Open Forum: Blaming Romney for closure an example of ‘pretzel logic’

A recent letter to The Star implicating Mitt Romney in the closing of the local GE plant, American Woodmark, and Federal-Mogul is a prime example of pretzel logic. I’ll attempt to unwind this convoluted mess.

The Winchester GE plant was legislated out of business by Washington lawmakers in a bipartisan effort to stave off global warming. In reality, it’s a fine example of sacrificing jobs for virtually nothing. Now we get to use Chinese-made bulbs containing mercury instead of having a free market choice.

Read the warnings on the package of any CFL bulb you buy. Barack Obama’s top jobs czar, Jeffrey Immelt, who happens to also be the CEO of GE, announced in 2011 that General Electric would be moving its 115-year-old X-ray business from Waukesha, Wis. to Beijing. Mitt Romney is a private citizen and has nothing to do with any of this.

American Woodmark is a victim of the housing bubble which has its roots in government housing and Federal Reserve policy that dates back into the 1990s. A little research is all it takes to figure this one out.

It takes time to inflate a bubble to the bursting point. Mitt Romney had nothing to do with this. Oddly enough, Barack Obama was a senator during the buildup, and I don’t recall one word from him warning us about the impending bubble. He was on the side encouraging banks to loan to those with a poor credit history to purchase homes they could not afford.

Federal-Mogul is another closure that Mitt Romney has nothing to do with. But Barack Obama is president now and hasn’t lifted a finger to change anything.

Here’s a little current outsourcing story you may not have heard about. The company of a prominent Obama administration adviser is encouraging its employees and business partners to explore outsourcing to Mexico. The letter encouraging outsourcing has raised some eyebrows because Boeing CEO Jim McNerney currently serves as chairman of Obama’s Export Council. Boeing is urging its employees and suppliers to participate in a Nov. 15 event in Chicago.

Fact is Mr. Obama’s policies are so anti-business we still have 23 million Americans looking for work. Poverty is rising, and food stamp usage is at an all-time high and rising. Mitt Romney is not responsible for this either. This is the legacy of Barack Obama.

About those offshore accounts, care to wager how many Democrats have them? Don’t bet because you’ll lose. Americans who use such “schemes” include Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and John Kerry, D-Mass., for starters. To the most partisan it only matters if Mitt Romney has one.

This election choice is simple. You either want change or you don’t. A recent NBC/NYT poll shows that 62 percent of Americans want “major changes” in President Obama’s agenda, which means most Americans aren’t happy with the current one.

The only way we have a chance at real change is if Mitt Romney is elected. Vote accordingly.

J.S. Lucas is a resident of Frederick County.