by Jeff Johnson, Marathon Co Dems Chair
Four years ago the U.S. was losing 800,000 jobs per month, the worldwide financial system was on the brink of collapse, the Dow Jones had fallen to 6500, GM and Chrysler were on the edge of going out of business, we were involved in 2 wars and Osama Bin Laden was still alive. After almost four years with President Obama in the oval office the U.S. has added (on average) more than 150,000 new private sector jobs for 32 straight months, with financial reforms the banking system is stable, the Dow Jones is over 13,000, GM and Chrysler are making cars and money, we no longer have troops in Iraq and are scheduled to leave Afghanistan in 2014 and Osama Bin Laden is dead. To call the Obama presidency a failure is ludicrous.
Voters should also keep in mind that the leader of the Republican senate clearly stated in 2010 that their major objective was to make President Obama a one term president. At every turn they have obstructed jobs bills or any legislation that would help the country get moving again. In the Senate a record number of filibusters were used. In the Republican controlled House of Representatives they found time to vote 33 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act but no time for any jobs bills. The Republicans in charge made a conscious decision to do what they could to depress the economy all the while blaming the President for the slow recovery. Over the past two years they have put party before country time and time again.
How this presidential election is even close is baffling. Mitt Romney has literally taken every side of every issue, on camera, for all to see. I heard that the apple growers association has developed a revolutionary apple that has no core, they call it the Romney. The only thing that Mr. Romney has been consistent on is that he wants to be president. He has pandered shamelessly to whatever crowd he is in front of. He was pro choice, then pro life, but the reality is that he is multiple choice, and his option is always to tell people whatever they want to hear. When in front of rich donors paying $50,000 a plate at a fundraiser he writes off 47% of Americans as “takers”.
Over the past three weeks he has resurrected an old persona, “Moderate Mitt” the same man that ran for and won the governorship of Massachusetts. The polling data from Massachusetts shows him losing by 25 percentage points. Those that know him best, the citizens of Massachusetts, know better than to trust him in the oval office. That should say something to anyone that is paying attention. He is now running the same campaign that he ran in Massachusetts; it is a “trust me” campaign. It is not working in Massachusetts and it should not work in Wisconsin.
I urge support not just for President Obama but for legislators that will truly work for the citizens of this state. Tammy Baldwin and Pat Kreitlow will answer only to the citizens of this state and will work with the president to get the economy moving.
In state government I ask that Dennis Halkoski and Mandy Wright be elected so they can support an agenda that truly represents central Wisconsin. Dennis has spent his life in public service and is a dedicated and honest man that will represent us well. Mandy has spent her life listening, unlike her opponent. I prefer to be listened to rather than talked at.
