Tag Archives: Mitt Romney

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The Real Voices of Small Business


| By ThinkProgress War Room

What Small Businesses Really Think About the Issues

Republicans talk a lot about small businesses out on the campaign trail, but often times the “small businesses” they talk about are anything but. According to Republicans, Donald Trump, Oprah, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and construction giant Becthel, the largest construction company in America, are all small businesses.

In order to clear the air, the Center for American Progress and Small Business Majority, an advocacy group for actual small businesses, talked to the owners of small businesses across the country about a range of issues, including taxes and Obamacare.

Here’s a couple examples of what we heard.

Small Businesses Aren’t Impacted by Expiration of Bush Tax Cuts

Mike Brey, owner of Hobby Works in Fairfax, Va., wants to set the record straight on the Bush tax cuts—cuts on those with income above $250,000. Despite some saying that allowing the cuts to expire will hurt small businesses, the vast majority of small business owners like him simply won’t be affected. Allowing the tax rates to go back to where they were will help bolster the economy and with it, Mike’s customer base—the middle class.

Affordable Care Act Makes Portland Business More Competitive

For Mike Roach, owner of Paloma Clothing in Portland, Oregon, providing health insurance for his employees is not just the right thing to do—it makes his business more competitive and helps him retain valuable employees. Mike explains how the Affordable Care Act has allowed him to pick up more of the tab of his employees’ healthcare premiums, a key benefit that keeps his small store competitive with the big chains.

Check out our entire series of small business voices HERE, which includes small business owners weighing in on taxes, Obamacare, public lands, clean energy, and more.

These are the real voices of small business, unlike the National Federation of Independent Business. Though the group purports to represent the interests of small businesses, it often advocates against their interests, is funded by millions of dollars from Karl Rove’s secret money group Crossroads GPS, and spends most of its time attacking the Obama administration and running campaign attack ads targeting Democrats. NFIB was also the lead plaintiff in the partisan legal attacks on Obamacare, though thankfully its efforts failed at the Supreme Court.

NFIB is in the news today because it recently hosted a conference call with Mitt Romney, the audio of which leaked yesterday. On the call Romney urges employers to tell their employees who to vote, something the Koch brothers and other CEOs have been caught doing in recent weeks. You can listen to the shocking audio of the leaked call HERE.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

The Defense of Marriage Act was struck down by a federal appeals court — in an opinion written by an extremely conservative judge.

Despite court order, Ohio’s GOP Secretary of State is still cutting back on early voting.

Romney’s economic policy director was lobbying for Wall Street just three months ago.

Virginia health commissioner resigns in protest of new politically-motivated, restrictive regulations on abortion providers.

No, Mitt Romney’s sketchy tax plan still doesn’t add up.

Maryland voters appear set to approve both marriage equality and a DREAM Act.

Why won’t the Romney campaign say where he stands on equal pay laws?

A tale of two Romneys.

Romney’s bizarro version of equal rights.

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Mitt Has A Plan For Women


by

                Mitt Has A Plan For Women

During last night’s debate, Mitt Romney sure had a lot of opinions about women in the workplace. He seemed to think he was connecting with women voters. Do you agree?

Here’s the transcript of Romney from last night:

I had the — the chance to pull together a Cabinet and all the  applicants seemed to be men. And I — and I went to my staff, and I said,  how come all the people for these jobs are — are all men?

They  said, well, these are the people that have the qualifications. And I  said, well, gosh, can’t we — can’t we find some — some women that are  also qualified?

And — and so we — we took a  concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could  be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of  women’s groups and said, can you help us find folks? And I brought us  whole binders full of — of women. I was proud of the fact that after I  staffed my cabinet and my senior staff that the University of New York  in Albany did a survey of all 50 states and concluded that mine had more   women in senior leadership positions than any other state in America.

Now,  one of the reasons I was able to get so many good women to be part of  that team was because of our recruiting effort, but number two, because I  recognized that if you’re going to have women in the workforce, that  sometimes they need to be more flexible. My chief of staff, for  instance, had two kids that were still in school. She said, I can’t be  here until 7:00 or 8:00 at night. I need to be able to get home at 5:00  so I can be there for — making dinner for my kids and being with them  when they get home from school. So we said, fine, let’s have a flexible  schedule so you can have hours that work for you.

I don’t know about you, but I’m insulted.

Related Stories:

Mitt’s Misogyny on Full Display During Debate

Top 10 #BindersFullOfWomen Responses

Top 5 Obama Punches from Debate 2

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Stephanie Cutter, BarackObama.com


Truth Team

If you watched Thursday night’s debate, I don’t need to tell you that Vice President Biden scored a decisive victory.
The Vice President brought facts and conviction to Danville, Kentucky, and Paul Ryan brought canned lines and empty promises. It turns out, facts and details matter — and it’s clear that with their total disregard for both, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan know their plans for this country are indefensible.
In case you know people who missed the debate, share some of the highlights with them:
The difference on taxes :  Ryan couldn’t explain how the Romney-Ryan tax plan wouldn’t hurt the middle class. That’s because it’s mathematically impossible to pay for their $5 trillion tax plan favoring the wealthiest without raising taxes on middle-class families. Watch the clip of Vice President Biden pointing this out, then watch the Vice President explaining the Obama-Biden tax plan— and be sure to share with others:

                                      

Medicare : Joe Biden :  laid out all the facts about the Obama-Biden plan to strengthen Medicare, and explained how the Romney-Ryan Medicare voucher plan would raise costs for seniors. Take a look, and let others know, too:

                                      

The middle class :  After the debate, one reporter called Vice President Biden “a passionate warrior for the middle class.” I think this clip shows exactly why.Check it out, and pass it along:

                                      

Afghanistan Ryan :  couldn’t explain their plan for our troops in Afghanistan because they don’t have one. The President has a clear plan to end the war in Afghanistan in 2014, while Romney has been all over the map. Listen to the Vice President explain, and pass it along:

                                      

Women’s health :  When Ryan was asked to ensure women that their right to choose would be protected, he refused to answer because they wouldn’t. Vice President Biden, on the other hand, gave a heartfelt explanation of his views on women’s health. Take a look, and share with others:

                                      

Vice President Biden : has spent a lifetime fighting for the middle class, and he and President Obama will continue doing so in their second term.
Thanks for doing everything you can to make sure that happens.
Thanks,
Stephanie
P.S. — This morning, we released a new campaign ad narrated by Morgan Freeman that highlights what President Obama has done to move America forward, get folks back to work, and strengthen the middle class. Take a look, and share it with everyone you know.

 
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a message from Tammy Duckworth


I’ve spent the past five months touring the district and listening to my neighbors tell me what they want in their next representative.

I’ve heard from seniors concerned about preserving Medicare and parents worried about the cost of higher education. I’ve heard from men and women about Republican attacks on women’s health. And everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve heard from hard-working Americans about their desire for a fair shot at achieving the American Dream.

I want to share with you this look back at what I’ve learned:

– Tammy

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designed to intimidate voters …

1 Comment

Billboards like this are popping up in Black neighborhoods.Cleveland Voter Fraud BillboardDemand Clear Channel remove them.

Join Us

 

It’s one of the nastiest voter suppression schemes we’ve seen: This week, in Black and Latino neighborhoods in Ohio and Wisconsin, an anonymous group started running outrageous billboards that try to scare people away from voting.1

Allowing an anonymous advertiser to create an atmosphere of fear around voting just as the early voting period begins is unacceptable. Please join us in demanding that Clear Channel immediately take down these offensive and dangerous billboards (and please ask your friends and family to do the same):

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/billboards

These billboards are clearly designed to intimidate voters, and they’re part of a coordinated right-wing attack on the voting rights of people of color. The billboards are hosted by Clear Channel, a media conglomerate owned by Bain Capital — the same company that Mitt Romney co-founded.2 Clear Channel has tried to avoid any responsibility for the ads, saying that the group who paid for them is responsible for the content. But Clear Channel has rejected billboard ads many times in the past.3,4,5

The myth of widespread “voter fraud” has been used to justify voter suppression efforts again and again. As a result, we’ve seen new restrictions on voting and voter registration, including discriminatory voter ID laws and voter roll purges. The fact is that voter fraud rarely occurs. In fact, voter fraud happens as infrequently as death by lightning.6

Clear Channel syndicates some of our country’s most conservative commentators like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, and now it is allowing the myth of voter fraud to intimidate Black and Latino voters. Please join us in demanding that Clear Channel immediately remove the billboards, it only takes a moment.

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/billboards

Thanks and Peace,

— Rashad, Arisha, Dani,Charlene, Aimee and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team     October 13th, 2012

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

References

1.  “Ohio voter fraud billboard accused of intimidating black voters,” The Grio, 10-05-12, http://thegrio.com/2012/10/05/ohio-voter-fraud-billboard-accused-of-intimidating-black-voters

2. “Does Romney’s Bain Capital Support Voter Suppression,” Daily Kos, 10-10-12, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/10/1142856/-Does-Romney-s-Bain-Capital-Support-Voter-Suppression

3. “Clear Channel Rejects Times Square Peace Billboard Timed for RNC,” Democracy Now,07-14-2004 http://www.democracynow.org/2004/7/14/clear_channel_rejects_times_square_peace

4. “St. Pete Pride gay-themed digital billboards rejected by Clear Channel Outdoor,” 10 News http://http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1854?t=10&akid=2684.1174326.96ev6N

5. “Clear Channel Rejects Billboard Highlighting Heartland Institute’s Corporate Funders,”Forecast the Facts, 05-17-2012 http://forecastthefacts.org/press/releases/2012/5/17/clear-channel-rejects-billboard-highlighting-heart/

6. “The Myth of Voter Fraud,” Washington Post, 03-29-07, http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/the_myth_of_voter_fraud/