Last week, Democrats at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte reaffirmed what the Republican National Convention demonstrated the week before in Tampa: the hypocrisy of the GOP.

While both parties were concerned with framing their rhetoric, the RNC completely lacked a clear, definitive plan for rebuilding the economy or creating jobs, and instead spent a majority of the time raving about the sputtering state of the economy under President Obama.

It is fair to say President Obama does not have business experience, which Gov. Mitt Romney milked during his speech in Tampa. With that said, it’s also fair to point out that Romney picked a vice president who spent the majority of his career in the public sector. And Romney’s experience as a businessman is marked by Bain Capital investments that inflated companies with debt while thousands lost jobs, pensions and healthcare, and employment was sent abroad. Not really the kind of business experience I want my president to have – especially if he won’t even release his tax returns while running for the highest office.

Romney claimed he would create 12 million new jobs, but he did not explain how. The content at the RNC was primarily disappointing economic figures, with no solid plans on how to improve them. All the GOP has done under Obama’s leadership is stall and thwart policies that would foster economic growth and implement
job-destroying austerity measures to point a finger at the president for a poor economy. Republicans purposefully fought fiscal stimulus policies they once supported, like a payroll tax break, and consistently stonewalled basic maneuvers for aiding the jobless during economic crises, like unemployment insurance; exploiting effective economic measures to negotiate for more tax cuts for the nation’s millionaires and billionaires.

The same conservatives who pushed for fiscal stimulus to jump-start the economy 10 years ago snub the thought of it today. And instead of even trying to shape extensive job development legislation themselves, they criticize the flexible monetary measures they used to support, like state relief legislation. Republicans have deliberately disrupted U.S. economic recovery to make Obama look bad politically. And while it may be a great campaign strategy, it is toxic for our economy. Romney claims he wanted President Obama to succeed in his acceptance speech, but he supports all the means to stop the president from doing so.

In “The Art of Rhetoric,” Aristotle said it’s easier to argue something that is good and true than something that is wrong. It sounds pretty simple, but it’s a point that gets lost in the muddy waters of heated national debate. Let it be said that it’s easier to argue for a President and a party who, despite some aggravatingly soft compromises over the past two years, want four more to secure health coverage, jobs and social rights for all people, than for a party who would keep millions of people out of work just to take one man’s job.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Sept. 11 print edition. Raquel Woodruff is a staff columnist. Email her at [email protected].