Many of us have become painfully accustomed to Mitt Romney making claims that aren't true, but once in a while, his most egregious falsehoods strike a nerve. This week in Texas, for example, the Republican presidential nominee told a whopper that Andrew Sullivan called "a classic of total disingenuous crap."
"[W]ith America in crisis, with 23 million people out of work or stopped looking for work, [President Obama] hasn't put forth a plan to get us working again," Romney said Tuesday. "Now I know we're getting close to an election so he'll come out with one soon, but three and a half years later, we're waiting."
Plenty of fine folks have noted the absurdity of the argument, but I'd like to echo their sentiments. When Romney says things like this, he's obviously lying. There's no gray area; it's not a claim that's partially true; it's simply 100% false. It's not even a close call.
Obama put forward a plan to get us working again in 2009 -- it's known as the Recovery Act, or the "stimulus," and it was extremely effective in turning the economy around (more on this later this morning). In 2011, as the recovery slowed, Obama put forward another plan -- it was called the American Jobs Act and independent economists said the proposal would have created as many as 2 million jobs this year.
Senate Republicans killed the jobs bill with a filibuster, while House Republicans refused to bring it to the floor for a vote, despite polls showing broad bipartisan support for the provisions in Obama's plan.
What's more, while the American Jobs Act was unveiled in September, Obama has continued to present ideas for job creation, including his State of the Union address and his economic "to-do list" for Congress. He reminded policymakers about his plans on Friday and again on Saturday.
"Three and a half years later, we're waiting"? Romney must know that's not true.
The GOP candidate can't feign ignorance and say his bogus argument in Texas is the result of confusion; Romney has given detailed critiques of the president's jobs plans. He's even endorsed some of the ideas in Obama's proposals.
Romney doesn't have to like Obama's jobs plans, but he shouldn't get away with brazenly lying about their existence.