While President Barack Obama jokes about saving Big Bird, GOP challenger Mitt Romney told Newsmax TV on Friday “we’re going to save the American family.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview from Richmond, Va., where he was campaigning, Romney was referring to a new ad by the Obama campaign in recent days that mocks Romney for "finally getting tough on Big Bird."
The ad was in response to Romney's debate promise to stop subsidizing PBS, which he clarified by saying, "I like PBS. I love Big Bird . . . " adding that he would not, "keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it."
Romney insisted that the poor economy is no laughing matter, despite vice president Joe Biden's smirks throughout Thursday night's debate with Paul Ryan.
Watch our exclusive interview. Story continues below.
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“These are serious times and the matters that were spoken about last night in the vice presidential debate were serious,” he said. “They’re not laughing times. They’re not joking times. They are serious times.”
Romney pointed to the 23 million Americans “struggling to find good work and in a setting like that to be saying ‘we’re going to save Big Bird is I think in stark contrast to Paul Ryan and my position,” he explained.
“We're going to save the American family. We’re going to help people get good jobs and that’s what my campaign is about, helping get America working again, for the middle class of America that has been hammered, that’s been buffeted under the Obama administration and their policies.”
He said that the American people have been asking why gasoline prices have doubled since President Obama took office.
“How is it that he cut in half the drilling permits on federal lands and in federal waters? How is it that he stalls on letting the Keystone pipeline from oil come in from Canada,” he said. “Why did they stall the development and the production of oil off the coast of Alaska? There’s no question that this is an anti-oil, anti-natural gas, anti-coal administration and the American people are paying the price at the pump and in their utility bills.”
Romney added that voters can expect more of the same if President Obama wins a second term.
“I’m confident that if the president were to be re-elected we’d continue to see a middle-class squeeze, lower and lower incomes, fewer job opportunities and rising prices,” said Romney. “That’s been the story the last four years and we’ll see it four more years if we are to re-elect Barack Obama.”
Romney himself has been criticized for his plan to create more jobs and additional revenue by lowering taxes.
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“Well there’s no question that some people warm to our views and philosophy and there’s also no question we’re right,” he said confidently. “The history of the world is that free enterprise and free people and limited government produces a more prosperous economy and it gives people better prospects for themselves and their children.”
Romney said that “government-dominated” societies such as Cuba and North Korea simply don’t work.
“I’m not suggesting that America’s becoming Cuba or North Korea but I am suggesting that a government-dominated economy does not produce the kinds of opportunity and middle-class wellbeing as does an economy focused on free enterprise, free people, economic freedom,” he explained.
“What we’re seeing from this administration is a slow but sure deterioration of economic freedom and a replacement by government of the freedoms which we’ve enjoyed.”
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