Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney
launched a concerted push Wednesday to depict President Obama as hostile to
small business, using the infamous snippet from one of Obama’s speeches now
known in political shorthand as “You Didn’t Build That.”
The president’s campaign countered with a
new television ad saying that his remarks were flagrantly wrenched out of
context. The dispute is the latest example of a campaign plucking lines from an
opponent’s speech in an effort to support and reinforce a broader, negative
narrative that it hopes will resonate with voters. In this case, Republicans
contend that the remarks capture Obama’s identity as a leader who neither
understands nor respects business and instinctively looks to government for
solutions.
The comments came from the tail end of
40-minute campaign speech at a Roanoke fire station on July 13.
In that speech,Obama repeated his
opposition to Romney’s proposal to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans,
saying there are successful people who agree and who want instead to forgo tax
breaks and “give something back.” He added that those who succeed in business
are aided by personal mentors and government policies that support infrastructure
and technology.
“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help,”
Obama said. “There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped
to create this unbelievable system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody
invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.
Somebody else made that happen.”
Obama was referring to the roads and
bridges — not businesses — as having been built by government.
The theme is not a new one. Massachusetts
Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren triggered a similar controversy
last year when she said: “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his
own — nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be
clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You
hired workers the rest of us paid to educate.”
But coming from a sitting president, the
comments were of another magnitude. While taking liberties with the context,
the Romney campaign seized on “You Didn’t Build That” as a rallying cry
Wednesday. It staged two-dozen “We Did Build This” rallies, including one in
Richmond, where small-business owners joined Gov. Robert McDonnell in assailing
the president.
“President Obama is wrong,’’ said Melissa Ball of Ball Office
Products. “Americans do build their own business and we need a president who
believes that as well.” Ball said she wanted to invite Obama “to hear about the
struggles of real-life business owners.” According to the federal database Web
site USASpending.gov, Ball has received several small federal contracts in the
past, and Democrats used information like that to push back hard.
In his new ad Wednesday, Obama, looking
directly into the camera, said such Republican assertions were “flat-out
wrong.”
“Of course Americans build their own businesses. Every day,
hardworking people sacrifice to meet a payroll, create jobs and make our
economy run,” he said. “And what I said was that we need to stand behind them,
as America always has, by investing in education and training, roads and
bridges, research and technology.”
Romney has also had his rhetoric yanked out
of context. Campaigning in New Hampshire in January, Romney told the Nashua
Chamber of Commerce, “I like being able to fire people who provide services to
me.” It was part of a longer answer to a question from the audience about
health-care policy — specifically, being able to change insurance companies.
Just prior to the “fire” comment, Romney said: “I want individuals to have
their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to
keep you healthy. It also means that if you don’t like what they do, you could
fire them.”
But, in isolation, ricocheting around the
Web, the quote helped opponents reinforce an image of Romney as a remorseless,
corporate predator.
The Obama campaign pointed to a series of
initiatives that the administration has pursued to help small business,
including tax cuts, improved access to capital and an overhaul of the patent
system that officials said accelerates processing.
Small-business leaders say Obama’s record
is mixed. Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association,
said that for some small firms, the administration has been a boon. For
businesses that export, for example, McCracken said that reauthorization of the
Export-Import Bank Act will help ensure a level playing field. He also
described his 65,000 member companies as being “quite comfortable” with the
individual insurance mandate at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. The
one-year extension of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for incomes under
$250,000 is also a plus, he said.
But McCracken said Obama has not been
aggressive enough in compelling banks to loosen lending policies. And in many
instances, he said, tax relief is secondary to the regulatory burdens that
leave many small businesses uncertain.
In Old Town Manassas, several
small-business owners said Obama’s comments — if they had heard about them —
had not elicited a strong reaction one way or the other.
“I work hard for what I’ve got, but I’ve had people along the way
help me,” said Matt Brower, owner of Simply Sweet on Main, a new ice-cream and
coffee shop.
Brower, 32, said that he generally tries to
stay out of politics but that the president’s comments about small businesses
“didn’t turn me the wrong way.” He credited the city government for allowing
him to sell coffee in the nearby train station during colder months. While he
had to sign a contract with the city, officials did not charge him anything to
set up or operate his stand — a big help since he just started the business two
years ago, he said.
When Charles Gilliam opened his restaurant
in 1998 in Old Town, he was “happy if someone would come in every day.” Now,
Okra’s, which serves Cajun and Creole fare, is thriving, and Gilliam is looking
at opening a second restaurant elsewhere.
A picture of first lady Michelle Obama is
in the foyer, and Gilliam proudly points to the spot where she and her children
came in for a bite one day a couple of years ago.
“It was exciting to know the highest office in the country knows
about what we do,” Gilliam said.
In his business, Gilliam said, he “hasn’t
asked for help from government.” If help was offered, “we wouldn’t take it,” he
said.
In recent years, city officials have made
the sidewalks broader on Battle Street, where Okra’s sits caddy-corner. That
has allowed restaurants to put in outside patio seating and offer live music.
“We’d still be doing very well” without the local-government-backed
sidewalk project, he said. “But we’re grateful to have it.”
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