Mitt Romney Attacks Rudy Giuliani Over His Economic Record and Line Item Veto

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3SaDQGq2wI[/youtube]

Mitt Romney criticized GOP presidential rival Rudy Giuliani Thursday for fighting as New York’s mayor to eliminate a presidential line-item veto and to maintain a commuter tax on visitors to New York City.

Romney said those actions highlighted his own differences with Giuliani over government spending and taxation, pivotal questions in New Hampshire, a state that has no income tax and prides itself on its bare-bones government.

Romney is the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts. Giuliani has begun to challenge Romney’s lead in early voting New Hampshire, and the Romney campaign has been portraying the Republican race as a two-man contest with the former New York mayor.

“I don’t think there’s any tool more important than the line-item veto,” Romney told a man at St. Anselm College who asked him to contrast himself with Giuliani on tax and spending policy. “I line-item-veteoed hundreds of items as governor of Massachusetts, hundreds, and that vehicle is the most powerful tool a president of the United States could have to rein in unnecessary pork barrel, earmarked spending.”

One of Romney’s predecessors, former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci, later told reporters in a conference call arranged by the Giuliani camp that the criticism “appears to be some desperation as the polls close,” as well as “pretty weak arguments from a governor who in four years really had no tax cuts for the people of Massachusetts.”

Cellucci said Giuliani supports a line-item veto as one of his 12 commitments.

The is probably NOT the best strategy since Mitt has it WRONG.

Let’s say you are Mitt Romney. Your lead in New Hampshire seems to be shrinking. You decide to attack your closest rival in the state, Rudy Giuliani. You choose to go after . . . Giuliani’s economic record.

Um, doesn’t that seem to be a tactical mistake? Doesn’t Giuliani have much larger liabilities in a Republican primary, such as, among other things, his pro-choice views, his past support for gun control, and his continued support for some sort of reprieve for illegal immigrants who have jobs, identify themselves to the government, and have no criminal records? Why not go after any of those?

Here is the audio of former Massachusetts Governor Paul Celluci calling out Romney.

And then there is this PUSHBACK from the Giuliani campaign:

â€œThere is one Republican candidate in the race with a track record of cutting taxes 23 times and that is Rudy Giuliani. No amount of political spin can help Mitt Romney re-write the history books. Mitt Romney failed to pass a single tax cut as Governor and the Cato Institute gave him a â€˜Câ€™ for his handling of the economy as Governor. Mitt Romney can repackage himself as many times as he wants but his failing fiscal record speaks for itself.â€

â€“ Katie Levinson, Communications Director

OUCH………..

Flap supposes it is desperation time for Romney. He has lost his poll lead in New Hampshire and his campaign except for his own checks is BROKE.

Not a good day for the Mittster……..

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