Former President Clinton Blasts Romney’s ‘Disappointing’ New Welfare Claim: ‘That Is Not True’

[SunsetDreams]

Mitt Romney spent Tuesday on a media blitz claiming that President Obama is out to “gut welfare reform.” An ad released by the Romney campaign first pointed to President Clinton as having successfully reformed welfare, before excoriating Obama. However, in a statement, Clinton called Romney’s charge against Obama “disappointing” and “not true”:

Governor Romney released an ad today alleging that the Obama administration had weakened the work requirements of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. That is not true. [...]

The recently announced waiver policy was originally requested by the Republican governors of Utah and Nevada to achieve more flexibility in designing programs more likely to work in this challenging environment. The Administration has taken important steps to ensure that the work requirement is retained and that waivers will be granted only if a state can demonstrate that more people will be moved into work under its new approach. The welfare time limits, another important feature of the 1996 act, will not be waived.

The Romney ad is especially disappointing because, as governor of Massachusetts, he requested changes in the welfare reform laws that could have eliminated time limits altogether. We need a bipartisan consensus to continue to help people move from welfare to work even during these hard times, not more misleading campaign ads.

In reality, the Obama administration is simply giving states the ability to experiment with new work programs, along the lines of a reform that Romney himself requested in 2005.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/08/08/656061/clinton-romney-welfare/

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. I think that Rmoney pulled that one out of his arse.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Maybe the Romney folks think they can get away with hit-and-run statements with Obama,

but they've made a serious mistake crossing Big Dawg.

[SunsetDreams]

6. ha ha ha I think they thought they were

opening up a can of of worms but instead opened up....

[SunsetDreams]

7. William J Clinton Style!! nt

[Proud Liberal Dem]

3. Looks like Romney is doubling down on this claim

and unleashing "The Newt' to support him on this: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/gingrich-romney-rnc-welfare.php?ref=fpb

Looks like we might get a repeat of the 1990's skirmishes between Clinton and Gingrich. The only problem for Romney is that most of us (not him, apparently) know who won.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

8. Newt "Drop the Pious Baloney" Gingrich is helping out Rmoney?

You lie down with dogs, you wake up on the car roof.

[woofless]

4. Be careful of what you ask for.

You might get it then have to oppose it as a matter of political expediancy.

[hifiguy]

5. Great move, Mittwit. Big Dawg has not gone after your sorry butt

in the spirit of, well, something or other, in this campaign. You just smacked him across the face with your patrician's glove. Get ready for an ass-chewing, Mac.

[SunsetDreams]

9. +1

[SunsetDreams]

10. .