Last updated on February 10th, 2013 at 04:46 am
Here is the video of President Obama’s full speech in Virginia:
Obama said,
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The other night he ruled out asking millionaires and billionaires to pay a even a dime more in taxes. He said there’s no way he’d ever close the loophole that gives oil companies billions each year in corporate welfare. Any tax breaks that move jobs and profits overseas, he’s never heard of such a thing. Who knew? Who knew?
When he was asked what he’d actually do to cut spending and reduce the deficit, his big example was to go after public television. So for all you moms and kids out there, don’t worry somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. Rounding them up, Elmo’s gotta watch out too. Governor Romney is going to let Wall Street run wild, but he is going to bring the hammer down on Sesame Street. It makes perfect sense.
It is telling that the big takeaway moment from the debate was Mitt Romney’s plan to kill PBS. If the media had been paying attention, they would know that this is promise that Romney has been making for months. With the unemployment rate falling to 7.8%, any post debate bounce for Romney could be short lived, but the impression that he is a heartless corporate raider who would kill off government funding for Big Bird, Elmo, and Sesame Street reinforces the perception of who Mitt Romney really is.
The president was quick to point out the complete absurdity of the idea that Romney is going to roll back the meager regulations that have been put in place after Wall Street caused the financial crisis, and instead target public television.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting receives $445 million from the federal government. Eighty nine percent of that money goes to public television stations that employ 21,000 people and add $1 billion a year to the economy.
The government spends $445 million on PBS, and more than doubles our money in economic growth at the local level every year. PBS isn’t waste. It’s smart spending.
If Mitt Romney was any good at business, even he could see that more than doubling your money every year is a good deal.
But Romney isn’t interested in a good deal for America, Republican ideology tells them that PBS is wasteful government spending so it must go.
Republicans claim that raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires won’t help pay down the debt, but Romney and the GOP claim that cutting PBS is a way to lower our deficit. It is absurd, and it doesn’t make sense.
The Obama campaign has realized that they have to point these absurdities out to the American people. Romney made a huge mistake by promising to kill PBS in front of the American people, and President Obama is going to use that error to show voters who Mitt Romney really is.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
