American Bridge

Mitt Romney: A Mass Failure

American Bridge 21st Century released a new online advertisement highlighting Mitt Romney’s failed record as governor of Massachusetts. Bay Staters already know the consequences of putting Mitt Romney in the executive office – stunted job creation, massive debt, smaller investments in education, and bigger tax breaks for millionaires. Before November 6th, the American people need to take into consideration why the people of Massachusetts have no desire to see a President Romney.

Mitt Romney Makes The Case For Barack Obama (feat. Siri)

American Bridge is preempting today’s jobs numbers with footage of Romney making the economic case for reelecting President Obama… with a little help from Siri.

Mitt Romney Makes the Case for Obama (feat. Siri)

We preempted today’s jobs numbers with footage of Romney making the economic case for reelecting President Obama… with a little help from Siri. It uses a clip of Romney saying Americans know it’s “poppycock” to the president (Bush) for the state of the economy in 2004 and another showing Romney making the argument that people should look at the overall job trend rather than the “net-net” jobs created on his watch in 2006.

It ends with Romney saying in 2004: “The people of America have to ask do you want to stay with a president who is rebuilding the economy, who is creating jobs, or do you want to stop midstream and find someone new?” The footage of Romney, which we released earlier this year, was recovered from the Massachusetts archive by American Bridge researchers.

BRIDGE BRIEFING: Romney’s Poor Jobs Record In Massachusetts

Massachusetts Job Creation Ranked Poorly Under Romney

In Romney’s Four Years As Governor Massachusetts Ranked 47^th Out Of 50 In Jobs Growth. According to Marketwatch, “The Republican contender was the governor of Massachusetts from January 2003 to January 2007. And during that time, according to the U.S. Labor Department, the state ranked 47th in the entire country in jobs growth. Fourth from last. The only ones that did worse? Ohio, Michigan and Louisiana. In other words, two rustbelt states and another that lost its biggest city to a hurricane. The Massachusetts jobs growth over that period, a pitiful 0.9%, badly lagged other high-skill, high-wage, knowledge economy states like New York (2.7%), California (4.7%) and North Carolina (7.6%). The national average: More than 5%.” [Marketwatch, 2/23/10]

In Romney’s First Year In Charge, Massachusetts “Ranked Dead Last In America In Job Growth.” According to Marketwatch, “So far Obama has been in office for just one year. How was Romney’s performance by his first anniversary? Fiftieth out of fifty. That’s right. In Romney’s first year in charge, Massachusetts ranked dead last in America in jobs growth.” [Marketwatch, 2/23/10]

Massachusetts Unemployment Rate “Showed Little Movement During Romney’s Tenure” And Went From Below The National Average When He Took Office To Above The National Average When He Left. According to the Associated Press, “The state’s unemployment numbers also showed little movement during Romney’s tenure. In December 2002, as Romney prepared to step into office, Massachusetts unemployment rate stood at 5.6 percent, slightly lower than the national unemployment rate of 6 percent. By December 2006 – Romney’s last full month in office – national unemployment had fallen to just 4.5 percent while Massachusetts unemployment numbers had inched down to 5.2 percent. ‘We’ve had a very slow economic recovery and we’ve trailed most of the rest of the nation,’ said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. ‘It’s not the turnaround he’s advertised.’” [Associated Press, 2/4/08]