In the final days of the campaign, Obama for America Iowa is launching #IowaGrown, a week of events on the President's promises kept and his priorities for a second term. President Obama's commitment to growing our economy begins with a strong, thriving middle class grew right here in Iowa. Unlike Mitt Romney, the President has been consistent and clear about his vision and values because he knows his plan will actually create jobs and strengthen the middle class - and that recent history teaches us the right way to grow the economy is from the middle out, not the top down.
With eight days until Election Day, Vice President Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, former Governor Tom Vilsack, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, DNC Vice Chair and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Former Lt. Governor Patty Judge will take this message across the state in the coming days.
President Obama has called for a new economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong, thriving middle class, reducing our deficit in a responsible way, continuing to grow our manufacturing and renewable energy industry and strengthening our education system by hiring new teachers. For more information on the President's plans, go to www.barackobama.com/plans.
Under his leadership, businesses have added 5.2 million private sector jobs over the last 31 months, the unemployment rate is at its lowest level since January 2009, consumer confidence is at a 5-year high, and foreclosures are at a 5-year low.
And where President Obama's campaign all started, Iowans are seeing our economy grow. His work to make smart investments in energy, education and training, growing small businesses, and promoting technology and innovation is paying off. Today, Iowa has 7,000 jobs in the wind industry, over 18,000 manufacturing jobs have been added and 6,200 education jobs were saved. The President cut taxes for Iowa small business 18 times and fought to save the auto industry, protecting 8,000 Iowa jobs. Because of his support for new trade agreements, Iowa farmers have seen record farm income
And this message is resonating with Iowans, as Democrats shatter early voting records. Currently Democrats have an over 57,000 early vote and over 70,000 vote by mail request advantage. Unprecedented early voting numbers show enthusiasm for the President and the strength of OFA's organization.
Mitt Romney is in Iowa today and the fact remains: Mitt Romney's economic plans, or what we know of them, will threaten Iowa's economic growth. His opposition to the wind production tax credit and polices that would encourage companies to send jobs overseas directly threaten jobs for Iowa's middle class.
And despite the rhetoric, his embrace of the GOP's extreme wing throughout this campaign will certainly make it hard to work across aisle, just as he failed to do as Governor of Massachusetts.
Last week in Iowa, Romney promised "change", but Iowans know he will just bring us back to same top-down policies that got us into this mess in the first place. His economic scheme - fewer rules for Wall Street and more budget-busting tax breaks for the wealthiest - is the same failed formula that crashed our economy and devastated the middle class. No matter how hard Romney tries to hide the truth, his math just doesn't add up. It's mathematically impossible to pay for his $5 trillion tax breaks favoring the wealthiest without raising taxes on the middle class or exploding the deficit.
His five-point plan is a sham - independent economists say we will create the 12 million jobs he claims his plan will create anyway. And the studies Romney cites actually disprove his claims. One fact-checker called Romney's plan a "bait-and-switch." And as Governor, he left Massachusetts 47th out of 50 in job creation and first in the nation in per capita debt.
The President has come to the state, and talked directly to Iowans about a concrete and specific second-term plan to grow our economic security to the middle class and to avoid returning to the same policies that crashed the economy. Iowans understand the clear choice they have in this election, and that is why we feel confident about our campaign going into Election Day.
Check #IowaGrown on Twitter throughout the week for events and updates.
