Obama Ads Hit Romney for Outsourcing, Fee Hikes
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama’s campaign will begin airing two TV ads Wednesday in nine battleground states, attacking Mitt Romney for outsourcing state work and hiking a number of fees during his term as Massachusetts governor.
One spot — “Come and Go” — juxtaposes Romney’s claim of being a job creator with the accusation that he supported “outsourcing state jobs to India.”
Another — “Mosaic” — juxtaposes his promise to cut taxes with the claim that he presided over “1,000 fee hikes” between 2003 and 2007.
“Romney economics: It didn’t work then and it won’t work now,” narrators in both ads conclude.
Independent fact checkers have examined Romney’s record on the outsourcing issue and taxes/fee hikes and found neither to be as black and white as the Obama campaign ads suggest.
PolitiFact notes that Romney did in fact veto a measure that would have prohibited Massachusetts from contracting with companies that outsourced some work overseas, and that one state contractor — Citigroup — did employ a call center facility in India. But PolitiFact also notes that “the state didn’t outsource the work — a state contractor did” — a practice common in 43 states at the time.
On the issue of taxes and fees, FactCheck.org found that Gov. Romney “doubled fees for court filings (which include marriage licensing fees), professional registrations and firearm licenses… [and] quintupled the price per gallon delivery fee for gasoline.” But the group noted none “specifically targeted the middle class, or even fell more heavily on the middle class,” as the Obama campaign has alleged.
The 30-second spots will air in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the campaign said. They are part of a $10 million ad campaign launched earlier this month focusing on Romney’s record during his only time in public office.
The first TV spot in the ad blitz highlighted Romney’s promises on jobs and Massachusetts’ 47th ranking among the states in job growth during his tenure. Another hit Romney for presiding over a $2.7 billion increase in the state’s debt.
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