In Debate, Romney Proves (Again) that He is Out of Touch with Most Jewish Voters

NJDC — October 4, 2012 – 11:10 am | Barack Obama | Domestic Policy | Education | Election 2012 | Health Care | Mitt Romney Comments (2) Add a comment

During last night’s presidential debate, Republican nominee Mitt Romney demonstrated once again the grand scale on which he is out of touch with the values of most American Jews. Romney used the night to continue peddling Republican policies—including on health care and other important domestic issues—that most Jewish voters simply do not support. 

In addition, Think Progress noted that Romney rattled off 27 myths in 38 minutes, while Rolling Stone called him out for his “five biggest lies.” If Romney was trying to sway Jewish voters last night, he likely didn’t succeed, given just some of his mendacious claims regarding policies supported by most Jews:

* On Medicare, Romney repeated his bogus claim regarding a $716 billion cut from beneficiaries of the program to pay for the Affordable Care Act—also know as “Obamacare.” This is a myth that Romney and his running mate, Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) have been spreading for months, that has been repeatedly debunked. In fact, Obamacare increased benefits for additional services for Medicare recipients, such as preventative care and prescription drugs. Under Romney’s plan to repeal Obamacare, Medicare recipients would end up paying more to cover the higher premiums.

* Romney claimed that Obamacare added to existing health care costs per family. However, the legislation provides tax credits to families to make health care more affordable, negating any increase in costs. Romney also falsely claimed that 20 million people would lose their insurance under Obamacare. This is also not true, as the it will expand the number of insured Americans by 30 million. Under Romney’s plan to repeal Obamacare, the number of uninsured would soar to 72 million.

* Discussing education, Romney firmly asserted that he is “not going to cut education funding.” He should probably have mentioned that to running mate Paul Ryan, whose budget Romney supports calls for a $115 billion cut to the Department of Education. Romney also said in a speech to donors last spring that “I will either consolidate [the Department of Education] with another agency, or perhaps make it a heck of a lot smaller,” explaining that he would not eliminate the agency outright to maintain federal leverage to push back against teachers’ unions.

Romney used the debate last night as an opportunity to spread the now-standard Republican mythology and to push policies that promote everything Jewish voters oppose. As Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, “Voters have been offered the clearest choice they’ve seen in a generation.” For American Jews, there is a sharp contrast between the mendacious statements made by Romney and the strongly-supported policies of the Obama Administration, and it’s clearer than ever that the more Jews get to know Romney, the less they like him.

Click here to read the full transcript of the debate.

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