"Path to Poverty" For America

SUMMARY: This week, Republicans in Congress are back in their home districts desperately trying to convince their constituents that voting to disinvest in America to pay for more millionaire tax giveaways is really putting our country on the so-called "Path to Prosperity."

CORE MESSAGE

The Republican budget puts America on a Path to Poverty.

Connect: We need to rebuild the middle class, not shrink it one American family at a time.

Define: The Romney-Ryan budget would end Medicare as we know it and gut investments in our kids so oil company CEOs and their hedge fund managers can get more tax giveaways.

Explain: It would kill millions of American jobs and give up on the investments that make America competitive in the world -- all the while digging us deeper in debt with wasteful tax handouts.

Brand the plan: The GOP plan is a great strategy to bring in more checks from their corporate campaign donors, but it's a Path to Poverty for America - and Americans want no part of it.

Debunk: We tried their trickle-down economics before and all we got to show for it are massive deficits and a shrinking middle class.

Contrast: Our economy does better everyone pays their fair share, everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone plays by the same rules.

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ATTACKS AND RESPONSES

CLAIM: "Hardworking taxpayers deserve a path to prosperity -- and Ryan is leading the way."
RESPONSE:

The GOP "Path to Poverty" would throw millions of Americans out of work, take money out of the pockets of regular Americans, and gut investments that make America competitive in the world.
The Romney-Ryan budget would also mean more parents without jobs, fewer teachers in our classrooms, and more kids thrown off Medicaid -- even though these are some of the most foolish things to do with our budget.
We've tried it their way before and already know what we've got to show for it: massive deficits and a shrinking middle class.

CLAIM: "The House GOP budget is courageous."
RESPONSE:

Letting seniors go bankrupt and taking food away from vulnerable children to avoid asking your wealthy campaign donors to pay their fair share -- that's cowardly.
Courage is standing up to the wealthy and powerful special interests funding their campaigns -- but Washington Republicans won't do it. They actually want more giveaways for the 1%.
Do we really want America led by politicians who'll show courage only when their corporate campaign donors give them permission?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The GOP budget would actually make the debt worse by providing $3 trillion in corporate and millionaire tax giveaways, with an average of $150K for the richest 1%.
At the same time, the GOP budget would end Medicare as we know it, take away Obamacare, throw millions of Americans off their health insurance, and cut more than $3 trillion from programs that vulnerable families rely on.
A recent poll shows 70% of Americans oppose cuts in federal education aid, but the GOP plan would deeply cut education at all levels: Head Start, K-12, and college.
Like the latest budget plan from Republicans in Congress, Mitt Romney's $11 trillion tax plan would overwhelmingly go to a tiny number of the wealthiest few -- including himself -- while cutting the Social Security and Medicare that Americans invest in all their working lives.
70% of Americans, including the majority of Republicans, want to keep Medicare as it is today, instead of replacing it with coupons as the House GOP and Mitt Romney have proposed.
Three-fourths of Americans, including nearly 70% of Republicans, support the Buffett Rule. And America does better when the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.
In the last six years, Republicans got 7 out of 10 Congressional campaign dollars spent by corporations that benefit the most from tax loopholes passed by those politicians.

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