Romney would take US backwards: Democratic leaders

Charlotte (North Carolina):  Seeking second term for US President Barack Obama, the top Democratic leadership launched a scathing attack against his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, stating that the latter, if elected, would take the country backwards. “The decision we have to make this November is simple. Do we keep moving forward or do we join the Romney-Ryan retreat? Barack Obama and Joe Biden have been working hard to help middle-class Americans make it in America. “Let’s send them back to the White House and keep on moving forward,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said in his address at the Democratic National Convention. New York Senator, Charles Schumer said that Romney’s plans would make things worse for the middle class. [caption id=“attachment_445558” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AP[/caption] “The last Republican president gave huge tax cuts to millionaires that exploded our deficits. Mitt Romney not only wants to make those tax cuts permanent, he wants to add more tax breaks for the wealthy that would make our deficit even bigger,” he said. Speakers after speakers on the second day of the convention explained how Romney as the US President would not be good for the country as a whole. “Under the Romney-Ryan budget, education would be cut, cut by as much as 20 percent,” Education Secretary, Arne Duncan said. Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy warned that under a Romney Administration, Medicare would become a voucher programme, effectively ending the guarantee of health coverage for millions of senior citizens. “Let’s be clear. Let’s be clear. It (Romney-Ryan budget) would shred the safety net that protects the middle class and those striving to be in the middle class. It would undermine FDR’s New Deal, unravel Harry Truman’s Fair Deal and leave us with Mitt Romney’s raw deal,” he said. Elizabeth Warren, candidate for US Senate, alleged that Romney wants to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires. “But for middle-class families who are hanging on by their fingernails? His plans will hammer them with a new tax hike of up to 2,000 dollars. Mitt Romney wants to give billions in breaks to big corporations—but he and Paul Ryan would pulverize financial reform, voucher-ise Medicare, and vaporise Obamacare,” she said. The Democrats even roped in David Foster, a former employee at a Company controlled by Romney’s Bain Capital. “When Romney and Bain took over the mill, they loaded it up with millions in debt—and within months, they used some of that borrowed money to pay themselves millions. Within a decade, the debt kept growing and was so large the company was forced into bankruptcy,” he said. “Why are we having to fight in 2012 against politicians who went to end access to birth control? It’s like we woke up on a bad episode of “Mad Men” because when Mitt Romney says he’ll get rid of Planned Parenthood and turn the clock back on a century of progress, it has real consequences for the 3 million patients who depend on Planned Parenthood each year,” Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America said. Elizabeth Ann “Libby” Bruce said when Romney and Paul Ryan make threats about getting rid of Planned Parenthood funding, it is clear that they have not given a thought to women like her with limited resources who are sick and scared. “Governor Romney’s plan is really just one word: pa’trás—backward. We need to move forward—pa’lante! We need to re-elect our President Obama,” Cristina Saralegui, journalist, actress and talk show host said. PTI