Democracy Has Prevailed.

August 22, 2012

Um, I Guess It Should Be Noted...

Let's start with Selena Zito of The Trib (who doesn't get it wrong - good for her):
Vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan appealed to middle-class voters on Tuesday at a suburban steel company, urging them to swing the November presidential election to the GOP no matter their party affiliation.

The Wisconsin congressman walked on stage clutching a Terrible Towel as a crowd of about 2,000 supporters at Beaver Steel Services, a family-owned manufacturer in Rosslyn Farms Industrial Park, chanted, “Here we go, Ryan, here we go!”

Above his makeshift stage, in front of a flatbed truck holding steel plates, hung a banner reading “We did build it” — a reference to President Obama’s July 13 speech in Virginia, in which he said business people did not succeed on their own but instead with the help of an American system.
Not the best writing in that last sentence but let's move on.

CNN had more of the story:
The old anecdotes fed into a larger narrative about the economy that the Romney-Ryan team has been trying to drive home for months. The campaign continues to take out of context a comment Obama made in Roanoke about business.

Their message was reinforced by the backdrop at Beaver Steel with the words "We did build it!" displayed behind Ryan on a flat-bed truck.

"Or how about the latest doozy in Roanoke, VA? Tony and Tony, father and son, we're here in your business. You have 50 employees in your business. You created jobs. You worked hard. You sacrificed. You rolled up your sleeves, you took risks. You had good days, you had bad days. Tony, you built this business. The government didn't build it for you. It's your business, your achievement, and we all benefit from that. That's what this country is built upon. You see, it's this belief that we need a government-centered society driven by a government-driven economy. It doesn't work," he said.
Glad they point out the "out of context" part.  I've already written about what the President actually said.  But here it is again:
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. 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. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. [Emphasis added.]
Now let's look at where Ryan was speaking: Beaver Steel Services.  Google the business and youll find that it's on Arch Street in Carnegie - right near Interstate 376.

Where do you think I-376 came from?

Read this.

How many millions of dollars (State and Federal, meaning TAX dollars) went to building I-376?  And how does that benefit Beaver Steel Services?

And doesn't that prove the President's point?

1 comment:

EdHeath said...

Yeah, I so very much wish he had said "you didn't build that alone". I mean, the Republicans would still be screaming bloody murder, but lots of undecided independent voters would be saying "Oh, I see".