Tom Perriello, a former Democratic congressman from Virginia, gets right to the point as he and local volunteers kick off the Romney Economics: Middle Class Under the bus tour in Alexandria, Virginia: "We welcome Mitt Romney to Virginia. We do not welcome his message."
Romney's message, says Perriello, is clear: He plans to raise middle-class taxes in order to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires like himself. A recent report from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that, in order to pay for Romney's $5 trillion tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, he'd have no choice but to raise taxes on the middle class.
"When I talk to voters," says Perriello, "What they say is, 'What is this going to cost me?' Well, a Romney presidency is going to cost you about $2,000 a year if you're in the middle class. I think that's a cost that's too high to pay."
That's why we're on the road with a message of our own: The middle class can't afford Romney Economics.
Look no further than Romney's record in Massachusetts. Perriello says, "Sometimes the best way to see where you're going is to see where you've been. Romney doesn't want to talk about his past in Massachusetts. When he was governor, Massachusetts fell to 47th out of 50 in job creation. This election should be about substance and results. When you look at the substance of Romney's policies, they're going to be a disaster for the middle class.
"This is an easy choice."