A New Low in Political Ads

When Mitt Romney closed the plant I lost my healthcare and my family lost their healthcare. A short time after that, my wife became ill. I don't know how long she was sick and I think maybe she didn't say anything because she knew we couldn't afford the insurance.

Joe Soptic

Mr. Soptic goes on to imply that the closing of the steel mill led directly to his wife's death of cancer on account of lacking health insurance.  The ad is tantamount to accusing Romney of murdering Mr. Soptic's wife; unless a genocide accusation materializes, we have hit bottom.  But, as Paul Harvey used to say, here is the rest of the story.

First, Romney left Bain in 1999, 2 years before the steel mill closed and Mr. Soptic lost his job.  Though most people would not hold Romney responsible for what was done after his departure, Democrats see things a little differently; Obama is still blaming Bush for the economy more than 3 years after his departure. 

Second, GST was closed in 2001, two years after Romney had left Bain.  So, Romney had invested in GST in 1994 (GST had requested Bain invest to save the company) and it was a going concern when he left to work on the Salt Lake City Olympics.  So, had Bain not invested, Joe would have been out of a job back in 1994!  He should be thanking Romney for the extra years he got.  Interestingly, the man who was heading Bain at the time GST was closed is an Obama bundler.  How embarrassing.  Luckily, the ad doesn't mention that.

Third, Joe's wife had insurance through her job for an additional 2 years.  Meanwhile, Joe got a job as a janitor which supplied his insurance.  On that basis, one would think Joe might be angry at one of these insurance providers rather than the one from the last job.  What happened to his wife's job in 2003?  Maybe he should direct his rage there.

Finally, Joe's wife died in 2006.  That is 7 years after Romney had left Bain and 5 years after GST had closed but Joe nonetheless implies that his wife's death from lung cancer is Romney's fault!  So, apparently, Mr. Soptic thinks that Romney owed him a job and healthcare for life and failure to provide that resulted in his wife's death.  Shame on you, Mr. Romney!

It should be noted that the ad was produced by a SuperPAC, not the Obama campaign.  However, when pressed on the appropriateness of the ad, Obama campaign spokesmen have ducked, dodged, and weaved to avoid denouncing the ad.  In other words, we approve this message but don't want to admit that we approve this message.

So, to recap the campaign so far: the Obama campaign and its supporters have called Romney a bully, a wimp, a gaffe-prone buffoon, a vulture capitalist, a tax cheat, a felon, Romney-hood (wants to steal from the poor and give to the rich), and now a murderer.  By contrast, the Romney campaign and its supporters have viciously attacked Obama with claims that the economy could be doing better, making ads that quote the President ("You didn't build that"), and accuse the President of being a nice guy who is out of his depth on economic issues.  Oh, the humanity!  What cruel attacks while Obama is trying to be civil.