Even since President Obama's statement was edited to fit the GOP narrative, they have used a series of small business folks who claimed "they have built it" all by themselves, from the ground up.
But as usual, all is not as it seems. When the president said, we are not an island but are all inter-connected and inter-dependent: like the business that depends on good roads to get its products at a given destination on time or the business which would fold if no one patronized it; or still that start-up company that enjoys federal grants or tax exemptions to grow--Republicans pounced, accusing Obama of saying folks didn't built their business.
With that running theme, businesswoman Sher Valenzuela, who is also running for office in Delaware, was sheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fl., on Tuesday night, to extoll her personal triumph of "I build it." But did she?
She is one of the GOP's shining example of "we built this," thus their plan to trot her out at the RNC but according to documents made public online, Valenzuela received millions of federal dollars for her "I built this" business.
On her Facebook page, the married Latina mother proudly advertises her business and job description as Co-Owner of First State Manufacturing, "where the 21st Century Solutions for Industrial Upholstery - 'If the wheel needed reinventing, we'd be the people to do it!'"
Enthusiasm and confidence to spare, which are two very important ingredient to any successful venture and Ms. Valenzuela seems to have both. What she didn't have is the capital to do it all on her own so she reportedly accepted $17 million in government loans and contracts on several occasions, which puts the "H" in high hypocrisy for the GOP.
According to Media Matters, the Lieutenant governor hopeful pocketed more than $2 million in federal loans and an additional $15 million in contracts. Is that what "we built it" all by ourselves looks like?
There is a Sher Valenzuela Parody Site that Blasts the GOP's 'We Built It' Theme and it just may be one of the GOP's election year nightmare, for it lists, in detail, State Manufacturing's government alleged "pay-out" over the years.
The opening line on the dummy site reads, "
"Year-by-Year
When you look at the history of First State Manufacturing year-by-year, you can see how government has been a faithful partner in helping us build our business."
The GOP is either a walking contradiction or a study in hypocrisy for this notion that all businesses built themsleves independently of any assistance starkly contrast with their "job creators are businesses who need the Bush era tax break to survive."
Which is it:"we built it" or we built it with the help of Uncle Sam sometimes?
How do they get away with the disingenuous "tomfoolery" they pour on to their supporters? I could understand the very wealthy who do not want to part with the cushy ride given to them by George Bush Jr. but how do ordinary Republicans swallow that kind of snakeskin oil?
For additional read, click here:Why the Website Sher Valenzuela Didn't Build May Haunt the GOP
