I'm here to talk about America's choice in this election, so let me get right to the point. Mitt Romney has said that if he was president and Paul Ryan's budget passed, he would sign it into law. That's what he said, so let's talk about what it would mean.
Medicare would become a voucher program, effectively ending the guarantee of health coverage for millions of senior citizens. Medicaid would be slashed, jeopardizing coverage for millions of children, people with disabilities, and family members in long-term care. Education would be slashed by 20 percent -- from Head Start through college, and everything in between. And all these cuts are being done so Romney can give a tax cut of $265,000 to your average millionaire, and continue billions of dollars in subsidies for Big Oil.
We Democrats have nothing against people who've earned their wealth. We salute their hard work and good fortune. But slashing what we invest in schools, in roads, in research and development, in clean energy and in the things that protect our most vulnerable just to cut taxes for those at the top -- is ridiculous and wrong!
That's the Romney-Ryan budget. It isn't conservative. It's harsh, it's radical, and it's wrong. It would shred the safety net that protects the middle class and those striving to get there. It would undermine FDR's New Deal, unravel Harry Truman's Fair Deal and leave us with Mitt Romney's Raw Deal!
President Obama and we Democratic governors believe something very different. We believe that a budget is more than just a bunch of numbers: it's a document that reflects our values. We believe we can--and should--make government leaner, cheaper, and more effective - cutting waste and trimming fat where we can. That's why President Obama signed into law $2 trillion in spending cuts, bringing annual domestic spending to its lowest level, as a share of the economy, since President Eisenhower.
But we can--and should -- ask every American to shoulder their fair share, not just the squeezed middle class, but also those at the very top who have done so well these past few years. We can -- and should --invest in what will strengthen and grow the middle class, good schools, affordable health care, medical research, clean energy, modern roads and high-speed trains. That's what President Obama believes. That's what we Democratic governors believe--and that's what we've done.
There are other differences as well. Let's talk about jobs. President Obama has helped create 4 million American jobs. Mitt Romney says he'll create jobs, but in what country?
Let's talk about voting rights. In Connecticut we're expanding them, and making it easier for people to register and to vote. The Republicans? In 19 states they're engaged in a systemic effort to disenfranchise millions of African-Americans, Hispanics, and senior citizens, as they try to undermine the fairness of this election.
Let's talk about women's rights. The Republicans want to take away a woman's right to choose, even if she's a rape victim. That's in their platform. That's what they believe. That's why there are three simple reasons for anyone to support Barack Obama over Mitt Romney: "Your sister, your mother, and your daughter."
As Democrats, we have a deep and abiding belief that America is full of people from all walks of life, people who are good and decent, and who work hard. People who are respectful of others, and who do not discriminate based on gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation.
We need to fight for our children, fight for our senior citizens, fight for women's rights, fight for the middle class, and fight for our country's future. That's why we need to fight for Barack Obama.
Thank you, God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
