STATEMENT: Romney’s New Welfare Ad Show He’ll Say Anything To Win

Chicago, IL—Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith released the following statement on Mitt Romney’s new TV ad, which revives a widely discredited welfare attack:

“Now that his false claims about Jeep moving to China have been debunked, Mitt Romney’s desperation has brought him back to his old welfare lie – showing once again that there’s nothing he won’t say to win this election. The welfare attack he repeats in his new ad has been called false by every major fact-checking organization, President Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and a Republican architect of welfare reform. If the American people can’t trust Mitt Romney’s words in his campaign ads, how could they ever trust him with the presidency?”

MITT ROMNEY AND PAUL RYAN CONTINUE FALSE ATTACKS ON THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S WELFARE ACTION, EVEN THOUGH “EVERY MAJOR FACT-CHECKING ORGANIZATION SAYS THE ATTACKS ARE FALSE”

National Public Radio: “Republican Mitt Romney Keeps Saying That President Obama Has Gutted The Law, Even Though Every Major Fact-Checking Organization Says The Attacks Are False.” [National Public Radio, 8/22/12]

New York Times Editorial: Mitt Romney’s Claim Is “Blatantly False.” “Mitt Romney’s campaign has hit new depths of truth-twisting with its accusation that President Obama plans to ‘gut welfare reform’ by ending federal work requirements. The claim is blatantly false, but it says a great deal about Mr. Romney’s increasingly desperate desire to define the president as something he is not.” [Editorial, New York Times, 08/09/12]

Associated Press: “Paul Ryan Says President Obama Wants To Ease Work Requirements For Welfare Recipients Even Though That Claim Has Been Largely Debunked By Independent Fact Checkers.” “Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says President Barack Obama wants to ease work requirements for welfare recipients even though that claim has been largely debunked by independent fact checkers.” [Associated Press, 08/24/12]

CNN Fact Checker: “This Is Clearly Not An Effort By The President To Kill Off The Welfare Work Requirements… And We Rate It False.” From a CNN transcript: “COSTELLO: The Romney campaign rolling out yet another commercial blasting President Obama for stripping the work requirement out of welfare. Republicans are expected to attack the President on that point at their convention, too, but is it true? Our fact checker Tom Foreman has been sifting through the evidence. …FOREMAN: That might in a small way change precisely how work is calculated, but the essential goal of pushing welfare recipients to work remains in place. That's pretty much it. This is clearly not an effort by the President to kill off the welfare work requirements. That's why even some Republicans backed away. Governor Romney's claim doesn't work. And we rate it false. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.” [CNN Fact Check, 08/22/12]

PRESIDENT CLINTON CRITICIZED ROMNEY’S ATTACKS AND CONFIRMED PRESIDENT OBAMA’S COMMITMENT TO STRENGTHENING THE CENTRAL TENETS OF WELFARE REFORM

President Clinton: Governor Romney’s Ad Alleging That President Obama Weakened The Work Requirements Of The 1996 Welfare Reform Act “Is Not True.” “Governor Romney released an ad today alleging that the Obama administration had weakened the work requirements of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. That is not true.” [Statement by President Bill Clinton on Governor Mitt Romney's New Television Advertisement, 08/07/12]

·         Washington Post: Romney’s Ad Drew “A Direct Rebuke Of Romney By Clinton Himself, Who Called It False.” “But the charge drew immediate push back from the Obama campaign, and a direct rebuke of Romney by Clinton himself, who called it false.” [Washington Post, 08/13/12]

President Clinton: “The Welfare Time Limits, Another Important Feature Of The 1996 Act, Will Not Be Waived.” [Statement by President Bill Clinton on Governor Mitt Romney's New Television Advertisement, 08/07/12]

A REPUBLICAN ARCHITECT OF WELFARE REFORM, RON HASKINS, AND REPUBLICANS LIKE NEWT GINGRICH, ADMIT THERE IS NOT SUPPORT FOR THE ROMNEY CAMPAIGN’S ATTACK SUPPORTS WAIVERS AND CRITICIZED MITT ROMNEY’S AD

Washington Post Wonkblog: One Of The Architects Of Welfare Reform, Ron Haskins, Argues That Waivers Are What Made Welfare Reform Possible And Enthusiastically Supports The Actual Policy Of The Waivers. “But Haskins enthusiastically supports the actual policy of the waivers. Waivers are what made welfare reform possible in the first place, he argues, by letting states experiment with new practices and they can be useful going forward. For instance, he thinks they might offer a way around limitations that prevent welfare checks from going to employers to subsidize the hiring of welfare recipients, rather than to the recipients directly. Such combined welfare-work programs, Haskins believes, hold a lot of promise… In sum, Haskins says, ‘The Republican alarm on welfare reform might be a little exaggerated.’ Coming from one of the architects of the reform, that should cast some doubt on Romney’s attacks.” [Washington Post, WonkBlog, 8/7/12]

Ron Haskins: “There’s No Plausible Scenario Under Which It Really Constitutes A Serious Attack On Welfare Reform.” “There's no plausible scenario under which it really constitutes a serious attack on welfare reform.” [National Public Radio Morning Edition, 08/08/12]

Ron Haskins, A Republican Architect Of Welfare Reform: “Romney Himself Talks About Giving The States More Flexibility… Now All Of A Sudden The States Shouldn’t Get The Flexibility Because They Are Going To Mess It Up? It Doesn’t Make Sense.” From FactCheck.org: “Haskins notes that historically the ‘Republicans are the ones who talk about giving the states more flexibility. Romney himself talks about giving the states more flexibility. Now all of a sudden the states shouldn’t get the flexibility because they are going to mess it up?’ he says. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’” [FactCheck.org, 08/09/12]

Huffington Post Headline: “Ron Haskins, GOP Welfare Reform Architect, Blasts Mitt Romney Ad” [Huffington Post, 8/8/12]

Newt Gingrich: “We Have No Proof” To Support Romney’s Welfare Attack. “COOPER: So you think the wording of the ad is not actually accurate, that it is too straightforward? GINGRICH: Well, I think the ad does assert, but this is a political ad. In 30 seconds you tend not to get all the various amendments and things…COOPER: But accuracy is important. …GINGRICH: We have no proof today, but I would say to you under Obama’s ideology it is absolutely true that he would be comfortable sending a lot of people checks for doing nothing.” [CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, 08/08/12]