It's Mitt Romney's turn to make jobs pitch

September 06, 2011|By Michael A. Memoli | Washington Bureau

Mitt Romney is rolling out a conservative prescription for job creation Tuesday, seeking to draw a contrast with President Obama ahead of his planned economic address to Congress on Thursday. Romney, who recently drew Democratic fire for stating that "corporations are people," calls for cutting taxes on both, along with slashing "job-killing regulation," expanding trade with an international "Reagan Economic Zone," and capping government spending and balancing the federal budget. In total, the former Massachusetts governor said his plan encompasses 59 distinct proposals, a meaty rollout from the candidate more interested than ever in stressing his private-sector experience as a "conservative businessman."

Romney is scheduled to offer additional details in a speech in North Las Vegas, Nev., on Tuesday afternoon. Nevada is among the first four early-nominating states, and one Romney is counting on for a victory. He's facing new pressure in the candidacy of Rick Perry, who is running on the economic growth in Texas during his more-than-10-year governorship. "Unlike career politicians who've never met a payroll, I know why jobs come and go," Romney wrote in a USA Today Op-Ed article previewing his plan, taking a shot at both Obama and Perry. Each of his proposals, Romney wrote, "is rooted in the conservative premise that government itself cannot create jobs.""Only the individual initiative of entrepreneurs, workers, investors and inventors enables companies, and our economy as a whole, to flourish. We must once again unleash the tremendous economic potential of the American people," he argued.

Another Republican candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, released his own jobs plan in New Hampshire last week, winning plaudits from conservatives. Huntsman pitted his economic record against Romney's in a preemptive strike Tuesday, saying Utah led the nation in job growth under his leadership while Massachusetts ranked near the bottom.

Democrats made a similar point in their own prebuttals. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in an interview with Fox News Channel that although Romney touts his private-sector resume, he "was involved in actually helping companies shed [jobs] when he tried to turn them around," referring to his time at Bain Capital.