More than 5 million new private sector jobs; war in Iraq over; the auto industry reborn; al Qaeda’s leadership and bin Laden decimated; health insurance reform a century in the making; the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; the first sweeping new regulations of Wall Street in a decade… we know the America we live in now. It’s a country about to begin a recovery that we’ve fought long and hard for—despite the opposition of the party that was in power when the wars and the financial crisis began.
But for a moment, I’m going to ask you to do something very frightening. Imagine that Mitt Romney defeated John McCain in the 2008 primary and went on to win the general election.
Allow us to get into a little science fiction as we imagine how the United States would have fared if Mitt Romney did what he claims he would have done.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak
The Auto Industry Crumbles
DETROIT— February 14, 2009 General Motors announced Monday that as Chrysler did in late January, the auto giant will begin liquidating assets. No private lender could be found to take on its mounting debt. Ford Motor Company has temporarily suspended production on all makes and models of its cars as suppliers across the Midwest attempt to seek government help in speeding up the bankruptcy process.
President Romney expressed optimism that the liquidation and cancelation of union contracts will speed up the creative destruction he says is necessary. “Let the process work,” he told reporters in the Rose Garden. “I know how the economy works and this is a new start.”
Photo credit: Paul Bica
No Stimulus
CLEVELAND—June 17, 2009 More layoffs are imminent, Governor Ted Strickland said again in what has become his daily plea to Washington D.C. Since the financial crisis began in 2008, September tax receipts have decreased at a rate not seen since the Great Depression, requiring local governments to send pink slips to thousands of teachers, police and firefighters.
“Stop the bleeding, Mr. President,” Strickland said on the steps of the state capitol in Columbus. “If you will not help keep our government up and running, at least extend unemployment and food stamps for the families who are running out of benefits.”
Strickland also called on the federal government to subsidize state hospitals whose emergency rooms have been flooded by unemployed Ohioans who have lost their insurance coverage.
Photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik
Troops In Iraq and Afghanistan Indefinitely
BAGHDAD, IRAQ—December 28, 2010 Vice President Condoleezza Rice today announced that despite the inability of the Romney administration to secure a Status of Forces agreement, 45,000 American troops are to remain in Iraq until at least 2014. The announcement follows the release of a new tape from Osama bin Laden that promises to avenge the American occupation with attacks on Americans across the globe.
President Romney has not yet revealed if he plans to tamp down the “surge” in Afghanistan which as of the end of October had grown to nearly 140,000 American troops. “Strength is our only option,” he said in a statement in the Rose Garden.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq
Roe v. Wade Overturned
WASHINGTON DC—June 3, 2011 The Supreme Court ruled today by a 5 -4 decision that Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land. The majority opinion, written by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, moderated the extreme elements of the Court by saying that states should be able to make their own decisions about abortion.
Newly appointed Justice Michael J. Luttig voted with the majority, but also authored his own opinion that stated that life begins at conception despite asserting several times in his confirmation hearings that he had no settled opinion on the subject.
President Romney called the decision “a victory for life.”
The court’s widely anticipated decision on the Civil Rights Act is expected within the week.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File
The Deficit Hits $1.5 Trillion
LAS VEGAS—October 27, 2012 In a rally for his re-election Saturday morning, President Romney reminded Americans that the deficit he inherited was over $1 trillion, despite the record decrease in revenues following his 20 percent across-the-board tax cuts. “With just a little bit of patience and more tax relief, the next four years will be morning in America,” Romney said.
In her introduction, Secretary of the Interior Sarah Palin praised Romney’s aggressive drilling program and blamed Congress for overspending, despite the fact that the only new spending signed into law since 2009 has been requests the Romney administration made to increase the defense budget. Romney has promised entitlement reform and a balanced budget within four years if he is re-elected.
Photo credit: Images of Money
