Michigan Democrats Blast Romney Opinion Article
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Ex- Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says in a newspaper opinion piece that he is a "son of Detroit."
State Democrats say he only is after votes in Michigan and point to another Romney column several years ago that was headlined: "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."
Michigan holds its Republican presidential primary Feb. 28.
U.S. Reps. John. Dingell and Sander Levin, state Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer and ex-Gov. Jennifer Granholm criticized Romney's Detroit News article Tuesday afternoon during a conference call with reporters.
The article criticizes President Barack Obama and the government bailout for General Motors and Chrysler, calling the deal "crony capitalism on a grand scale."
Granholm said there were no free rides, countering Romney's claim that the president rewarded union bosses instead of standing up to them.
"President Obama demanded exraordinary concessions and shared sacrifices from labor and managment," Granholm said. "The UAW agreed to freezes on wages and behefits, this after a tiered wage agreement had been adopted."
Granholm said that instead of supporting the state, Romney "stabbed us in the back during our darkest hour. And we are not going to forget it and we're not going to let him forget it either."
Meantime, Romney released a new TV ad Tuesday touting his Michigan roots.
(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
