Delaware Democratic Party

“And unlike the President, I have a plan,” Mitt Romney declared during his acceptance speech last night at the Republican convention. Unfortunately, Americans will have to keep guessing about the details of his plan, since Romney had very little to say about what he actually plans to do if elected.

The vague platitudes and conservative talking points he offered were nothing new. This is hardly surprising: the Republican platform has changed very little since the days of George W. Bush. Whether the economy is strong or weak, whether the unemployment rate is 4% or 10%, Republicans always offer the same ideas: tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and cuts to investments and education.

Romney’s speech was much more telling in what it left out than in what he actually said. He promised to balance the budget, but said not a word about what he would cut or which loopholes he would close to make up for the 20% tax cut he has already promised to millionaires and billionaires. He attacked President Obama on Medicare, but made no mention of his own plan to end Medicare as we know it, replacing Medicare’s guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. And he promised Americans that he would make the country energy independent by 2020, without mentioning his campaign promise to gut investments in renewable energy, particularly wind power--an industry that currently employs tens of thousands of Americans.

Next week, President Obama will go to Charlotte and show us Romney is wrong. President Obama does have a plan, one that will ensure we continue to invest in the middle class and in infrastructure and renewable energy. Our plan means making sure everyone pays their fair share and plays by the same rules.