Romney Blasts Obama's 'Old-School Liberal Policies' On Lansing Campaign Stop
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Saying the "old-school" liberal policies of the past are not the answer for the challenges of the present, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke before a group of supporters in Lansing Tuesday, during his first visit to Michigan since winning the primary election here in February.
In what has become a standard stump speech, Romney said it's time for "new ideas, and a new direction" for America. He said the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama "takes its orders from union bosses."
"Liberalism once taught that unions would ensure lasting prosperity for workers. Instead, they too often contributed to disappearing companies, and disappearing industries, and disappearing jobs," said Romney.
"But like many politicians of the past, the president takes his marching orders from union bosses, rails against right to work states, fights to win union elections by eliminating the vote by secret ballot, and even denies an American company the right to build a factory in the American state of its choice."
Romney said President Obama is hindering an economic recovery by trying to "expand the welfare state". He invoked Bill Clinton and said Obama should be more of a "new Democrat" like the former president.
"President Clinton said the era of big government was over. President Obama brought it back with a vengeance. Government at all levels now constitutes 38-percent of the economy, and if Obamacare is installed, it will reach almost 50-percent," Romney said.
"President Clinton made efforts to reform welfare as we knew it. President Obama is trying tirelessly to expand the welfare state to all Americans, with promises of more programs, more benefits and more spending," he said.
As part of his campaign message Obama has argued that Romney is the one who would take the country back to the past and to Bush administration policies. Obama and other Democrats say those policies didn't work and blame them for causing the recession.
- View the complete text of Romney's speech at Lansing Community College's Dart Auditorium -
Romney grew up in southeast Michigan, the son of former auto executive and Gov. George Romney. Michigan voters have gone for a Democratic presidential candidate for the past 24 years.
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