Just two weeks ago, Mitt Romney told voters in South Carolina, "I'm concerned about the poor in this country." This morning, Romney reversed course and said the exact opposite.
Associated Press
"I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90%, 95% of Americans right now who are struggling and I'll continue to take that message across the nation. [...]
"You can focus on the rich, that's not my focus. You can focus on the very poor, that's not my focus. My focus is on middle-income Americans."
The Republican frontrunner added, "We will hear from the Democrat Party, the plight of the poor."
When Romney's rivals were hammering him on Bain Capital -- and the fact that he got extremely rich by firing American workers and leading a vulture-capitalist firm -- he shifted rhetorical gears in order to seem sympathetic towards those struggling most.
With his new "I'm not concerned about the very poor" line, it appears Romney has abandoned this tack altogether.
Regardless, as a matter of substance, Romney's line this morning is just a mess.
For one thing, it's tone-deaf to a breathtaking degree. When a hyper-wealthy politician boasts about taking pleasure in firing people, he probably shouldn't tell national television audiences he's "not concerned about the very poor."
For another, Romney's candid admission underscores a larger policy problem: he's not only unconcerned with the plight of the very poor, he also pursuing an agenda that would make their lives considerably more difficult. If elected, a Romney administration intends to slash public investments that benefit working families, while raising taxes on those at the bottom of the income scale.
Let's also not forget that while Romney insisted this morning that he's "not concerned about the very rich," either, there's ample evidence to the contrary. Indeed, the presidential hopeful has already presented a plan to give the very wealthy yet another massive tax break.
And as for Romney's purported concern for the middle class, what the former governor neglected to mention this morning is that his tax plan largely ignores the middle class. By his own admission, Romney doesn't plan to do much of anything for middle-income earners.
Taken together, in one interview, Romney managed to sound callous towards those struggling, lie about his agenda's focus on the wealthy, and ignore the relevant details of his disregard for the middle class.
Not bad for a morning's work.
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They keep saying that people are so angry with President Obama, when he has done a way better job than any Republican I have ever seen. The literal squealing nonsense of these Republicans makes no sense at all, other than to make up stupid and deceiving comments due to their literal failures to do anything right. Republicans are plainly being scared of their own shadows and seeing boogey men under their beds, better watch out all those things you’ve done are going catch up with you.
Thus we see why the right hates public education. Far better to either keep the voters ignorant or brain wash them with right wing lies in private school. Of course there is the new way of giving universities big bucks in exchange for control over what is taught.
They have their guns so they can burn them thar books.Duh-eeee.
EXACTLY---How many Americans know that when President Barack Obama spoke to American school children...Sept.17, 2009...I was directed to NOT turn on the TV and allow my students to listen to him...as were all the other teachers in Pewaukee Public Schools...a highly Republican district! WHY? If it would have been former President Bush, it would not have been an issue! I have since retired from teaching and have discovered that there were many schools in Wisconsin that were ORDERED not to turn the TV on for the students to listen to our President! How ignorant and biased is that on the part of Administrators? Listening to the President of the USA could have been a great learning experience for the students. If you wonder what is wrong with public education, look to the Administrators and School Boards running the schools--and STOP using teachers as scapegoats for the economic problems of our nation. Teachers are now afraid to teach what needs to be taught for fear of losing their job!
Jane: I do remember that crazy incident, and I was outraged by the stupidity of peoples' objections to an innocuous speech about staying in school. Much of the opposition to this speech surely came from the influence of AM hate radio guys like Limbaugh, who routinely depict Obama as some sort of maniacal hybrid witch doctor/super-Czar/uber-Fuhrer: "He's taking over the banks! He's taking over GM! He wants to create a private army (referring to his expansion of AmeriCorps)! He wants to make you use weird Commie light bulbs! Michelle is going to make you do jumping jacks and eat nothing but arugula!" And on and on. All this nonsense over a President who is a liberal-leaning centrist. Why people buy this stuff is beyond me. And it saddens me that some Americans become millionaires peddling it.
Republicans have begun to openly exploit the bigot factor.
The really sad part in all of this is that while Romney and those others are appealing to their bigoted reich-wing base, many of those same sheeple are either poor, slipping into poverty, just barely holding on, or are lucky enough to be on some type of "public assistance" (SS, Food stamps, Aid to Families,) and once again are too ignorant to see that they're voting against their (& our) best interests!!!
Sheeple, they disgust me!!
I'd interpret Romney's comment here as pandering to his base: the tea party.
Yup. He apparently feels he needs some street cred for the baggers who don't like him (or anyone).
You added unnecessary punctuation, the wrong possessive and an extra word.
It should have read "I'd interpret Romney's comment here as pandering to the base tea party."
Apparently Romney actually said "Democrat Party". What a foul smear. Don't Republicans know anything but lies and smears? Nope.
It's not really a "foul smear" than it is childish idiocy. It's no more insulting than if they're saying, "The Poopy-pants Party", though it does convey their level of intelligence.
I am constantly wondering what Ann Romney saw in this guy. As dysfunctionally "Odd" as Mitt is, he has a nice wife and kids. He must have been gone a lot and she raised the kids without him. But she didn't say anything when he put the dog on the roof, so maybe she has her Oddness too. My grandson doesn't understand subtleties or sarcasm, he has a high functioning Aspergers syndrome, form of mild autism. As an adult, he will be fine, we hope. But he doesn't understand joking or sarcasm well. I'm wondering seriously if Mittens is the same way.
When I thing Romney, I think personality disorder.
This explains the dog-on-the-roof story.
This is also why people think he is spooky.
If he's not concerned about the "very poor" then why did he complain about the "47 per cent" (I believe) who pay no taxes.
A big chunk of those paying no federal income taxes would certainly be the "very poor" and apparently he's concerned they have too much money with which they're not paying taxes.
I just did my taxes. And I paid a larger percentage in federal income taxes than Romney did! I made $17,000 and I paid 18% in federal taxes. and I know I'm really close to the poverty line!!
Meanwhile back in Massachusetts folks are smiling. Texas gave us the Bush family so now its our turn to give the Republicans a fool we want to get rid of.
You know people the right has shown time and again that they are against we the people yet they still have a base. Why? Are some working stiffs really sadistic or just dumb? Sadistic or is it Masochistic?
Hey Paul ...You do know that Romney is not a Mass Resident ..Right? He took NH residency years ago ....
You might want to get current, be fore you make a Snarky remark (smiles) ...
Darn southern education of mine! Thanks for the correction and the politeness of it.
Of course he's not concerned about the poor. As every Republican knows, friends, relatives, and neighbors will take care of them. Oh, they don't have money either? Tsk,tsk- too bad-
Don't forget the churches. The churches will take care of everything(??)
these idiots run the churches ,
Sonny: watch for over-generalizing. I have served off-and-on on my church's governing board, so in a sense I help "run a church." Trust me, we're not all in thrall to the Religious Right.
Molly: you are right. Churches do a lot to help people, but they cannot solve problems that stem from chronic, systemic poverty. Last year, my church gave free food to over 2500 persons in 2011. I'm proud that we did that, but I note that our county (as per US Census figures) has over 120,000 poor people. Giving a few sacks of canned tuna one time to 2500 people will not solve the problem of poverty.
Rachel:
First off, I cannot believe that Mitt Romney is quite this incompetent......correction STUPID!!! How does a candidate for any office (including dog catcher) say that they are not concerned about the poor.........that is not his focus. That is astounding. He is the biggest empty suit I have ever seen. People in this country believe that if you have enough money, you must be smart. Romney dispels that theory. This guy is so far out in right field, it's ridiculous. I hope everyone including his own party is ready to put his feet to the fire on this. If Pres. Obama had uttered those words, he would be drummed out of office. Not concerned about the poor? How does one fix their mouth to say those words. I submit that this is not a gaff, this is sheer incompetence. He does not get it and never will. He is an elitist who is worried more about how many offshore loopholes he can fill with his money. I believe someone should really investigate his time at Bain and Bain Capital. I believe what you will find is that this guy was more lucky than smart. He has never really run anything as it relates to "line management". He has been able to hide behind the work of others and draft off of his family name. He needs to be asked specifically, how he built these companies and the role that he played. Not that he sat on the board. We know that boards do little or nothing. I believe that he is a fraud. I don't care how much money he has.
It took Mitt less than 16 minutes to earn my yearly salary in 2010.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/01/romney_income_calculator_how_much_does_mitt_make_how_long_would_it_take_him_to_earn_your_salary_.html
Awesome calculator!
I just did my federal income taxes and I paid a larger percent than Romney! I paid 18.88% of my entire income for the year. And I am pretty darn close to the poverty line!!
The standard wingnut line, repeated endlessly on talk radio, is that benefits for the poor are very generous, so if you earn a salary you should resent those
lazy black peoplepeople who don't have a "work ethic" -- they're living high on the hog on money that's stolen from you. Romney's insistence that the poor are doing fine because of the safety net is just playing to that appalling theme.Mittens Romney should get a job at the IHOP.
Wooster theyre poor they don't have "too much money" They dont have any at all! Leave em alone!!
Yeah, those poor people laying in the safety hammock live so well, nobody needs to be concerned! He could have/should have said something like, "Of course, we want to bring everyone up out of poverty and include them in the middle class. So I am going to work on getting this economy going for everyone, then we will work on bringing the poor up to the middle too." Instead he says things quite odd. Once he is in a debate with President Obama, he will really be under pressure and Obama will look like the adult in the room, and Romney will collapse.
He's concerned with one thing and one thing only.... Serving the needs of the top 1% earners..(pfft..earners, riiigghhht)
I get how he can sit there and tell us his lies about helping the middle class and ignoring the poor and the rich. What gets me is that people eat it up? What the hell is wrong with people that they wont look past his VERY thin facade.
Yes, WHO exactly is considered MIDDLE CLASS in the first place? I thought it disappeared at least 10 years ago? America -- wake-up ----we do not have tent cities in the desert of Las Vegas because we are Middle Class citizens. THERE IS NO MIDDLE CLASS!
i think that the ONLY thing driving romney is an insane, obsessive desire to be president. to that end, he will serve ANY interest.
You know, those 1% earners, you remember? the job creators, right? The job creators that have made no jobs!!
I guess I'm naive: I thought we elect just one president, and he represents ALL of the people!
You are correct. We have one President for all Americans. And, Mr. Benen did a fair job on posting this story. He did leave out the lead in sentence though, which was,
Meaning exactly what you are stating. And when asked to explained, Gov. Romney said,
Meaning, that his focus is not on the bottom 1-2% or the top 1-2%, but the 95-98% in the middle. Gov. Romney made a very poor choice of words and it is fair to use them against him.
As stated, this was a fair representation even if all was not included.
(Mr. Benen, I pointed out in a couple of other posts where I thought you were very inaccurate, so here, I have to acknowledge are correct in your reporting. Not that my opinion matters. Fair job.)
The man has a terrible time talking - if he's not stammering and stuttering, he's saying something incredibly insensitive or just WRONG - depending on who he's talking about, he's insulted just about everybody - except the 1%.
I just want to see the people who vote for him because they think he would represent them fairly as Americans.
Last night I went out and had too deal with a friend who is a staunch Republican. He claims the Republicans are about common sense government. I fail to see any common sense in the Republican party. He also claims that the democrats have all the money behind them I fail too see how this is true. He said that these democrats with all this money and power are concerned about what Obama is doing and they are not willing to put there money behind this President. If this is true which candidate are they waiting to be elected? Is someone else running that they are going to put there money behind and would they put there money behind a Republican President? Someone please explain.
I am not sure how all these Dems have all this money but they're not giving it to Obama makes any sense at all, but that's my take on pretty much anything GOP related. Thinking isn't exactly their strong suit. Obama has raised more than, I believe all of the GOP wanna-be's, and all in small donations, just as he did in 2008.
And a good number of GOPers still want to vote for None Of The Above.
they want another Bush or a Cheney and thank god there are not 2 more repulsive people like them!
There's always Newton Leroy Gingrich.
A question for ANY moderator to ask ALL candidates at ALL future 'debates':
"Public awareness and anger about contradictory statements made by candidates- accurate quotes in print, unedited video that are NOT taken out of context and ARE in the public record- is becoming more prevalent. Without singling out anyone in particular, how should this be dealt with?"
Or words to that effect. And then the fun begins. Or maybe not.
When Romney says the poor are already cared for, what he is doing is trying to divide the working poor, who he calls middle class, from the non-working poor, who he doesn't care about. Republicans are quite good at making lower income workers feel like part of the American Dream, while blaming drugs, laziness, sexual immorality, illegal immigrants, etc. (in other words, poor people) for all the world's problems.
If that is his strategy, then he is going to fail. Maybe he can sell that line to people who watch Fox and live in small towns. But it won't sell in large towns, cities and suburbs. And that is where most of the independents and moderates live. They see the poverty unlike Romney and his friends who live in gated communities. They see the "For Sale" signs because of foreclosures; they read about shortages at the food banks and know people who are struggling.
When our local Wal*Mart opened, they handed out food stamp apps along with the job apps. "Very poor," doesn't mean, "non-working poor."
My take is that Romney was not saying that he did not care about the sufferings of the poor, but rather that he did not think that the poor were suffering. This has been a Republican meme for years. Through the Mighty Google, I dug up that fact that, in 1986, Reagan told a group of schoolchildren that the only reason people were hungry in this country was that they did not know where to get help. And we surely remember the recent Heritage Foundation report, that said that poor people weren't suffering because they had air conditioning, microwave ovens, cars, and DVD players.
At first blush, it's brilliant: most Americans consider themselves "middle class" even when they're not.
At second glance, it's stupid. People are going to start wondering what Mitt considers "middle class" when they see that he thinks $300,000 is "not a lot of money," or when they see that his tax plan is not going to help them much at all.
Romney is a guy who can say he, "lost track," of about 8 million dollars in a foreign account with a straight face. This guy makes more in dividends every year than most very rich people own in assets. In spite of his very secure position of wealth, largely inherited, this is a 'man' who figures that it's better for middle-class people to pay for his mistakes with their jobs than for him to lose money.
This guy is an awful choice. The only thing that makes him look like a reasonable choice for president is standing him next to a dungeon monster like Gingrich or Stercorem.
The only way the Republicans have of taking the White House is to convince a majority of Americans that the Bush Economy is Obama's fault. That and keep hammering at the birth-certificate lie, say Obama bin Laden a lot, etc.
A constantly shifting fantasy world is key to Republican politics.
why bother the right wing will spin anything you say to make them selves look better
This is a very interesting statement from Romney - wanting to focus on the middle-class and tell them what? "okay, I get it. You're struggling." ??? Well, yay for the middle class - we got a rich guy running around the country saying "I feel you." I guess this is to appease the republican middle class that is feeling the oppression of lower wages. I wonder though, is Romney's focus to make the middle-class slightly wealthier or slightly more poorer? Given his private company track record, it's probably the poorer side of wealth, so of course he needs to make the middle-class feel good when he pats them on the back: it'll make forgiving him a little easier when he stabs them in the back and pushes them into the poor's safty net.
The poor are an easy punching bag with no political voice.
It's true he plans to screw the poor and help even more, the mega rich. It's really no secret. He just has to horns-waggle the rubes into believing that he's gonna throw them a bone too.
His real agenda as we all know, is to slash regulations, cut taxes for the rich and destroy however much of the social safety net as he can while funneling the money from that into the pockets of himself and his friends.
I wish we had republicans that actually cared more about helping the country than harming Obama. I'm not sure I've ever seen things this divided or moronic.
Excellent!
I have to disagree with your first sentence. *I* am poor - I'm on Social Security of $614 a month; less than $8000 a year. BUT I have a voice and a vote just like everybody else.
There is no way Mitt Romney would ever come to my house; I can see him shuddering as he walked up the sidewalk to my 1912 restored schoolhouse senior citizens building.
But Barack Obama would. So I use my voice to talk to him and my vote to reelect him.
It's interesting to have the perspective of someone who didn't USED to be poor and is now. You find out what people are really made of.
You don't when all these voter suppression laws are enacted.
Yes Jan will. I've ALWAYS been "middle class" sometimes on the lower side but always "middle" and now I'm VERY VERY poor at 61 after foreclosure and bankruptcy etc. but Jan WILL vote and I'll vote and the economy is getting better and will continue IN SPITE of some politicians ...
Mr. 1% has gone off script again. This goes along with "corporations are people too". Keep it up Mittens. You're doing great!
You gotta wonder if his campaign advisers are trying to get him to catch laryngitis. Think of what it would do for his campaign if he would just lose is voice.
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him.
Proverbs 14:31 (NRSV)
Assuming Mitt has the same Bible as I do...
He's mormon, so...
No he reads The Book of Mormon and I don't think there are Bible scriptures in that book.
The LDS commercials offer to send a bible AND a book of mormon, so I think they accept at least some of standard christian canon.
This guy will be difficult for the Pres.to debate.He has held two positions on everything.If the Pres.calls him out on one thing,he will say he holds the opposite position.He has so many faces,his nick name should be Dr.Lao.He tells the voters in New Hampshire one thing,South Carolina another and Florida yet another.If you noticed in his position on Medicare,he said that people of retirement age or those close to retirement age will have nothing to worry about.What does that sound like?Thats right,the "Ryan Plan".The only way I could vote for this man is if I died and someone stole my identity.
"The only way I could vote for this man is if I died and someone stole my identity."
I like it. LOL
Everyone seems to be getting their panties in a wad over his answer but what was the question he was responding too?
Yesterday molly527 posted lyrics to the next version of Mitt's "America." She inspired me to write a second verse. I think they bear repeating here. Enjoy!
molly527
And, today, Mitt is actually SINGING the song...
Oh Beautiful, for spacious skies
I'll own them all real soon
For Purple Mountains Majesty
I'll turn them into rooms
America, America
My Capitalist dream
Forget your jobs and liberal snobs
And cast your vote for mean.
Verse Two:
Oh Beautiful, for bank accounts
300 Grand ain't much
Forget the jealous 99
Who think I'm out of touch
America, America
My grandpa had four wives
But don't you whine - the dog's just fine
And businesses have lives
Not that he has a shred of credibility, but when Romney indulges in childishly rendering of the name of the Democratic Party "the Democrat Party," it's as good as announcing he cannot be taken seriously on any topic.
You beat me to it.
We need to quit getting upset about the phrase "Democrat Party." As long as I can remember, the Republicans have been using that wording. Apparently, the phrase goes back to Wendell Wilkie in 1940 (so the Wikipedia people, citing William Safire). The Wiki people also cite a book by US News pundit Robert Schlesinger, that says that even Eisenhower used the phrase in a single isolated instance in 1958. "Democrat Party" is annoying, but it has a long pedigree.
P.S.: anybody remember Bob Dole's 1976 crack about "Democrat wars"--like World War II?
When the leading Republican Party candidate for the president of the United States stoops to mouthing "Democrat Party" he smears himself, his party, and democratic principles. I do not hear top Democrats making smears like that about Republicans. Not once, not ever. This shows who has class.
This may seem trivial but check this: NO national Republican has called for the resignation of another national Republican over morals charges. EVER! This is in spite of their campaigning as moral supremacists and in spite of their despicable morals violations. I heard Debbie Schultz call for the resignation of Weiner over sexting. When it comes to morals Democrats walk the walk and Republicans talk the talk, foul-mouthed hypocrites that they are. Recall the foul, miserable slime spewed by top Republicans Sunday on Face the Nation by Priebus, Bachmann, and Mario Diaz-Balart.
A news clip showed Romney DID say "Democrat Party". Of all the worthless slime.
So he's not concerned about the very poor. But his proposed policies will make the middle class become the very poor, and then he won't have to be concerned about them any more.
Which means, another shock to the economy could make almost half of the populace irrelevant to Willard under his reasoning.
Remember: The measure of a civilization lies in how it treats the least of its people.
(Or: A person is a person, no matter how small).
Yes, but according to Romney, corporations are people too. I think that's where his loyalties will always be!
Bringing you Willard Mitt Romney, the world's most inept politician but soooooo rich he doesn't care.