Joe Scarborough Slams Mitt Romney Welfare Ads: 'It's Just Completely False' (VIDEO)
On Tuesday's edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough laced into Mitt Romney's camp over a lineup of welfare ads that repeat a false claim against President Barack Obama.
"I've been looking for a week-and-a-half to try to figure out the basis of this welfare reform ad," Scarborough said. "I've scoured the Wall Street Journal editorial pages … the ad's completely false. It's just completely false."
Romney's August attacks charged that the Obama administration ended work requirements for welfare program participants.
FactCheck.org detailed the holes in those words:
Work requirements are not simply being “dropped.” States may now change the requirements — revising, adding or eliminating them — as part of a federally approved state-specific plan to increase job placement.
And it won’t “gut” the 1996 law to ease the requirement. Benefits still won’t be paid beyond an allotted time, whether the recipient is working or not.
Last week, Mitt Romney pretended to be amazed. "n the past, when people pointed out that something was inaccurate, why, campaigns pulled the ad," Romney said. "They were embarrassed. Today, they just blast ahead. You know, the various fact-checkers look at some of these charges in the Obama ads and they say that they're wrong, and inaccurate, and yet he just keeps on running them."
It was among the more ironic complaints ever registered by anyone.
Romney launched a ridiculous welfare lie two weeks ago. People pointed out that it's inaccurate, but instead of feeling embarrassment and pulling the ad, Romney just blasted ahead, even after the various fact-checkers proved the smear isn't true. Today, the post-truth campaign continues apace.
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For those who still care about reality, Romney's lying. Two Republican governors asked the Obama administration for some flexibility on the existing welfare law. The White House said that'd be fine, so long as the work requirement isn't weakened. It's consistent with the policy endorsed by many Republican governors, including Mitt Romney himself, just six years ago.
Even the Richmond Times has now admitted its editorial claim that Obama had gutted welfare has been debunked. Their debunked claim is central to the ad's premise.
