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Biden slams Romney’s policies during Valley visit
VP Joe Biden Visits M7 Technology
Gallery
Vice President Joe Biden aggressively criticized the economic policies of Mitt Romney, saying the presumptive Republican presidential nominee can’t relate to the middle class and is only concerned about the rich. Romney “wants to take us back to the future,” Biden said. “You saw where this philosophy brought us. Gov. Romney wants to double down” on bad economic policies. In a speech Wednesday at M7 Technologies, an advanced-technology company, Biden described the differences between President Barack Obama, a Democrat seeking re-election, and Romney.
YOUNGSTOWN
Vice President Joe Biden aggressively criticized the economic policies of Mitt Romney, saying the presumptive Republican presidential nominee can’t relate to the middle class and is concerned only about the rich.
Romney “wants to take us back to the future,” Biden said. “You saw where this philosophy brought us. Gov. Romney wants to double down” on bad economic policies.
In a speech Wednesday at M7 Technologies, an advanced-technology company, Biden described the differences between President Barack Obama, a Democrat seeking re-election, and Romney.
During the nearly 35-minute-long speech, Biden spoke at times in barely audible whispers and then in a loud booming voice.
About 650 people were at the Youngstown plant for Biden’s speech, said city Fire Chief John J. O’Neill Jr.
Frequently mentioning the “Valley” during his speech, Biden said the people of this area know better than others the consequences of Romney’s economic philosophy.
“You’ve been through hell and back — outsourcing, padlocked plants,” Biden said. “How many times have you opened The Vindicator or other papers to find out another factory was closing down? And you probably knew someone who worked there, too, or maybe it was you.”
Biden said with Obama as president, the economy is improving. He said as far as manufacturing growth, the “Mahoning Valley is leading the way.”
Biden said the “only reason” there are jobs at the General Motors complex in Lordstown is “because the president had the courage” to save the auto industry with a federal bailout in 2009.
While talking about Romney, but not specifically mentioning him, Biden said, “One thing I do resent is when they talk about” middle-class families having “job envy” of the rich.
“They don’t get us,” Biden said of the very wealthy, which includes Romney.
Ryan Williams, a Romney spokesman who got a ticket to attend Biden’s speech, said after the event that Obama “has not done what he promised to do” when elected four years ago.
“This race is so close, even though we just came out of a very difficult primary process,” Williams said. “This race is close because voters are disheartened. Voters are disappointed, and they realize that this president’s” economic record is poor.
Ex-Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, who shared the stage Wednesday with Biden, said after the speech that the vice president “drew an appropriate contrast between the administration’s policies and Mr. Romney’s.”
Romney “became a rich man, but did it at the expense of ordinary people.”
Biden “brings a deep understanding” of the challenges facing the middle class “because of his own personal background,” Strickland said.
The former governor said he “sometimes feels sorry” for Romney, who “tries to relate to regular people,” but can’t.
“Consequently, he’s incapable of showing empathy towards” regular people, Strickland said.
Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras said Biden’s repeated mentions of “the Valley shows he knows the issues we’re facing. If you live in the Mahoning Valley, you had to be impressed by that speech.”
Carl Davison, a Youngs-town State University student, said Biden “spoke about the heart and soul of the middle class.” Davison voted for Obama and Biden in 2008 and plans to do it again in November.
Mark Cleland of Austintown said Biden “fired up the base. He told us how it is. We’ve got to bring jobs back for the middle class.”
Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone, who spoke briefly with Biden before the speech, said he agrees with the vice president that manufacturing jobs will bring economic prosperity to the nation and grow the middle class.
“Manufacturing jobs are the backbone of the middle class,” Sammarone said. “What he talked about is key to our area.”
on to salem
After he left Youngstown, Biden traveled to Salem, where he visited with 13 firefighters.
“I just came to say hi and to say thank you. You guys have been to hell and back” with local budget cuts and increased demands, Biden said.
He voiced his support for hiring more firefighters supplying them with more equipment, and praised them for filling myriad roles as first responders.
According to the Obama campaign, the Salem Fire Department was awarded a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant last year of more than $300,000 to maintain staffing levels through 2013. The department was awarded more than $46,000 this year to replace a worn-out air compressor.