Commentary

New SEIU and Priorities USA Action Ads En Español: ‘VOTEMOS’ Vote Against Romney


WASHINGTON, DC –(ENEWSPF)–September 14, 2012.  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Priorities USA Action today launched a series of new Spanish-language ads to highlight Mitt Romney’s extreme positions on issues important to Hispanic families.

The new television and radio ads are part of the groups’ $4 million campaign running in key battleground states of Colorado, Florida and Nevada. Other ads from the campaign focus on Mitt Romney’s own words about Medicare, immigration, housing foreclosures and the middle class.

“On every issue that matters most to Latino families, Mitt Romney has demonstrated that he is not on our side,” said Eliseo Medina, SEIU International Secretary Treasurer. “The proof is in his own words. He has mislabeled hardworking Latino men and women and embraced harsh policies that are out of line with not only Latino families but all hardworking families. And the proof is also in who he surrounds himself with, noted anti-immigrant politicians Janet Brewer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Pete Wilson, Kris Kobach, and now Rep. Steve King. As we say in Spanish “Dime con quién andas y te digo quién eres.” Latinos know who’s side he’s on and it’s not ours.”

“Mitt Romney’s policies contradict the notion that as President, he would ‘help’ middle class families. Romney would slash education and job opportunities, turn Medicare into vouchercare and raise taxes on middle class families by $2,000, all while giving a tax break to multi-millionaires like himself,” said Bill Burton, senior strategist for Priorities USA Action. “Latino families across the country cannot count on Romney to put their interests above his own.”

The ads will begin running this week in Colorado, Nevada and Florida.

SCRIPT: SEIU/COPE & Priorities USA Action Ad in Spanish

“VOTEMOS”–FLORIDA

ANNCR: Mitt Romney has said clearly what he would do in case of winning:

ROMNEY: First, I’m gonna cut Programs…

…If I were elected and congress passed the Dream Act, would I veto it? and the answer is yes

Voter 1: Mitt Romney is a person that looks only for his interest and his party’s interest, not for the people.

ROMNEY: I’m not concerned about the very poor…

Voter 2: He wants to take away from those of us who don’t have, to give it to those who have…

ROMNEY: I like being able to fire people who provide services to me….

ANNCR: Mitt Romney made millions while the companies he directed fired thousands of workers….

Voter 3: If Romney wins the election, it would stall the nation, it would send it backwards indeed by doing the same things that haven’t worked before.

Voter 4: Perhaps we don’t have the wealth he has, but we have dignity, we have values, we have the tools in our very hands….Our voice must be heard.

SEIU Cope is responsible for the content of this advertisement.

“VOTEMOS”–COLORADO and NEVADA

ANNCR: In his own words, Mitt Romney has told us that we cross the border looking for handouts…

And that he would veto the DREAM Act…

He’s said he’s not concerned about the very poor….

And his policies? He would end Medicare as we know it.

On top of that, he earned millions while firing workers and sending jobs overseas….

The question for our community is: What kind of values are those?

Voter 1: How am I to vote for someone who doesn’t worry about me?

Voters 2&3: We believe that he’s very bad for the Latino community.

Voter 4: I don’t think I could ever vote for Romney.

Voter 5: Absolutely not, I’d never support someone with that type of thinking, values or theories.

Voter 6: No, I wouldn’t vote for Romney because he would affect my future.

Voters 7&8: I wouldn’t vote for Romney

Voter 9: Vote for Romney? Absolutely not.

Voter 10: Absolutely not. I would never vote for Romney.

Voter 11: I can’t vote for Romney.

Voters 2&3: I wouldn’t vote for Romney.

ANNCR: Haven’t we heard enough? Let us vote against Mitt Romney’s agenda.

SEIU Cope is responsible for the content of this advertising.

Background:

While speaking in Keene, New Hampshire, Mitt Romney said that many people come to America “looking for a free deal.” In September 2011, Mitt Romney said, “My own view is, you know, a lot of people just come here, or come across, or walk across the border, that have no skill, no education, and are looking for a free deal.” [Video]

Mitt Romney says he would veto DREAM Act, which provides children of immigrants who complete college a path toward citizenship. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney has pledged to veto the so-called DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants if they attend college or serve in the military. Romney made the comments during a late campaign stop New Year’s Eve in northwestern Iowa. “The answer is yes,” he said, when asked if he would veto the legislation if Congress passes it and he is in the White House.” [Los Angeles Times, 1/1/12]

S.C. Fox Debate: Romney Reiterated Promise to Veto the DREAM Act. According to Huffington Post, “Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney doubled down on Monday on his opposition to the DREAM Act, a bill that would aid undocumented young people and that is heavily supported by the Latino community. ‘I’ve indicated I would veto the DREAM Act if provisions included in that act say that people who were here illegally — if they go to school here long enough, if they get a degree here — then they can become permanent residents,’ he said during a GOP debate in South Carolina, in response to a question about how his immigration views would play with Latino voters. ‘I think that’s a mistake.’ Romney previously said he would veto the bill to provide legal status to some undocumented immigrants as long as they came to the U.S. as children, kept a clean criminal record and either attended college or joined the military.” [Huffington Post, 01/16/12]

ABC News: “Romney: Campaign ‘Not Concerned About the Very Poor'” [ABC, 2/1/12]

Mitt Romney said he would sign the House budget authored by Paul Ryan. ABC News reported that “On health care, Romney responded ‘yes’ when asked if he would sign the plan written by Rep. Paul Ryan that would restructure Medicare if it reached his desk as President, but quickly added that he would be offering his own plan.” [ABC News, 6/2/11]

Wall Street Journal: GOP Plan Would “Essentially End Medicare” According to the Wall Street Journal, “The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11]

USA Today Editorial: Republican Plan “Wants to Scrap Medicare As We Know It.” According to USA Today, “As part of a Republican spending proposal for 2012 and beyond, the House Budget Committee chairman wants to scrap Medicare as we know it and have seniors buy private insurance, beginning with new retirees in 2022.” [USA Today Editorial, 4/11/11]

The Republican budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan would raise healthcare costs immediately for today’s seniors. According to National Journal, “But the proposal would also repeal last year’s health care law, which means reopening a coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription-drug benefit that the statute closed. The gap, commonly called the “doughnut hole,” requires seniors to pay 100 percent of any prescription costs after the annual total reaches $2,840 and until it hits $4,550. Those who spend more or less have at least three-quarters of the costs covered. Under the 2010 health law, Medicare will pay 7 percent of the cost of generic drugs and 50 percent on name-brand pharmaceuticals; by 2020, the doughnut hole will be closed. If Congress were to pass Ryan’s plan and repeal the law, as House Republicans want, the 3 million to 4 million seniors left in the doughnut hole each year would immediately face significant out-of-pocket costs. They and all other Medicare beneficiaries would also lose access to a host of preventive-care benefits in the health care law, including free wellness visits to physicians, mammograms, colonoscopies, and programs to help smokers quit.” [National Journal, 6/6/11]

The House budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan includes the largest cuts to Pell grants in history. According to the Center for American Progress, “If implemented, this would be the largest reduction in Pell Grants in history, more than eight times higher than the previous record, which was a $100 reduction in the maximum award in 1994.” [Center for American Progress, 4/5/11]

Mitt Romney’s tax plan would give a tax cut to those earning more than $200,000 and raise taxes on the remaining 95% of Americans. According to the Tax Policy Center, “Because taxpayers above $200,000 as a group have received a net tax cut, revenue neutrality requires that taxpayers below $200,000–about 95 percent of the population–experience a tax increase. If this increased burden is shared equally among all households earning less than $200,000, after-tax income among individuals in this group would decrease by (on average) 1.2 percent (an average tax increase of $500 per household). Without additional details about how specific tax expenditures below this threshold would be curtailed, it is impossible to say which households and which income groups would experience the tax increase.” [Tax Policy Center, 8/1/12]

New York Post: “There’s little question he made a fortune from businesses he helped destroy.” In an article that discusses Mitt Romney’s private sector career, Post reporter Josh Kosman writes, “While I have not investigated all of Romney’s Bain investments and there may be cases where he made money and improved businesses, there’s little question he made a fortune from businesses he helped destroy.” [New York Post, 2/19/11]

New York Times: Romney Took Over Companies and Structured Deals “So It Was Difficult for the Firm and Its Executives to Ever Really Lose.” According to the New York Times, “But an examination of what happened when companies Bain controlled wound up in bankruptcy highlights just how different Bain and other private equity firms are from typical denizens of the real economy, from mom-and-pop stores to bootstrapping entrepreneurial ventures. Bain structured deals so that it was difficult for the firm and its executives to ever really lose, even if practically everyone else involved with the company that Bain owned did, including its employees, creditors and even, at times, investors in Bain’s funds.” [New York Times, 6/22/12]

Associated Press: Romney and Bain Made Millions While New Hampshire Workers Saw Their Jobs Shipped Overseas. According to the Associated Press, “More than two decades ago, Mitt Romney’s business venture came to town with a bounty of highly anticipated manufacturing jobs. The new plant, just past the gas station off Interstate 85, needed skilled workers to churn out thousands of photo albums. Four years later, the HolsonBurns Group Inc. — the company controlled by Romney’s Bain Capital LLC — closed the factory and laid off about 150 workers. Some jobs were sent north, where months later many of those were also eliminated. Other operations went overseas. But Bain walked away with millions in profits.” [Associated Press, 12/19/11]

LINK “VOTEMOS”: http://action.seiu.org/page/content/09102012/

Source: http://www.seiu.org


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