Romney Bemoans False Campaign Ads While Doubling Down On False Attack

[ProSense]

Romney Bemoans False Campaign Ads While Doubling Down On False Attack

Evan McMorris-Santoro

In back-to-back appearances Friday, Mitt Romney taught a master class in the time-honored tradition of the “do as I say, not as I do” approach to negative campaigning.

Asked by a reporter to respond to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) continued claim to have an “extremely credible” source who says the presumptive GOP nominee didn’t pay taxes for ten years, Romney dismissed the charge. He then launched into a full-scale attack on what he says is the Obama campaign’s dishonest campaign tactics:

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Disregarding the specific charges Romney makes — fact checkers side with him on the abortion ad he mentions, for example — the general gist of his comment is a criticism of Obama for using “misguided, inaccurate, untrue” attacks against him.

It’s a laudable goal, but a strange complaint for Romney to make. His campaign is one of the only ones in recent memory that actually reveled in the practice of using out of context quotes in attack ads, and much of its recent focus has been on the inaccurate claim that Obama told small business owners they aren’t responsible for their success.

Romney doubled down on that charge in a speech that came just minutes before his complaint about Democratic campaign tactics.

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/romney-negative-campaigns-are-bad.php

Mitt is projecting again. "You people" don't get it: Mitt is used to getting what he wants. Why the hell are "you people" trying to stand in his way?

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To overcome the image that had damaged him in the 1994 Senate race – that of a wealthy corporate buyout specialist out of touch with the needs of regular people – a series of "work days" were staged throughout the campaign, in which Romney performed blue-collar jobs such as herding cows and baling hay, unloading a fishing boat, and hauling garbage.[164][166][167] Television ads highlighting the effort, as well as one portraying his family in gushing terms and showing him shirtless,[166] received a poor public response and contributed to his being behind his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, in polls as late as mid-October.[164][167] He rebounded with ads that accused O'Brien of being a failed watchdog for state pension fund losses in the stock market and that associated her husband, a former lobbyist, with the Enron scandal.[154][167] During the election he contributed over $6 million – a state record at the time – to the nearly $10 million raised for his campaign overall.[168][169] Romney was elected governor on November 5, 2002, with 50 percent of the vote to O'Brien's 45 percent.[170]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney#2002_gubernatorial_campaign

From a 2002 article:

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Now what's funny about this attack ad is that a Republican is tarring a Democrat with the Enron brush. More to the point, a venture capitalist, Mitt Romney, is smearing the state treasurer, Shannon O'Brien, with corporate greed and fraud.

The not-so-subtle implication of the ad is that O'Brien is personally responsible for the loss of pension funds in the Incredible Collapsing Market. The subtext is, of course, that Romney, the former top dog at Bain Capital will protect us from the corporate mess. Don't you love this stuff?

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http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Republicans-strive-to-close-the-Enron-gap-2759905.php

Mitt, how does it feel?

You can end the speculation by releasing your tax returns.

[ProSense]

1. Kick for

Mitt's whining!