(Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Unemployment in Iowa is 5.1 percent, and the state's Republican governor, Terry Branstad, has made it clear
he'd like Mitt Romney to stop making it sound like Iowa faces economic doom. Economic doom is basically Romney's entire message, though, so
he's not listening:
The Romney camp is out with an extensive new attack that blares: "IOWANS CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR FUTURE IN THE OBAMA ECONOMY."
"Vice President Biden is back in Iowa today to sell voters on the disappointing results of President Obama’s economic policies," a Romney spokeperson says. "But Iowans — like all Americans — are still struggling to make ends meet in the Obama economy."
"Nearly One In Five Iowans Experienced Economic Insecurity In 2010, A 26-Year High," the release proclaims.
In many states, Romney's focus on bad economic news makes some sense, because in many states, unemployment is far too high and not improving quickly enough. But 5.1 percent unemployment puts Iowa among the best states, employment-wise, making this line of attack in Iowa contrary to the stated wishes of the state's Republican governor, as well as leaving it an open question how much this will resonate with Iowa voters.
Tension between Romney's message of doom and the sunnier messages preferred by not just Branstad but Virginia's Bob McDonnell, Ohio's John Kasich and other Republican swing state governors aside, the biggest issue whenever Romney assails "the Obama economy" is that Romney's entire economic plan (or the parts of it he's willing to explain, anyway) is geared toward making things worse for people who have to work for a living. From his support for Paul Ryan's budget that would make the middle class pay for tax cuts for the rich and would run the safety net through a wood chipper to his stated desire to cut the jobs of teachers, fire fighters and police, Romney is pledging to govern exactly as he ran Bain Capital—for the benefit of the 1 percent, with workers' jobs and pensions and wages relevant only when they can be squeezed for greater profit at the top. If he gets his hands on the American economy, Iowans will look back on today as a golden age.