NASHUA, N.H. – Republican presidential nomination front-runner Mitt Romney and President Obama’s reelection campaign traded barbs on Monday over the prospect of the congressional super committee failing to resolve the nation’s debt crisis. Romney blamed the president’s lack of leadership while an Obama spokesman accused Romney of pandering to tea party voters.
In a campaign appearance here, Romney said, “What’s most disappointing about [the super committee’s stalemate] is that our president has had no involvement in the process.… I would have anticipated that the president of the United States would have spent every day, and many nights, working with members of the super committee to try to find ways to bridge the gap. But instead, he’s been out doing other things -- campaigning, and blaming, and traveling. This is, in my view, inexcusable.”
Meanwhile, Obama campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt said in a statement that Romney’s opposition to tax increases as a means to help balance the budget is a political ploy for tea party support.
“This is one more indication that Mitt Romney is more interested in getting a perfect score on the tea party’s litmus test than he is in putting country before party to do what’s necessary to create jobs and reduce the deficit,” the statement said. “Romney won’t ask millionaires and billionaires for a dime to get our finances back on track -- he would instead give them additional tax cuts and force the middle class and seniors to bear the entire burden of deficit reduction.”
Also on Monday, Romney appeared with Rep. Charlie Bass, R-N.H., who gave the former Massachusetts governor his endorsement. Romney praised Bass as a House member who “has stood up for the traditional New Hampshire principles of limited taxation and smaller government.”
“I will work for you day in and day out to win this election over the coming months,” Bass said at a Romney campaign appearance at BAE Systems, a major New Hampshire employer.
Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.
Leave A Comment