To: JohnM who wrote (191340 ) 6/12/2012 11:32:22 AM From: JohnM Respond to Romney still stumbling on teachers, first responders Steve Benen endorsed layoffs of school teachers, police officers, and firefighters, the Republican and his campaign are struggling to keep their story straight.distanced himself from Romney's argument. The second stumble came yesterday when one Romney surrogate doubled down on the candidate's argument, only to be contradicted a few hours later by a different surrogate who said Romney had been taken out of context. "Well, that's a very strange accusation. Of course, teachers and firemen and policemen are hired at the local level and also by states. The federal government doesn't pay for teachers, firefighters or policemen. So obviously that's completely absurd. I have a sinking suspicion that Romney believes voters aren't terribly bright.can provide resources to states and municipalities to either hire new teachers and first responders, or prevent layoffs that would otherwise be made. If Washington would do this, we'd see an immediate drop in the unemployment rate, but Republicans refuse to even consider the idea.strengthened the national economy through public-sector hiring -- and it worked perfectly when Obama protected these jobs in 2009. Here's a possible follow-up question for Romney: when you say public-sector hiring didn't work the first time, what in the world are you talking about?hasn't changed . He sees President Obama fighting for school teachers, police officers, and firefighters, and Romney's still convinced the economy will be better off if those teachers and first responders are unemployed.maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com
