It doesn’t take too many of my blogs for anyone to realize where I stand in this year’s presidential election. And having spent most of my life in advertising, it is only natural for me to try and create ads for President Obama. So I’ve done that and sent my ideas off to his campaign, at their invitation.
Not being part of the advertising team, I do not expect any of my ads to be used as written, but clearly we are on the same wavelength in the strategic need to attack Romney. The ads are admittedly “negative” which I believe is fair game as long as they are based on fact and not “Swift Boat” fiction. And to the extent that anyone reads this, it will function as the ad campaign designed, even if preaching largely to the converted.
So, following are ads I submitted which I hope will have some meaning to those who are undecided and those, like me, who are disappointed in President Obama’s first term, but aghast at the prospect of an empty suit, devoid of any original thought, leading a combination of Republican neocons and Tea Party anarchists back into The White House.
“Survival of the Richest”
America has never faced a more critical choice between our two parties. What Mitt Romney and the Republicans believe is pretty simple: It’s “everyone for themselves” and “you’re on your own.” They’re happy if the rich get richer, and it’s not their problem if everyone else can’t keep up. They say “government is the problem.” Really? Social Security is government. Medicare and Medicaid are government. A loan for college is government. Healthcare for people who are sick or can’t afford it is government. Food for people who are hungry is government. Unemployment insurance is government. And keeping Wall Street from running wild again and wrecking our economy again is government. Romney and the Republicans want to cut the government programs that help people and protect Americans from financial predators and scam artists. President Obama and his fellow Democrats believe government is supposed to help. Romney and the Republicans believe the government’s most important job is to insure the survival of the richest.
“The War for the Wealthy”
When President Obama supports people in America who are fighting for their economic survival and asks the very wealthiest to help by paying a little more, Mitt Romney and the Republicans call that “class warfare.” Well, “class warfare” began when the wealthy declared war on the rest of America. And only the wealthy are winning. For decades, the vast majority of the American people have made no economic progress, while the rich, in Romney’s own words, “have been doing pretty well.” Well, he ought to know. Obama supports American companies, large and small, who create jobs, deliver products and make profits that grow our economy. But he and the Democrats are against greed and a CEO making hundreds of times more than a company’s workers. When the rich get richer and the rest of America gets poorer, that’s “class warfare.” And Romney is pretty good at it. That’s why Republicans want him as commander in chief in their war for the wealthy.
“Wall Street Running The White House”
Most people agree that this great recession that has hurt so many Americans was mostly caused by the irresponsibility and greed of a bunch of big Wall Street companies and the Republicans who let them have their way. They cared only about their profits and their management bonuses, and not about what was good for the rest of America. This is the culture that has cost Americans millions of homes, millions of jobs and resulted in the terrible recession from which we are now recovering. Do you want to give our country back to someone who comes from this culture of greed, and who cares more about Wall Street than Main Street? Profithungry bankers, lobbyists pouring money into Congress, and a Republican administration that encouraged them were the major cause of our economic collapse. Those are Mitt Romney’s people. And now they want their man to be president. Do you think America can afford to have Wall Street running The White House?
“There’s For, There’s Against, and There’s Romney”
You’ve heard Mitt Romney say he knows how to create jobs. He said he created 100,000 jobs when he ran a consulting company. He doesn’t say that any more, because it’s not true. Then he was against saving the millions of jobs in America’s auto industry. President Obama supported American car companies and kept our autoworkers working. Now Romney says he’s not worried about America’s poor because they have government programs to help them. But he says he’ll eliminate or cut most of those programs. Democrats believe we must do everything we can to help people in trouble and support those trying to get ahead, and that the wealthy should pay a little more to help their country. Romney and the Republicans want to keep giving tax cuts to the rich. On healthcare, women’s rights, gun control, immigration, Romney’s flipflopped so much; no one knows what he believes. On the issues, seems like there’s for, there’s against, and there’s Romney.
“Great Business Experience”
Mitt Romney and the Republicans like to talk about his business experience. Okay, let’s do that. The company Romney ran was in the business of buying other companies that were failing. The first thing they usually did was cut people and the benefits of those who survived. Then, if the company became profitable, they sold it off. President Obama certainly has nothing against making money, especially if you’re doing some good along the way. And once in a while, Romney’s firm actually developed a company that grew into something bigger and better. But mostly, they got control of a company, cut it to the bone, and made a chunk of money getting rid of it. And a lot of people got hurt in the process. Millions of homeowners and unemployed people in America today need help. And there’s not much of that in Romney’s business experience. Remember, the last great business experience we got from the Republicans was the great recession.
“Taken Over by the Tea Party”
Now that the Supreme Court has approved the healthcare law, Mitt Romney and the Republicans are shouting louder than ever about repealing it. But the choice is yours. A vote for them is a vote against 30 million men, women and children getting healthcare insurance when they couldn’t otherwise afford it. A vote for Romney and the Republicans is a vote against American families who can now have healthcare without scrimping on food and clothing. A vote for Romney and the Republicans is a vote against people with medical problems who will now have coverage because the insurance companies can no longer refuse them. A vote for Romney and the Republicans is a vote against the most important benefit for the American people since Social Security and Medicare. As we all know, Romney once supported this same healthcare reform. But then he got taken over by the Tea Party. A vote for Romney and the Republicans is a vote for handing your healthcare back to the insurance companies.
“Death by a Thousand Cuts”
Mitt Romney said recently this election is about jobs and kids. But what jobs is he talking about? The millions of jobs in America’s auto industry he wanted to sacrifice by letting our auto companies go bankrupt? President Obama saved those jobs by investing in Detroit. Or maybe it’s all the jobs Romney’s company got rid of to make their investments more profitable. And what kids is he talking about? The millions whom we’re helping get medical insurance but will lose it if he gets rid of Affordable Healthcare. Or the millions more who will not be able to afford college when he cuts our loan programs that support their education? We’re fighting to insure that our kids get the medical care they need and the opportunities that a college education can provide. Ever hear the expression, “death by a thousand cuts?” If Romney and the Republicans have their way, that’s what they’d do to our programs for jobs and kids.
“Romney’s Buddy from Bain”
There’s a new book by one of Mitt Romney’s buddies from Bain, the company where he made his money. This guy says it’s great when the rich get richer because it’s their investments that create jobs. Really? Romney’s investments in the stock market don’t create jobs. Helping people who are struggling creates jobs because they have to spend their income to buy what our companies produce. Romney’s offshore investments don’t create jobs. They help him pay a lot less income tax, which just means the rest of us have to pay more. Romney’s company didn’t create jobs — not when you count all the people they fired and all the jobs they shipped offshore. This book by Romney’s buddy from Bain is what Romney and the Republicans believe — the more money the rich make, the better it is for everyone else. Now ask yourself: After all these years when the rich have gotten a lot richer, are you better off?
“I’ve Got a Secret”
In recent years, every nominee for president including Barack Obama has released his tax returns covering many years of financial information. But Mitt Romney refuses. Why? Maybe he doesn’t want people to know how much money he keeps. offshore. Or maybe he doesn’t want anyone to know how much he’s still making from all the companies that he shut down or sold off when he ran his investment banking company. Or maybe he just doesn’t want you to know how big his income is and how little he pays in taxes. We don’t know, because if Romney doesn’t want America to see his tax returns, there must be things about his finances he doesn’t want us to know. Voters have a right to know how someone who wants to be president made his money, and who, what and where his finances are tied to today. Remember the old TV show “I’ve Got a Secret”? That’s the game Romney is playing.
Well, if nothing of the above convinces you how dangerous a Romney/Republican presidency will be, just add to the mix his trip to Europe, from which he returned with his foot planted firmly in his mouth, having insulted our greatest ally and undermined our credibility in trying to establish peace in the Middle East.
Sounds like a next commercial.