DNC Ad in Detroit Tells Romney Before Debate: 'Hit the Road, Mitt'

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will face not only his GOP opponents but also a negative ad campaign that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has launched when he rolls into Michigan for another debate Wednesday night.

The DNC created a new Web video titled “Hit the Road, Mitt.” It features four repeating clips of the former Massachusetts governor saying, “let Detroit go bankrupt” in a not-so-subtle reference to Romney’s opposition to the U.S. bailout of Chrysler and General Motors.

Story continues below video.




“You wouldn’t know he was from around here. ‘Let Detroit go bankrupt.’ This city where American rubber meets the road, a town that’s been to hell and back,” a male voice states over scenes of a sometimes-gritty Detroit.

The focus on Romney, and not fellow GOP front-runner Herman Cain, suggests to some political observers that the DNC does not consider Cain to be a threat — or at least that it is content that the sexual harassment scandal that has dogged Cain during the past 10 days has diminished his campaign.

“So what was his answer for the motor city? ‘Let Detroit go bankrupt,’” the DNC ad on Romney concludes. “Now he’s coming back asking for our votes. So what do you say to the man who would have put this city on cement blocks, kicking us when we were down? ‘Let Detroit go bankrupt.’ You say, hit the road Mitt. ‘Let Detroit go bankrupt.’”

The candidates forum, titled “Your Money, Your Vote: The Republican Presidential Debate” will take place at 8 p.m. Eastern time at Oakland University in a Detroit suburb. Sponsoring it are the university, CNBC, and the Michigan Republican Party.