Portsmouth Business Owner Says Romney Would Help Wall Street, Not Main Street

Two Portsmouth business owners ripped Mitt Romney in an Obama campaign conference call on Tuesday, saying the GOP presidential candidate isn't looking out for the middle class.

The call, featuring Atlantic Media co-owner Nancy Beach and StoneHill Environmental owner Tim Stone, was aimed at highlighting President Obama's effort "to grow the economy from the middle out," according to Obama for America - New Hampshire spokesman Harrell Kirstein.

Stone was first to speak, saying it's been a difficult four years, but he thinks President Obama is the right person to continue to lead the country forward.

"There's a clear choice between supporting middle class folks like myself or continuing to provide tax breaks and loopholes to the wealthiest big businesses, such as I see Mitt Romney heading for," he said. "We're working hard, we want a fair shot, we want a level playing field. I really think that's what President Obama believes in."

Beach, who has owned Atlantic Media since 1995, also praised Obama's plan to build the economy "from the middle out," saying it differs greatly from Romney's goal of building from the top down.

"I think we all know that hasn't worked," she said. "Romney wants to roll back all the rules for Wall Street and repeal health reform. He also has claimed his business skills and experience would accelerate the economy. If you look at his record in Massachusetts, it did exactly the opposite."

She said the policies Romney is talking about are the same ones that George W. Bush tried.

"They're the same policies that benefitted a few, but crushed people like me," she said. "We don't want more tax breaks for millionaires. We need someone who's going to fight for American jobs, not ship them somewhere else."

Romney spokesman Michael Levoff issued a statement Tuesday in response to comments made on the Obama for America – New Hampshire conference call.

“President Obama could not have been more clear when he told small business owners that they shouldn’t take credit for building their businesses," Levoff said. "President Obama believes it because he told us: 'if you've got a business – you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.’ He said it, he meant it and his comments are demeaning and insulting to hard-working Americans.”