Twitter was buzzing the last several days over an open letter to Mitt Romney penned by Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs.” The open letter addresses the way this country now views hard work and skilled labor, as well as the growing skills gap.
.@MikeRoweWorks has a very important post about the losing the dignity of Real Work in America: http://t.co/N27u9pB8 cc: @AIPolitics #tcot
— ¡El Sooopèrr! ن c137 (@SooperMexican) September 9, 2012
.@MattSErickson Thats awesome…@mikeroweworks is a THOUSAND percent about work not being respected…college totally overrated @aipolitics
— ¡El Sooopèrr! ن c137 (@SooperMexican) September 9, 2012
Has @MittRomney read this? RT @TheRickWilson: Read Mike Rowe's letter to Mitt Romney, ignored by Obama. http://t.co/kLj6Rpki HT
— Molly X (@flmolly) September 6, 2012
I absolutely think @MittRomney needs to respond to Mike Rowe. Obama didn't. http://t.co/Yi5bEii2
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) September 5, 2012
Agree. Also, Mike Rowe. Sigh. RT @bdomenech: I absolutely think @MittRomney needs to respond to Mike Rowe. Obama didn't http://t.co/EvbVr8qu
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) September 5, 2012
That’s right. Mr. Rowe sent a similar letter to President Obama four years ago and was ignored.
PS. In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that I wrote a similar letter to President Obama. Of course, that was four years ago, and since I never heard back, I believe proper etiquette allows me to extend the same offer to you now. I figure if I post it here, the odds are better that someone you know might send it along to your attention.
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Priorities! Obama’s laser-like focus on jobs doesn’t really, you know, focus on jobs. Can’t he just finish his waffle? And his golf game?
The buzz paid off; the letter ended up in the hands of Governor Romney and he, in fact, read it.
Mitt Romney reads the Mike Rowe letter I linked yesterday. http://t.co/PUcyLKwH Via @Ted_Newton
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) September 6, 2012
Holy crap! He read it… http://t.co/3FFAAXXz
— The Real Mike Rowe (@mikeroweworks) September 8, 2012
Romney senior communications adviser, Ted Newton, confirms.
Yes indeed! RT @mikeroweworks Holy crap! He read it… http://t.co/1zrB2Nrx
— Ted Newton (@Ted_Newton) September 8, 2012
Mr. Newton also advised that Governor Romney’s campaign is reaching out to Mike Rowe.
.@bdomenech Ben, the campaign has officially reached out to Mike Rowe, & we look forward to hearing back about this worthy cause.
— Ted Newton (@Ted_Newton) September 5, 2012
What did the governor read? Oh, some awesomeness.
He read this: http://t.co/gC3axa1a
— The Real Mike Rowe (@mikeroweworks) September 8, 2012
More from Ace of Spades HQ.
Let me just start by saying that I’m a huge fan of Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs. So I find this particularly awesome.
Certainly, we need more jobs, and you were clear about that in Tampa. But the Skills Gap proves that we need something else too. We need people who see opportunity where opportunity exists. We need enthusiasm for careers that have been overlooked and underappreciated by society at large. We need to have a really big national conversation about what we value in the workforce, and if I can be of help to you in that regard, I am at your service – assuming of course, you find yourself in a new address early next year.
Read the whole thing over at MikeRoweWorks.com. It’s important.
Citizens on Twitter love what he is wonderfully saying and respond with a resounding, “heck, yeah!”
https://twitter.com/bdomenech/status/244512812217561088
RT @chediak: Mike Rowe to Mitt Romney: Promote Hands-On Jobs and Trades http://t.co/yrlsbDi7 // Love this!
— David Murray (@davidpmurray) September 7, 2012
Mike Rowe skeptical abt promises of "shovel ready" projects in society that doesn't encourage people to pick up shovels http://t.co/SaXOF84p
— rcmom7 (@rcmom7) September 5, 2012
MoeLane: #rsrh Mike Rowe to Mitt Romney: please help us remember the virtues of work. http://t.co/5OGtrorX
— Moe Lane (@Ogiel23) (@moelane) September 5, 2012
The @MikeRoweWorks letter re: denigration of skilled trades was exact point of the @RickSantorum "snob" comment. Both right.
— Andrew Boucher (@AndrewBoucher) September 9, 2012
The Mike Rowe letter is striking. It honors all work. We can’t all be organic-green-job-web-designer-diversity-coordinators.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 6, 2012
I needed to read this. And many of my well-educated friends need to as well. http://t.co/3AXkYEg0 (via @mikeroweworks)
— Dr. Scott Cowley (@scottcowley) September 9, 2012
https://twitter.com/svtvenom46/status/244841303282692096
Well done, Twitter and Governor Romney. From Mike Rowe’s typing fingers to your ears. Now, let’s make some of his suggestions happen. We need a little less standing around and holding a Summit ™ to decide the best way to dig a ditch; in theory only, of course, as that’s all they know.
We need a little more people (people upon whom Ivory Tower Obama would look down his nose) who will simply pick up a darn shovel and start digging.
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