Romney Camp Continues ‘You Didn’t Build That’ Attacks - East Idaho News
Politics

Romney Camp Continues ‘You Didn’t Build That’ Attacks

  Published at

Getty 072412 MittRomney3?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1343212018469J.D. Pooley/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Mitt Romney may be overseas, but his campaign is definitely not taking a pause, holding 24 events across 12 battleground states on Wednesday, all aimed at comments President Obama earlier this month.

The Romney campaign has been heavily pressing their “you didn’t build that” attacks for the past 10 days and Wednesday is their biggest push yet, with events with small business owners in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio, Iowa, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Nevada.

Speaking in Roanoke, Va., on July 13, the president stressed the importance of community as well as continued government investments in infrastructure and public services that many businesses in this country utilize.

“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help,” Obama said.  “Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American 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.”

Republicans pounced on the words “you didn’t build that,” singling them out and claiming that Obama was speaking directly to business owners about their accomplishments.  That focus will continue on Wednesday.

In events at small businesses in locations as varied as Waukesha, Wis. to Palm Beach, Fla. to Columbus, Ohio, entrepreneurs will express their anger at the “you didn’t build that, somebody else made that happen” line.

“When President Obama told Americans that government is responsible for their success, it started a wave of anger that has swept across this country,” Romney campaign spokesperson Sarah Pompei said.  “We wanted to give those businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and hard-working men and women a chance to let President Obama know that government didn’t build the small businesses that are the backbone of this country — everyday Americans built them, and they continue to build on America’s greatness every day.  Today, they’re standing up to say, ‘We did build this.’”

It’s clear the Romney campaign will continue pressing these comments, even unveiling new signs at their events this week with the words “We did build this” written on them.

On Tuesday, the Obama campaign released an ad with the president refuting the Romney campaign’s new focus and accusing them of intentionally misleading the public saying his words have been “taken out of context.”

“Of course Americans build their own businesses,” Obama says looking directly at the camera.  ”Every day, hard-working people sacrifice to meet a payroll, create jobs, and make our economy run.”

“And what I said was that we need to stand behind them, as America always has,” Obama said in the ad that will run in six swing states.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION