Romney Fails His Own ‘Moral Responsibility’ Test, Can’t Balance His Campaign’s Budget

By Adam Peck/Think Progress

Mitt Romney has previously announced his support for a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. But balancing the budget is more than just an economic platform for the former governor. In campaign speeches, Romney equates fiscal responsibility with moral responsibility, deeming it immoral to spend more than you take in.

A series of ads lift excerpts from a speech Romney gave in November at an event in New Hampshire in which he says “we have a moral responsibility not to spend more than we take in,” and “it is a moral responsibility to believe in fiscal responsibility. We do and I do.” His own campaign, on the other hand, seems to have missed the memo. Watch it:

That raises serious questions about Romney’s morality then, since in January his campaign spent nearly three times more than it brought in during the month. Financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission shows that the Romney camp raised about $6.5 million in January, but spent almost $19 million during the same period.

As the Huffington Post noted on Tuesday, if the Romney campaign maintained their rate of spending versus fundraising, the campaign would have run out of money last week.