Digging into the GOP job-creation dispute
It’s a rumble: Utah vs. Massachusetts.
As noted earlier today in “Political Intelligence,’’ former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman attacked Mitt Romney for the economic record he compiled as governor of Massachusetts.
“When you look at the absolute increases in job creation, Utah led the way in the United States in terms of job creation,’’ Huntsman said, according to CNN. “That, compared and contrasted with certain other states like Massachusetts, which I will just pull out randomly, not first, but 47th.’’
Moments earlier, Huntsman said, according to CNN: “Some are running from their record. I am running on my record. Take a look at what we have done.’’
It was the most direct attack yet by Huntsman against Romney.
Both presidential candidates are competing for a similar pool of moderate Republican voters. In attacking Romney on the economy, Huntsman was echoing a criticism that Democrats have been making in recent days.
In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh said Romney as Massachusetts governor had a “terrible record as a job creator,’’ citing statistics in a Los Angeles Times story that reported that job creation was among the lowest in the nation.
“When Mitt Romney took over as governor of Massachusetts our jobless rate was less than the United States’ rate – and when he left, we were higher,’’ Walsh said.
Spokesmen for both candidates say they stand by their records.
Romney spokesman Ryan Williams, asked about Huntsman’s criticism, said, “Mitt Romney created nearly 50,000 jobs as governor of Massachusetts and led his state to one of the most dramatic job market turnarounds in the country. He is proud to compare his accomplishments with President Obama’s failed economic policies and disgraceful job creation record.’’
Huntsman spokesman Michael Levoff responded that Romney’s record on job creation was “abysmal by every standard.’’
He said: “Governor Huntsman will run on his record of cutting taxes, reducing regulation, and passing free market health care which resulted in Utah becoming the number one state for job creation. We assume Mitt Romney will continue to run away from his record.’’
The statistic Huntsman was quoting came from a MarketWatch report about US Labor Department figures, which found that a year into Romney’s tenure, Massachusetts ranked 47th in job growth, behind only Ohio, Michigan and Louisiana.
But as The Washington Post pointed out, citing the Romney campaign, the unemployment rate in Massachusetts under Romney dropped from 5.6 percent in January 2003 to 4.6 percent in January 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate in Utah under Huntsman rose from 4.5 percent in January 2005 to 7.4 percent in August 2009.
Of course, the country was in a recession during Huntsman’s tenure, but not during Romney’s. During the period they overlapped, from 2005 to 2007, Utah actually gained more jobs than Massachusetts and Utah’s unemployment rate dropped by more than Massachusetts’.
By that metric, Utah wins.
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