Last week Mitt Romney said his agenda contains "no legislation with regards to abortion." Is he serious? Did he forget his months of campaigning against a woman's right to make her own health care decisions, vowing to defund Planned Parenthood and calling Roe v. Wade, "one of the darkest moments in Supreme Court history" that quickly?
Let's be clear: Romney is extreme on abortion. But what's more concerning is that this is only one of many examples of Romney misleading voters on the campaign trail -- a problem he's had since he entered politics.
It's no surprise that Romney isn't being honest with the American people about his "severely conservative" positions because the real Mitt Romney knows they'll hurt his chances to win in a few weeks' time.
But there's no hiding when you're President. And he should know that we're on to him and we are going to spread the word. People need to know where he stands and what he really believes. Voters won't be fooled by Mitt Romney's attempt to hide his positions -- after six years of running for president, we know the real Mitt Romney.
The risks of the Romney/Ryan ticket are real, and the stakes for young people couldn't be higher. From doubling down on policies that will roll back the clock on women's access to health care -- Ryan honestly thinks that politicians should be the ones making decisions on choice! -- and wanting to strip health care from millions of my peers, to proposing the same top down policies that got us into this mess, to wanting to slash Pell Grants for nearly 10 million students, they simply don't get it. Their policies don't just hurt us current students; they hurt our country and our future.
The choice in this election couldn't be clearer. President Obama is fighting every day to make sure that our generation has a fair shot at success. We have all been affected by the policies President Obama has put in place. He doubled funding for Pell Grants and reformed the student loan system, making a college education more affordable for millions of students. President Obama also expanded access to health care through Obamacare, allowing 3.1 million young people to stay on their parents' health insurance until they are 26. These are real accomplishments, and I know that President Obama will only continue this progress when we re-elect him.
In 2008, we came out in record numbers and supported then-Senator Obama by a 2 to 1 margin. In 2012, we are just as enthusiastic about the President, and it's up to all of us to continue what we started four years ago. As a native North Carolinian, I know that each of our votes will really matter. In 2008, we turned my home state blue by only 14,000 votes, which breaks down to just five votes per precinct. This year, the election will be just as close if not closer, and the stakes are even higher. We can't afford to write off this election like Romney has written off half the country and half of us. We have to finish what we started in 2008, and there's more to do -- we can't go back because we have to continue moving forward.
I ask you all to join me. Like I said, this election will come down to just a few votes. It can come down to that one extra conversation you have or one extra person you register. So now is the time to start talking to our friends, families and neighbors and make sure they are all registered to vote and voting early where possible. Visit vote.barackobama.com to check out where you can vote early in your state. That is how we will make our voices heard.
We can't let someone else decide our future. We have to own it. We have to fight for it. We have to believe in it -- just like President Obama believes in it. He's fighting for what we're fighting for. He believes what we believe. He's had our back, now it's time we have his.