Pawlenty, Jindal talk up Romney, slam Dems
Republicans cite 'broken promises'
7/6/2012
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana speaks to about 20 people in front of the Courtyard by Marriott in Maumee as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota listens.
In an effort to combat President Obama's visit to Maumee on Thursday, two prominent Republicans addressed Lucas County a few hours earlier in support of GOP candidate Mitt Romney.
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota spoke to about 20 people in front of the Courtyard by Marriott on Dussel Drive in Maumee.
Mr. Pawlenty encouraged Americans to remember the wealth of promises he claimed Mr. Obama made during the last campaign, ones that he said went unfilled.
He also renamed President Obama's two-day bus tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania the "Broken Promises" tour, rather than the "Betting on America" tour.
"Well, of course, we should all bet on America," Mr. Pawlenty said. "But we shouldn't double-down on Barack Obama. His presidency has been a losing hand for Ohio and for America."
The former governor called particular attention to Mr. Obama's oaths to cut America's deficit in half, decrease unemployment with the stimulus bill, and lower health insurance rates with his health-care plan.
None of these promises, Mr. Pawlenty said, has been realized during the President's term.
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"And now today the President is going to talk about manufacturing," he said, "when during his time as President, 559,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in America."
Mr. Pawlenty also spoke of Mr. Obama's 2008 campaign guarantee that he would "get tough with China" and its improper trade practices.
However, he said the President waited until Thursday -- nearly four years later -- before filing an unfair trade complaint with the World Trade Organization.
"You've heard the term 'Johnny come lately?'" Mr. Pawlenty said. "When it comes to getting tough with China this is 'Barack come lately.' He's been in office nearly four years and he hasn't cracked down on China."
Mr. Jindal also called attention to what he termed the President's empty promises. The governor recalled an economics speech that Mr. Obama delivered in Ohio a few weeks ago and compared it to his speeches during the 2008 election.
"Four years ago, it was about hope and change," he said. "That speech a few weeks ago was about divide and blame."
Mr. Obama's health-care reform represents the President's failed approach to economic development, Mr. Jindal said.
The President promised the plan would bring improvements such as family health-care premiums being cut by $2,500 a year and that taxes would not be raised, Mr. Jindal said. Instead, Mr. Jindal said premiums rose 9 percent last year and there will be more than $500 billion in tax increases under the new law.
"The list goes on and on and on," he said. "The bottom line is we've had enough of broken promises."
Mr. Jindal said Mr. Romney's record speaks for itself whereas President Obama's cannot.
"When [Mr. Romney] was governor of Massachusetts, their unemployment rate was below the national average," Mr. Jindal said. "When he was governor of Massachusetts they were labeled one of the top 10 turnaround states in the entire country."
The President, Mr. Jindal said, claimed his campaign would be a one-term proposition if he could not improve the economy during his tenure.
"You want good-paying jobs in Ohio, you want a growing economy in America? We need to elect Mitt Romney," he said. "We can't afford another four years of on-the-job training."
The two governors were introduced by U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) and Ed Nagle, a local refrigerated trucking businessman.
Mr. Latta said his jurisdiction represents 57,000 manufacturing jobs that need coal and the energy it results in to continue production in Ohio. President Obama, however, has been increasing the cost of energy, thereby making it difficult for businesses to remain open, he said.
"The policies that the President has been putting through, the President and the Democrats in Congress, have been hurting us in the state of Ohio," Mr. Latta said. "If they put us out of business in the state of Ohio by riding up our costs, we're not going to have any more jobs here."
Mr. Nagle, president and CEO of Nagle Companies based in Walbridge, provided an example of a businessman affected negatively by Mr. Obama's policies. His organization, which drove 80 trucks and employed 125 workers in 2008, has downsized to 38 trucks and 55 employees.
"[His presidency] has been so detrimental not only to us as a company but also to all the families who are out there," Mr. Nagle said.
Mr. Nagle mentioned Independence Day and said Wednesday's holiday brought attention to the dependence that he said Mr. Obama's administration has caused.
"America as a whole wanted to be independent, but we have an administration who is trying to build dependency," he said. "When you have unemployment that exceeds 8 percent the entire time [the administration is] in office, it becomes very difficult to find motivated employees because they get accustomed to not being motivated and being at home."
Jon Stainbrook, chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party, said later Thursday that it is time for America to try a new avenue to stimulate the economy since, he said, Mr. Obama's plan has been unsuccessful.
He likened the President to a mechanic who promised to fix someone's car and did not follow through.
"I'm going to take the car to a different mechanic," Mr. Stainbrook said. "I'm not taking it back to the same mechanic and saying, 'Hey can you fix this again?'"
Mr. Romney possesses the business sense and method of governing to accomplish the job, Mr. Stainbrook said.
After Maumee, Mr. Jindal and Mr. Pawlenty traveled to Parma, a suburb of Cleveland, for a Thursday night rally.
Contact Mel Flanagan at: mflanagan@theblade.com or 419-724-6087.