Mitt Romney's latest attack, an effort to capitalize on conservative resentment of those on government assistance, falsely accuses President Obama of dropping work requirements for welfare recipients. And it doesn't mention that Romney himself supported doing something similar as governor of Massachusetts.
"On July 12th, President Obama quietly announced a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements,” a new ad from the Romney campaign tells voters. “Under Obama’s plan, you wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job. They just send you your welfare check." (You can watch the ad above.)
Romney followed that up Tuesday by taking the attack to the campaign trail. TPM reports that after praising welfare reform at an event in Illinois, he declared: “President Obama has tried to reverse that accomplishment by taking the work out of welfare.”
This is a lie. Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services did indeed announce a policy shift which lets states “test alternative and innovative strategies, policies, and procedures that are designed to improve employment outcomes for needy families.” But HHS made very clear that states must show their approach is better at moving people from welfare to work.
"HHS will only consider approving waivers relating to the work participation requirements that make changes intended to lead to more effective means of meeting the work goals of TANF," the department wrote in announcing the move.
If a state proposed a system in which "they just send you your welfare check," it clearly wouldn't be approved.
Even if it weren't false, the Romney attack would still be stunningly hypocritical. Back in 2005, Romney joined other GOP governors in urging Congress (pdf) to grant states exactly this kind of flexibility in meeting the goals of welfare reform.
“Increased waiver authority, allowable work activities, availability of partial work credit and the ability to coordinate state programs are all important aspects of moving recipients from welfare to work,” Romney and his fellow governors wrote.
The ad is the second demonstrably false attack to come from Team Romney in the last three days. Over the weekend, the campaign charged that a lawsuit filed in Ohio by the Obama campaign aimed to "undermine" voting rights for members of the military. In fact, the lawsuit asked a judge to restore extended early voting for all citizens, after Republicans last year changed the law so that it applied only to those in the military. Should the lawsuit succeed, military voters would be unaffected.
Late Update, 2:58pm: White House press secretary Jay Carney slammed Romney’s welfare attack as “categorically false” and “blatantly dishonest.”
Late Late Update, 5:05pm: And the Obama campaign, echoing Lean Forward, called the attack "hypocritical and false."
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I don't know which is worse, the original Conservative lie, or, all of the supporting enthusiasm, from the peanut gallery, that follows. Still, the Right refuses to provide a valid, reasonable and do-able, jobs proposal. Still, the GOP wages war on women and voters. Still, the Republicans are showing that they believe that governing should be doing nothing. Pathetic.
I'm still waiting for romney to come clean. All we see is tap dancing and reticule of the President. When he does say something it is give to the rich and take from the poor. Trying to make the poor the villains.
They use loop holes. and rip the system and others in the process .They call these types "charlatan's" definition is a fake; one who falsly claims to have certain knowledge or skill. CEO's in companies ,banks,wall st.etc are another example of what kind of leadership that still exist to this day! Imagine a guy like this in the "big chair" on top of what's already going on in the world today. Mitt romney has'nt a clue what welfare is, let alone giving a job to somebody to shine his shoes.!
everything about MUTT IS FALSE, and lame is what he is.
Excellent post Fred Orth!
Don't forget that this is just another smokescreen to cover up his lack of releasing previous tax returns *and* if he ever does finally do so, they will all look like a CIA document.
Sooooo.........Why wont Obama unseal his school transcripts. What is he hiding.?
Has nothing to do with todays politics, just another one of you obstructionist post to this vine. Talke about the subject.....romney and warfare on welfare!
What does your first comment above have to do with the subject at hand? Practice what you preach.
Sorry but that Romneyhood tap dance is what is behind Romneyhoods attacks on welfare. You like Romneyhood are full of falsehoods and long dead Reagan welfare queen nonsense. Funny how first you whine that people on welfare just sit around the house watching cable TV then you whine that Obama has taken the work first nonsense out of welfare meaning the welfare people are not sitting on their sofa's but have to actively seek work, but as few jobs are around, as you also whine about, states are getting a chance to make up programs to get people off welfare then you whine and lie about that. tea bagged republicans whine like little school girls who didn't get to be queen of the dance.
Pres.Obama will release his school transcripts when Willard show's us how much he "did'nt" pay in taxe's.Also Willard should release his college transcript's. I would like to see his grade's in barbering class,since the bully boy liked cutting hair so much in High School.Or how about his record when he was a highway patrolman or was he a sherrif or maybe a policeman?Wonder if he still has his uniform and siren.
Did Romney's father say that school transcripts were required to run for office? He did say that presidential candidates should show their tax records for at least 10 years. Hmmmm, school transcripts prove what????
Romney needs to release his tax returns for at least ten years with 20 years being better to the national press corps. Romney is running on his business experience for our most public office: President of the United States. Romney has admitted to having overseas tax shelters in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and Switzerland. The Romney resume then are his tax returns. I don't judge people too much by what they say but by what they actually do. So the public will get more insight into a Romney presidency when we all get a handle on why Romney won't come clean by releasing his tax returns. Romney also needs to explain why he prefers to keep his money in foreign places rather than in the United States like all other Americans in the bottom 99% have to do.
We also have to be honest about welfare and other forms of government assistance. We have 47 million Americans on food stamps/SNAP or other forms of public assistance for a damn good reason. Our country has not been producing jobs for over ten years. The middle class has been shrinking since 1973 in terms of disposable income. There are about two million "99 week" long term unemployed who will be losing their unemployment insurance benefits this year. So where are all those jobs we were supposed to have by now? The House has failed to pass the American Jobs Act when President Obama asked for it back in August, 2011. The American Jobs Act would have created or saved 2 million jobs. The small business tax credit bill was filibustered by the GOP Senators this July, 2012. The small business tax credit bill would have created one million jobs. So three million jobs right now would reduce our unemployment rate to 6%. So let the GOP hypocrites bitch, moan, howl, and complain like rabid dogs, they are responsible for the loss of three million jobs. Instead, we will have three million more welfare cases all across America. So much for GOP's 2010 "jobs, jobs, and more jobs" agenda. Instead we get social issues like abortion, family planning, and other distractions like voter suppression and the GOP's war on women.
Why is the media and other liberals so concerned with Romneys tax returns? Does he do something different than other investors, including Congress members, and individuals in the media, even Pelosi? Personally, I doubt it. Is the anti-Romney crowd really interested in his taxes or are they just playing the "Gotcha" game?
Romney is running on his business record so we need to see his tax returns for at least ten years with 20 being better. Its up to Mitt Romney to prove that he honestly pays his taxes and has nothing to hide. Why does he have his money overseas when he should have it here in America? I don't care about other Congressman because Romney is running for President. Presidents have to adhere to higher standards. If Romney can not handle the stress of releasing his tax returns, how can he handle a crisis situation that could lead to a war when all the options are bad and nearly everyone will either look at him with scorn or hatred or fear? If Romney can not release his tax returns for ten or better yet 20 years because its too much stress for him than he needs to quit the race now. Because, he is unfit for the office of president. Syria, Iran, North Korea, and other places like Yemen or nasty terrorist groups like the Haqanni or al Qaida networks are not problems for a wimp like Romney to be in charge of.
Sounds like youre saying you consider Romney a crook from speculation untill he proves he is not.
Actually, Rex, I'm concerned that he hasn't the grace to simply thank someone for a plate of cookies! That's when I knew he couldn't handle international issues. Here's the other problem (one of many) - you write out a thoughtful, verifiable response to an article, and on a somewhat intellectual site, you might hope that someone with an opposing view may respond likewise. You may have already noticed, it doesn't happen. And these guys want to rule the world...
thereugoagain, Rex didn't assume he had done illegal transactions. We want to know in what ways he may have taken advantage of the system. We want to know what he paid in taxes. We know he has off-shore accounts - what does this say about his willingness to contribute to the success of American institutions? How has he (legally) used loopholes to rip off American taxpayers - if he has? What was the rate of taxes he paid? Since many of us, even at the lower ends of the pay scale over the years have paid about 25%, we have a right to know that. He will be able to influence tax policy, we want to know what his values are? So he has business experience - we already know that he made millions, while he eliminated jobs and pocketed millions from the loss of the jobs and the workers' pensions. Showing his taxes is as simple as saying "thanks" for a plate of cookies. And just as important.
dem&glad All good points and made with integrity. I do point out...and is close to some of my points, your phrase "if he has?" I think thats important.
IM poor and I havnt paid taxes in the last 8 years. Well they took payroll taxes out of my check but I got more than I paid in because of the EIC. Does that mean Im a bad person as well. Now that Im disabled I want be paying any taxes either. At least Mitt did pay 3million in 2010. Thats more than the majority of us will pay in our lifetime.
High, you do realize that Romney calls the Ryan budge "marvelous?" Your disability payments will be reduced if Romney wins. You will also find Medicaid/Medicare severely reduced or eliminated. I, too, am disabled, and I am getting more than I put in, but that is not because I didn't work until I was disabled. I contributed a good portion of my income to taxes, happily. Mitt should have been happy to pay his.
Obama’s Trick to Get Around Work Requirements
Today the Obama Administration issued a new directive stating that the traditional TANF work requirements can be waived or overridden by a legal device called the section 1115 waiver authority under the Social Security law (42 U.S.C. 1315).
Section 1115 states that “the Secretary may waive compliance with any of the requirements” of specified parts of various laws. But this is not an open-ended authority: Any provision of law that can be waived under section 1115 must be listed in section 1115 itself. The work provisions of the TANF program are contained in section 407 (entitled, appropriately, “mandatory work requirements”). Critically, this section, as well as most other TANF requirements, are deliberately not listed in section 1115; they are not waiveable.
In establishing TANF, Congress deliberately exempted or shielded nearly all of the TANF program from the section 1115 waiver authority. They did not want the law to be rewritten at the whim of Health and Human Services (HHS) bureaucrats. Of the roughly 35 sections of the TANF law, only one is listed as waiveable under section 1115. This is section 402.
Section 402 describes state plans—reports that state governments must file to HHS describing the actions they will undertake to comply with the many requirements established in the other sections of the TANF law. The authority to waive section 402 provides the option to waive state reporting requirements only, not to overturn the core requirements of the TANF program contained in the other sections of the TANF law.
The new Obama dictate asserts that because the work requirements, established in section 407, are mentioned as an item that state governments must report about in section 402, all the work requirements can be waived. This removes the core of the TANF program; TANF becomes a blank slate that HHS bureaucrats and liberal state bureaucrats can rewrite at will.
You probably know by now that these are changes that Mitt requested when he was governor.
We need to remember that the GOP has obstructed the American Jobs Act and the small business tax credit bill that would have created or saved an estimated three million jobs in our economy. President Obama asked for the American Jobs Act last year but the GOP House did not even take it up for a vote. So we have a situation where there are roughly three unemployed people for each job. Where are those GOP supply side jobs with ten years of the Bush tax cuts and record profits of $2 trillion last year and equal profits expected this year? I guess the bottom line is that GOP supply side economics is nothing but a sick joke. Vote Obama/Biden 2012.
Re, great post. Romney cares nothing for the poor and middle class. Many women who receive welfare checks have no car and have to work at low paying jobs which do not pay for child care. What are they supposed to do? Should they leave their children alone, get on a bus to some minimum wage job that does not even pay the rent? People do not "get" what it is like to be poor. I fed many poor at St. Vincent de Paul's. It was heartbreaking.
1 in 5 children in this country go to bed hungry. That's a moral tragedy. No one should EVER have to live like this!!
If Ann Romney had to live this way for just one month, she'd see things a whole lot differently.
Obama worked with the poor in Chicago. He has a better perspective. The Romneys are clueless and could care less.
We need to remember that the GOP has obstructed the American Jobs Act and the small business tax credit bill that would have created or saved an estimated three million jobs in our economy
The last jobs bill obama sent to the house received zero votes, none, 0, not even the democrats voted for it.
Why do liberals always post 1/2 truths, twisted facts, bull$hit, and just plan gibberish all the time?
What do you mean "only a liberal woud ask such a questions?" Cons are excellent at insulting and criticizing, but where is the response? All you seem to have are knee-jerk reactions.
The point is that because employers are allowed to pay wages that do not support a family, some families receive subsidies (thus taxpayers are subsidizing cheap employers). Customers create jobs. Pay existing workers a wage compatible with the standard of living, and more jobs will follow.
dem, that's all you'll ever get out of our right wing trolls. They will never give a straight answer. Just insult, name calling and anything else to disrupt. That's their purpose in life. I, and some others have most of the clowns on ignore. They're not worth responding to.
Rex, you can't fix stupid here with these trolls. They only know hatred and because Obama is black is why they believe fake news and blowhard rush. I suggest everyone ignore these trolls.
7.5--Who's calling names? Did you read your own post? Typical
XEP, your comments aren't really worth a reply, but I can't resist before I put you on "ignore." Why would you talk about another human being like that, and think that you and the people who are like you are qualified to make decisions about this country. The people who govern are supposed to represent ALL their constituents (listen up, Con Congresspeople). Yes, sometimes society has to pay for people's mistakes, but the cost of not extends far beyond the money. How we deal with the poorest members of society defines who we are as a people. And with all the "deals" we give the rich??
Insulting a single mom because she screwed the wrong guy! Why do I get the feeling you might be one of those wrong guys??
We keep hearing about what Romney and people like him made - he has never "made" anything, but money. It is workers who make the parts, who serve the coffee, who sell the goods. And the person who waits on my table with a smile, who makes a part that doesn't break the second time you use it, who answers my questions knowledgably and politely, who gets to my house in two minutes if I have to call the fire or police, who teaches my kids correct information (listen up Texas and Louisiana) and encourages respect and self-confidence, who answers the phone and immediately directs me to the person I need to talk to, who take loving care of the babes in their day care, who, in other words, make our lives and communities better, they are worth a living wage. The better off they are, the better off I am.
You sound like a sadly bitter person, like many of your pals who are on this and many other sites. You don't seem to know what compassion feels like, possibly because you live in a culture that does not value it. Maybe no one has shown you compassion in your life. I and many of the rest of us do know what it feels like. You might try expanding your horizons a bit, hang out a little with a different kind of people, get over yourself.
Lord knows what George Bush and Dick Chaney did to the economy and country during their tenor as Commander in Chief. All they did was put us in record debt more than this nation has ever experienced before. You can say all you want to about the Democrats and Bill Clinton, but under his leadership the national debt was balanced for the first time since God knows when. Mitt Romney is about the most shadiest character to come into politics in a good while. He is continually changing his stance on different issues as the Republican peanut gallery wishes. Not much of a man in my book. He can't stand on his own two feet. The Right can lie all they want to, but Obama is getting my vote for sure come November.
Got that right, would hate to go back to those days of 5.4% unemployment.
If your guy gets in, it will be a Hell of a lot higher than that.
8.3% now, so yea ronmey will take over with the rate higher than 5.4%.
When Ojob-killer took office it was 7.6%.
The way I see it is, Dodd and Franks stupidity, cleverness or, what ever it was, set the ball rolling. Bush didnt see it coming or didnt know how to stop it if he did. Niether did Congress for that matter. So we did what we had to do and elected a new leader. After four years, Obama cant figure out what to do so, its time to elect another. We need someone with a background that can deal with our problem so, we try again. It doesnt matter if Dem or Republican, just fix this nightmare. Private companies do this all the time.
With Romney, the fix will be in and you'll get more nightmare than you can stand.
Maybe? we dont know that. But we do know Obamas plan is not working. So lets keep going. In Calif, Gov Davis had our state near the point of bankruptcy so, we recalled him and put Arnold Swarzenegger in. Arnie messed up things even worse so, we got rid of him and are now looking to see what Jerry Brown can do.
OBAMA has nothing to hide. don't you think that being under a microscope for the past 4 years that they would've found something if there was something to hide? BESIDES YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A COLLEGE GRADUATE TO BE PRESIDENT IDIOTS. GET OFF OF THIS DEAD HORSE.
This latest attack ad is a blatant, out and out LIE. Romney does nothing but lie. He contributes nothing to this election but lies. I am glad Clinton called Mitt out on it.
thereugoagain, I guess you'd rather have a damn liar for a president. That's how stupid Republicans are. We have a decent, moral, intelligent president and the right wants to replace him with a psychopathic liar!
Figures, any group that would put up Michele Bachmann has a pile of crap where their brains ought to be.
It's time we canceled welfare altogether...for the oil companies! 4 billion a year from our tax money to the richest people on earth!
I second that. And third it. And fourth it....
Come on Chris, The GOP and Romney, their "leader", want welfare for the rich. Welfare for the oil companies. Tax increases for the poor!! Big tax increase for the working class! No safety nets for the elderly and handicapped.
Romneyhood. What a stupid idea you Republicans are plugging into!
Slack, your comments don't make sense. I'm with you all, no loopholes for the oil companies. And renewable energy doesn't just mean oil and gas. I'm in Nebraska and they burn COAL to make electricity - say what? Finally, they are building wind turbines (which Romney doesn't want to support), but you'd think the word "solar" was foreign. The electric guy said they would do something when the cost of coal and electricity got too high (whatever that means). What about looking ahead?
This guy just doesn't know the meaning of the truth. And the laughable part is just about every reputable news organization has said that Romney's latest statement is a lie. It's like this guy's campaign is being run by the politically illiterate.
I actually think Romney just shot himself in the foot again!! Don't the wellfare recipients vote? If they are kept thinking they can get wellfare without ever working, I'd predict they come out in forces to vote for Obama!
The Romney campagne is just..."something"!
its easy to pick on a group to lay blame on.. hitler did it with the jews.. bush did it with the muslems..it takes the eye off the ball of what terrible things are being done to the less fortunate.. poor people dont have money to give to the super pacs.. what little money the unions will have left,is the only voice the middle class will have
Can't win with truth, rig an election, then spread a lie and repeat it over and over. Hitler said, “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it”
There has to be a certain point where the law steps in and says "ENOUGH!" Freedom of speech, a precious right for all Americans, is being completely and utterly bastardized by Wrongmy, his cronies, and the rest of the GOP.
Can't what they are doing, with so many obvious, 100% debunk-able, defaming lies be considered as illegal? Unconstitutional? Can't they be stopped? Put in prison, stoned, Something? Freedom of speech is one thing, intentionally lying to, well, everyone, there has to be a law somewhere that can stop them.