At least he’s consistent…
You have to hand it to Mitt Romney. While he may not be consistent on his political positions — okay, he’s NOT consistent on his political positions — at least he’s consistent in the fact that he’s willing to brazenly lie to the American people in order to win the Presidency.
His most recent lie — that Jeep is shipping jobs to China — is almost poetic in its hubris. It started with a statement on the campaign trail when it was added to his stump speech. He then doubled down and made a television ad out of it. He then tripled down and made a radio spot and with that one, he included GM as a domestic vehicle manufacturer shipping jobs to China. None of this is true.
And then the stuff hit the fan for Romney.
Both GM and Chrysler executives went through the roof.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne rejected an assertion from Romney that Chrysler is planning on moving Jeep production to China.“I feel obliged to unambiguously restate our position: Jeep production will not be moved from the United States to China,” Marchionne said in an email to employees Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by The Detroit News.
In fact, he said the company will continue to expand Jeep manufacturing in this country, noting the automaker has added thousands of jobs in the United States to build additional Jeep vehicles.
“Jeep is one of our truly global brands with uniquely American roots. This will never change. So much so that we committed that the iconic Wrangler nameplate, currently produced in our Toledo, Ohio, plant, will never see full production outside the United States,” Marchionne said. “Jeep assembly lines will remain in operation in the United States and will constitute the backbone of the brand. It is inaccurate to suggest anything different.“
Ralph Giles, Vice President of Product Design at Chrysler was even more blunt when Donald Trump amplified Romney’s lie:
@realDonaldTrump you are full of shit!
— Ralph Gilles (@RalphGilles) November 1, 2012
GM got in on the action, too:
“At this stage, we’re looking at Hubble telescope-length distances between campaign ads and reality. GM’s creating jobs in the U.S. and repatriating profits back to this country should be a source of bipartisan pride,” GM spokesman Greg Martin said. “We’ve clearly entered some parallel universe during these last few days. No amount of campaign politics at its cynical worst will diminish our record of creating jobs in the U.S. and repatriating profits back to this country.”
The headlines have been brutal and the stories even more brutal:
According to a Toledo Blade editorial, “the Republican nominee is conducting an exercise in deception about auto-industry issues that is remarkable even by the standards of his campaign.” The Youngstown Vindicator calls Romney’s ads “an insult to Ohioans” which suggests that Romney “believes the voters of Ohio are not sophisticated enough to separate fact from fiction.” Then there’s the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which uses descriptions like “flailing” and “recklessly” and “masterpiece of misdirection.”
The Obama campaign isn’t letting it go. They released this 30-second television spot that’s being run in Ohio and Michigan:
They also released this longer, 2-minute dismantling of Romney’s egregious lying:
Mitt Romney is finishing big. He’s using Michigan, a state he already kicked in the teeth and betrayed, as a pawn in his game of deceit. He’s disrespecting Ohio voters and Ohio is a state the Romney MUST win to have a chance at the White House.
Thankfully, he’s going out in grand style, sticking to his game plan and telling his biggest lie yet in the waning hours of the 2012 presidential campaign. President Obama and Vice President Biden have been talking about character and credibility a lot lately, reminding voters that you really want a President that you can trust to be honest and forthright.
Mitt Romney has proved that he has neither. Right to the bitter end.
