Paul Abrams: Romney, Change? "From the People Who Brought You Economic Collapse and Iraq"

Romney has hired the George W. Bush team of economic and foreign policy advisers.

The Romney campaign has now decided to adopt the mantle of "change."

This hands the Obama campaign another opportunity to let the sun shine on the truth. It certainly is "change", but one usually associates "change" with something new, not with re-instituting disastrously failed policies. (Einstein did not call that change; he called it insanity).

If Romney and the Republicans take over, not only will Medicare's guarantee be gone -- forever -- but we will experience the same financial, housing and general economic collapse as we did under George W Bush.

Because the truth is that Romney's economic advisers, led by Glenn Hubbard, were also George W Bush's economic advisers. Not surprisingly, they have the same plan: tax cuts for the wealthy, de-regulation, subsidies for oil companies, ending subsidies for alternative energy, tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas and skyrocketing defense spending. Lurking not too deep behind the surface are plans to hand Social Security to Wall Street.

But, this time the collapse will be worse. We start from a far less secure position than when President Clinton handed the Republicans surpluses "as far as the eye could see," and, this time, there is no stomach in the Republican party to do anything but let it all fall.

The Obama campaign should be very clear, e.g.,:

"So, my fellow Americans, if you want another financial meltdown, Mitt Romney has hired the people who gave the last one to you. If you want another housing collapse, Romney has the right people primed to give you another. If you want another economic catastrophe, Romney's people know how to make that happen too. If you want to see income inequality continue to skyrocket, Romney's advisers are the experts."

"You know from your own recent experience not only that it does not work, but that it leads directly to catastrophe. And, we now know, from a report by the Congressional Research Service, that Romney's entire program does not work to create jobs. We know how true it is because the Republicans have suppressed the report -- as the Romney campaign said, 'we are not going to let fact-checkers get in the way of our campaign'.

It is also fair to conclude that Romney will continue the Afghanistan War well beyond 2014. Although the neoconistas have allowed him to agree with President Obama's timetable without publicly objecting during the campaign, it is difficult to believe that they will not be pushing for an escalation, aka, a "surge for as long as the eye can see." It is not in their nature to do otherwise. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has proposed as much.

And there is an unsettling clue from a Romney advisor, Dan Senor, who in the same breath adopted the Obama withdrawal timetable and criticized it.

After all, "circumstances" might just "change" after the election. Do you think?

Then, of course, there is Iran. The neoconistas have wanted to topple the government in Iran for a long time. Iraq was just supposed to be a steppingstone.

President Bush was unable to get Russia and China to join in crippling economic sanctions. President Obama did.

After Romney's references to Russia, how long after a Romney election is President Putin likely to stick with the sanction regime? And, once it falls apart, whom do you think will be pretending to be distraught that the only alternative to war has now been removed?

Just take a gander at Romney's foreign policy/national security advisers. Seventeen of 24 have origins in the Bush Administration who helped lie us into Iraq.

Since neither Romney nor Ryan knows anything about foreign policy, the ability of this neocon cabal to get its way is almost unchallenged. [But, don't worry. None of the Romney sons will be fighting].

There has not been very much specific from the Romney campaign other than wild swings in his positions depending on what sentiment he is pretending to convey.

One is, however, justified in concluding what Romney will actually do if he became president.

Just look at the people he has hired for advice.

?

Follow Paul Abrams on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pabrams2001

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-abrams/romney-change-from-the-pe_b_2070191.html

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