer:
In the final few days of the presidential contest, Mitt Romney evidently recognizes that his opposition to the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler is costing him voter support he needs in Ohio and Michigan. So the Republican nominee is conducting an exercise in deception about auto-industry issues that is remarkable even by the standards of his campaign ....
.... Mr. Romney claims to have a "plan to help the auto industry," which he does not detail. He plays up his Detroit roots, reminding voters that his father was not only a beloved governor of Michigan, but also the chief executive of a Detroit automaker.
But Mr. Romney's own words make clear he is no friend of the auto industry, on which Ohio relies for one of every eight jobs. Voters in Ohio and Michigan — and the nation — need to remember that.
.... Mr. Romney claims to have a "plan to help the auto industry," which he does not detail. He plays up his Detroit roots, reminding voters that his father was not only a beloved governor of Michigan, but also the chief executive of a Detroit automaker.
But Mr. Romney's own words make clear he is no friend of the auto industry, on which Ohio relies for one of every eight jobs. Voters in Ohio and Michigan — and the nation — need to remember that.
As the campaigns wind down into their last days, the spectre of Mitt Romney's dishonesty now looms over the GOP nominee. For many Democratic supporters, the question is whether newspaper editorials criticizing Mitt's mendacity, will have any real effect. And it isn't just a question of too little, too late. During the GOP primary contest last year, President Obama held a slight lead in polling. Over time, that lead has actually narrowed, and all the while Mitt Romney has lied through his teeth.
Perhaps the Republican nominee had good reason to choose that strategy; despite forty weeks of MSNBC producer Steve Benen's reports on Romney's consistent lying, issues of honesty and trust have not played a significant role in the larger political arena—except, if we wish to be cynical about it, to sensationalize conservative conspiracy theories.
But despite the Republican effort to convince the public of Romney's inevitable momentum, the reality is that the GOP nominee is trailing in several battleground states his path to victory requires. In Ohio, at least, we can expect the Toledo Blade editorial to have some impact.
____________________
Notes:
Editorial Board. "Romney Versus the Automakers". The New York Times. October 31, 2012. NYTimes.com. November 1, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/opinion/mitt-romney-versus-the-automakers.html
Editorial Board. "Auto toxin". The Toledo Blade. November 1, 2012. ToledoBlade.com. Novembe 1, 2012. http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2012/11/01/Auto-toxin.html
Benen, Steve. "Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XL". The Maddow Blog. October 26, 2012. MaddowBlog.MSNBC.com. November 1, 2012. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/26/14725019-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xl
