In his continued clean-up tour after the release of a damaging, secretly recorded video, Mitt Romney says "government has a role to play," in the economy after all. That role, though, should consist of getting out of the way, or creating "the space" for Americans to succeed, according to an Op-Ed the Republican nominee for president wrote in USA Today Wednesday.
My policies will create a growing economy that fosters upward mobility.Government has a role to play here. Right now, our nation's citizens do need help from government. But it is a very different kind of help than what President Obama wants to provide.My experience has taught me that government works best when it creates the space for individuals and families to pursue success and achieve great things. Economic freedom is the only force that has consistently succeeded in creating sustained prosperity and lifting people out of poverty. It is why our economy rose to rival those of the world's leading powers -- and has long since surpassed them all.
The Romney campaign has continued to defend the remarks made by the candidate in the video released by liberal magazine Mother Jones Monday in which he called 47% of the electorate "dependent upon government" and unable to take "personal responsibility" for their lives.
Although, Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan describe the comments as inelegant and "inarticulate," they—along with a number of conservatives— have sought to shift the conversation toward a debate on government's role in society and how each political party differs on setting that course.
Without mentioning the video, Romney defends the "personal responsibility" remark by writing: "Since our founding, America has promoted personal responsibility, the dignity of work and the value of education. Those values made our nation the hope of the earth and our economy the envy of the world."
But that is not up for debate. What is, are the loose facts of Romney's comments as already pointed out, and the whether or not Romney's latest remarks demonstrate a lack of feeling for those worse off. Romney argues that "instead of creating a web of dependency," he will encourage "private investment and personal freedom."
Read the full Romney Op-Ed here and USA Today's rebuttal here.