Friday, September 28, 2012

Vice President Biden speaks in Chesterfield, drawing contrasts with Mitt Romney


The always entertaining Vice President Joe Biden addressed supporters in Chesterfield County on Tuesday at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds[1] as part of the Obama administration’s ongoing effort to stem the influence of Mitt Romney in this predominantly Republican area.

Biden “hammered” away at a message that emphasized the importance of America’s middle class, saying that “if the 47 percent doesn’t make it, the country doesn’t make it.”

Biden unsurprisingly targeted the recent comments made by Mitt Romney at a private fundraiser in Florida. In the video that was released by Mother Jones,[2] Romney chides the “47 percent” of Americans who pay no federal income tax, claiming that this 47 percent view themselves as “victims.”

Biden asked, “When he [Mitt Romney] said it’s not my job to worry about these people – well, whose job is it?”

Biden went on to contrast his and President Obama’s views about America’s social safety net relative to Mitt Romney’s. The Vice President said he doesn’t think that access to Medicare, child-care tax credits, and Social Security creates a “culture of dependency.”

As a further political move to shift swayable voters away from the Romney camp, Biden told the crowd in Chesterfield that the current GOP is not “your father’s Republican Party.”

Indeed, it wasn’t so long ago that Republicans believed in the legitimacy of science, the importance of protecting America’s social safety net, as well as the importance of protecting the environment, even if it was a burdensome endeavor at times.[3]

The contemporary GOP however, spearheaded by Mitt Romney, appears indifferent to these issues at best. At worst, influential members of the GOP seem more than willing to dismantle portions of America’s social safety net, environmental protections, and even some of our country’s most prolific public scientific institutions.[4]

Whatever the reasons may be, today’s GOP has consistently made political moves that have alienated not insignificant segments of its base: women, the elderly, the working class, and others.

Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are a lot of things to a lot of people. But one thing Joe Biden, in particular, genuinely seems to be is a man who cares about Americans and America’s future. I cannot say the same for Mr. Romney.

No comments:

Post a Comment