Obama You Didn't Build That Comment Distorted By Mitt Romney
Politifact stated that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney did take President Barack Obama's "you didn't build that" comment out of context, as the former governor of Massachusetts left out the president's individual initiative remark in its entirely.
Romney forgot to mention that Obama also said, "the point is ... that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together." Politifact ruled that Obama was clearly talking about government provided roads and education that private businesses did not build. As in, "You didn't build that road." Or, "You didn't build that school."
Romney, however, has been misleadingly attacking Obama for weeks on this, in ads and speeches. This demonstrates his campaign continues to show a tendency of making false statements in order to succeed.
View videos of the ads, as well as the full Politifact report.
Romney's tactics are a blatant attempt to try to make entrepreneurs feel insulted by the president. I am insulted Romney thinks that I, an entrepreneur, am that gullible (I already watch Romney closely because what he says about repealing health care reform is the opposite of what he proposed nationally and passed in his state). )
Romney made very similar statements in the past:
At the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics, Romney stated that family as well as "communities that built venues" (often government funded) helped Olympians get there. Saying directly, "You know that you didn't get here solely on your own power. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them." Romney used the same message as Obama:
Romney made the statements from businesses that existed because of government support:
A writer examined this, and I include a few of his statements below. View the full article.
When Romney attended a round table in Costa Mesa, California, to speak with small business leaders, two of the businesses present -- Endural LLC and Philatron Wire and Cable -- had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in government contracts.
The man in the Romney ad (featured in the Politifact story) talking about how he built it on his own received millions of dollars in government loans and contracts. The Washington Post fact checker even found that when Bain & Company was about to go bankrupt, Romney led months of negotiations with the FDIC that reduced an outstanding loan of $10 million.
This government intervention was a major reason why the business remained intact so Romney could then go on to make his fortune. View the entire Washington Post Fact Checker article, "Did Mitt Romney get a 'bailout' for Bain & Company?"
Mitt Romney's wealth, the people in his ads, and the businesses at his round-table discussion relied heavily on Government support to... build it on their own?
Voters form opinions based on heavily distorted news stories as well.
Take a look at this Daily Show critique of Fox News reporting on the issue. Remember, this distortion hits millions of people in one day via Fox! Fox News is a giant megaphone of distortion.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Democalypse 2012 - Do We Look Stupid? Don't Answer That Edition - Grammatical Gaffes www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook
Many people only watch Fox News. Many people don't fact check any statements of a candidate. Many people are moved by falsehood. That is why Romney and Fox News continue to deceive the American people. As long as it works and nobody finds out ... what is the harm, right?
The Romney campaign and Fox News clearly distorted the president's words. Does this bring into question your ability to trust Romney, or Fox News? How does it impact your view of their credibility?
