The day after a new poll found that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney would beat President Obama in New Hampshire by 10 points, New Hampshire Democrats are treating Romney as if he already won the Republican nomination.
In a memo that will be sent to supporters this morning, New Hampshire Democratic Party spokeswoman Holly Shulman lays out the case against Romney’s economic policies.
“The reality is that Romney has wholeheartedly embraced far-right, Tea Party-approved policies that do nothing to increase economic security for middle-class families here in New Hampshire and the rest of the country,” the spokeswoman says.
Shulman says Romney’s policies would cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; privatize Medicare; and raise the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare.
Romney plans to visit New Hampshire on Friday for a Chamber of Commerce forum in Manchester.
On the campaign trail, he has said he would block grant money to the states for Medicaid; would be open to raising the retirement age for Social Security while changing the way benefits are calculated for wealthy Americans; and would give seniors a certain amount of money to buy Medicare benefits, while letting private insurers compete with the government program.
Shulman writes that Romney’s tax policies – extending the Bush tax cuts, eliminating the estate tax, and cutting the corporate gains tax rate – would benefit the wealthy. And, she adds, he would cut programs that help lower income people, for example by cutting federal money for heating assistance. She says his proposals would hurt women by cutting family planning money that helps Planned Parenthood.
Romney has consistently said on the campaign trail that he is worried about the middle class, not the rich.
The Democratic e-mail comes days after Romney spokeswoman Gail Gitcho in an e-mail to supporters accused Obama and the Democrats of being “obsessed” with Romney.
“With each passing day, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Obama’s political machine prefers to focus its time and energy on attacking Governor Romney than fixing our economy,” Gitcho wrote.
She noted that Obama’s campaign press secretary referenced Romney 110 times in one month on Twitter, and the Democratic National Committee released 26 attack videos targeting Romney.