Biden offers specter of Romney-chosen Supreme Court
Dubuque, Iowa (CNN) – Less than 24 hours before the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its most closely watched decision in years, Vice President Joe Biden offered a grim projection of Mitt Romney's choices to fill vacancies on the bench.
"Close your eyes and picture what the Supreme Court would look like four years from now under Romney," Biden said to groans from a crowd of supporters at a rally in Dubuque. "Tell me what you think would happen to women's rights in this country, civil rights."
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Four members of the Supreme Court are in their seventies – Stephen Breyer is 73, Anthony Kennedy is 75, Antonin Scalia is 76 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 79. Plans for Supreme Court resignations, however, are closely guarded and rarely revealed ahead of presidential elections.
On Thursday, the high court will issue a decision on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care law, one of the incumbent Democrat's key legislative achievements during his first three years in office. Republicans, including the presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney, argue the law's individual mandate for Americans to purchase health insurance is an overstep of the federal government.
In Iowa Wednesday, Biden once again slammed Romney's record as a private equity executive, as he did Tuesday in Waterloo, saying his rival was presenting a failed business record as his qualification for the White House.
"He said being a businessman is what gives him a great understanding, and I'm paraphrasing, of what it takes to bring back jobs to the United States," Biden said. "But like so many other things the governor says, what he talks about, there's a huge disconnect between what he says, and what he means, and what he's done."
Biden went on to reference a story first reported last week in the Washington Post portraying Romney's former firm, Bain Capital, as a outsourcer of American jobs.
Team Romney called the article a "fundamentally flawed story," arguing it fails to point out the difference between "domestic outsourcing versus offshoring."
Outsourcing, the campaign argues, is a common practice and can occur domestically without sending jobs overseas. Offshoring, on the other hand, involves shifting work out of house and overseas.
Biden mocked that response Wednesday, saying the distinction between offshoring and outsourcing would provide little comfort to out of work Americans.
"If you're looking for work, that's a pretty cruel joke," Biden said. "I can picture one guy says to another in the unemployment line: 'Did you get outsourced or did you get offshored? Which happened to you?' You think it matters to the American worker, to the community? Either way, Mitt Romney helped, and by his response acknowledged he helped take companies take work that was being done – or could have been done – in the United States, and sent it overseas."
Romney's campaign responded to Biden's remarks, saying the vice president was ignoring economic reality to mislead voters.
"Vice President Biden today continued his misleading attacks on free enterprise and doubled down on the failed policies that have Democrats fleeing from this summer's convention," Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams wrote, referring to a recent spate of Democratic politicians announcing they would not attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
Williams continued, writing: "The Obama Administration has no new ideas to help the middle-class or the millions of Americans suffering from chronic unemployment, so the President and his allies will keep trying to distract attention from the economy. Americans deserve better."
Biden said in Iowa that Romney's top-down economic plan would hurt growth, saying the focus should instead be on helping the middle class.
"When the middle class does well, the poor has a shot and a hope," Biden said. "And the wealthy do very, very well. Everybody does fine when the middle class is doing well."
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I can tell you what it'll look like in 4 years if Obama is re-elected.... DISBANDED AND JAILED. The leftist dictator will not allow it otherwise.
Does anyone take this man seriously. The more he speaks the more Romney's poll numbers increase.
Where are Romney's new ideas to help the middle class and the unemployed?
Joe, Why should I believe you? You once told me that J-O-B-S was a three letter word. I will say this though, you are a fun guy!
A Romney-appointed Justice will say that state-imposed individual mandate, like the Massachusetts health care plan Romney enacted in 2006, is a market-based solution to control the cost of health care and provide universal coverage, but federally imposed individual mandate, like Obama's health care plan, is socialism.
You're right on, Biden. Romney's Supreme Court picks would re-shackle the proletariats. He couldn't care less about the lower and middle classes much less gender and minority equality.
-Obama 2012 – BEND Forward America, take another 4 long years of OBAMA FAILURE
I can tell you what it'll look like in 4 years if Obama is re-elected.... DISBANDED AND JAILED. The leftist dictator will not allow it otherwise.
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Aw, geez, really? Why not just come out and say you are hoping the Mayan calender is accurate? So much for the sunny optimism conservatives used to have under Reagan. If you can't be that way, just paint the worst picture imagineable so you look good when you post on the internet, eh?
@Fair is Fair:
Right you are.
He did buy time during the Super Bowl but I should've referenced that with HIllary not Mc Shame.
I stand corrected.
@ Investment Advisor:
Plenty! LOL!
-Investment Advisor
Joe, Why should I believe you? You once told me that J-O-B-S was a three letter word. I will say this though, you are a fun guy!
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By the way, my 401K has done really well under Obama: how is yours' ? Pretty damn good, I bet.
Romney started the Bain capital; today they have Headquarters Shanghai and Mumbai
Nothing wrong in Investing in India China, But those government expect some thing from foreign Investors that is JOBS those jobs moved from USA
I will combine all those policies (suffrage, racial discrimination, etc) into one super-bill.... for me to poop on.
For the unitiated, the following is a translation of Bend Over, Deputy & Advisor's inane posts:
Waaaaaahhhhh, how DARE the VP tell the truth!!! Who does he think he is???!!! If he keeps this up, the American people are going to become wise to the rethug agenda and they'll NEVER win another election! Stop it Joe – you KNOW how bad the truth hurts!
Free enterprised? Are you kidding? When the American taxpayer stops picking up the tab to subsidize all of these free enterprise fools with tax breaks and other corporate giveaways they can talk about free enterprise.
Supreme Court under Obama , with another 4 yrs, would look like Hugo Chavez took control of our laws.
The very wealthy have a difficult time with Joe.....they don't understand a everyman whose son goes to fight for this country,who fights for the rest of the ordinary Joe's out here......not the language of the 1% ers!!
"If you're looking for work, that's a pretty cruel joke," Biden said.
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You and Obama certainly are Joey... a VERY cruel joke that this country has had to endure for 4 long hard years. November can't get here fast enough.
Joe Biden makes Forrest Gump look like a Rhodes Scholar.
I would like to hear concrete and particular ideas from Romney. I have heard nothing except
accusations and blame while he has done nothing at all to let me know what he plans to do.
He seems to be very good at blaming democrats while he offers no solutions at all.
I really don't think he wants to offer solutions–that would hold hm accountable and i think
he likes being able to change his opinion. What is he going to do let's say just a few weeks before
the election? Are we ever going to hear solid answers from him or just typical rich rhetoric?
Come on Romney–at this point you bet i'd listen to Obama Biden before i'd be comfortable voting for you.
At least they care about the 99%.
The Coca-Cola United States Supreme Court, brought to you by...Dolly Madison.
Why do the republicans remind me of the movie ship of fools?
Dear Joe – You are a talking puppet. Give me some leeway in intelligence. Its not like your adminiistration appointments are unbiased. You have been smoking those drapes again haven't you?
Investment Advisor. why should anyone believe you? I met many expats in China, in Singapore, in India, in Bangedish that US firms move and set up sweat shops there in the name of maximizing profits.
I wish you well, one day your job is offshore too. Watch your back.
If people are comfortable w/a corporate "take over" of our nation, by all means, vote for Romney! I can tell you what That will look like: just open your history books to Last turn of the century & you'll get a clue! Forward– Obama 2012!!
Joe biden is a upright gentleman and statesman. You, gotoverit is another rat
with a GOP dominated supreme court, mind as well strip all citizenship and give it only to those who owns a valid profit loss statement. Money rules