Romney Picks Up Fox’s Dishonest Attacks On Obama’s Small Business Remarks

Yesterday, Fox News played a deceptively-edited clip of President Obama talking about how government has helped small business owners and turned it into a talking point that Obama was dissing entrepreneurs. Now, Mitt Romney has picked up on those attacks and has even made a YouTube video based on them.

As Media Matters noted, Obama’s remarks were part of a speech about the importance of Americans working together:

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

…We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President—because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together.

But Fox & Friends cherry picked some of Obama’s comments to make it sound as though he were dismissing the achievements of small business owners:

If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that, somebody else made that happen.

[...]

The point is that, when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.

The same discussion was repeated on other Fox News shows.

And lo and behold! The attack turned up in a Mitt Romney speech – which was reported on by – who else? Fox News’ Carl Cameron. Romney also has a YouTube video of Obama saying, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.”

How convenient to have an entire news network devoted to spinning on your behalf!

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commented 2012-07-20 08:10:54 -0400 · Flag

Wow, Obama really put his foot in his mouth this time. Even listening to the whole clip it sounds bad. Owners of successful small businesses are very proud, and acknowledge the help they have received along the way, from other “private” entrepreneurs. Including those whose taxes paid for the infrastructure that helps move goods from one place to another, and paid teachers of employees. Yes, we do all work together, and private enterprise makes it all happen. Any good politician would take a statement like this and run with it in his/her campaign. It’s been a mud slinging contest so far, and will only get worse.

Obama would have better served himself if he had accentuated the hard work, risk, and time involved in building a successful business. And then said, they need to thank previous successful businesses for the tax dollars that paid for the planning and building of infrastructure that allows their products and services to be marketed, moved and sold. Pretty big bumble for the pres.

commented 2012-07-18 09:49:51 -0400 · Flag

A Fux Noise report on Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address would have cherry picked the following phrase: … “we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground,” leaving out the next sentence…" The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract." The Fux meme would be “Lincoln disses Gettysburg victory.”