Tonight's guests:
- David Corn, Washington Bureau Chief for Mother Jones, whose book "Showdown" comes out in paperback tomorrow - First to publish secret Romney fundraising video.
- Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine
And here's executive producer Bill Wolff with a look ahead at what's to be covered:
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The plastic man Romney think's that almost half of us are on the dole.What he said was a statement for the age's.When I heard it I felt nothing but rage.This was'nt a gaffe or a mistatement, it was exactly the way he feel's about 47% of this country.If your not wealthy you should not get food, health care or housing.I guess my 47 year's of being in the work force does'nt mean jack to him.My God, he is one arrogant son of a b*tch.He think's that $250,000 a year is a middle class family?That must be why he think's that if you make $50,000 to $75,000 you must be getting assisted housing and food stamp's.Truly amazing.
Think someone should tell Romney that welfare ended back in 1996? That was when the last welfare check was sent out. People confuse TANF with welfare. In fact, TANF recipients are required to work. There are no cash benefits. The catch is that employers are able to pay them a fraction of the minimum wage, which is then subsidized with food stamps/Medicaid up to the poverty line. The ONLY handouts go to the rich, so many of whom never worked a real job.
Little disappointed wit Rachel's interview with David Corn. She made it all about her with very little time left to discuss the actual video or Romney's comments.
The question posed to Mitt Romney begins with typical Republican misinformation, i.e. Obama claims that "the government will take care of you." The actual Obama platform is about fairness and investment in citizens, not handouts, but far be it from Governor Romney to make the distinction.
Since Reagan, several trillion taxpayer dollars have been used to cover the costs on ongoing handouts to the rich/corporations while maintaining war(s). When we hear of yet another tax cut for the rich/corporations, it simply means that the money they owe is simply added to our tax bills. To me, the most appalling thing is that so much of this taxpayer money has been given to corporations to cover the costs of building factories outside of the US, shipping our jobs out.
i'd like to know why they (republicans, romney) complain about individuals who get help from the government, from which many have paid in, and the government aid romney used for his bain capital deals and also the olympics.....seems it's ok for them but not the little guy. from what i've heard he saved the olympics with government money and also, i believe benefited from some of this money (roads built, etc) in utah
We have all paid for those benefits that have been getting taken, rolled into ongoing tax cuts for the rich. If, for some reason, the individuals are unable to work (disabilities, etc.), their families have paid, and many of those never received a penny of aid. Our welfare system was actually financed largely by those who received aid. Figure that some 80% of AFDC recipients used welfare only until their children started school, at which point they joined or returned to the workforce, earning wages, ultimately repaying every penny of aid they received via taxes on their own earnings.
New headline on secret Mitt Romney tapes:
"The 1% speaking to the 47%" Pure Disdain...
first time i'm doing this...i repeated myself
Up until recently I considered myself a Republican Conservative but with the RNC shoving Romney down our throats in the primary, I have jettisoned the word conservative from in front of Republican. Totally dislike Fox News -- have zero respect for Fox and their pundits as much as I do Limbaugh. I watch MSNBC now versus Fox because I get the truth on MSNBC. Fox is the Romney machine. They can have him and Ryan. After much soul searching, I am voting for Obama and so are my three grown children. I am a long time Republican who has never voted for a Democrat for President but frankly I am not sure this group of Republicans run by the far right can ever get me back! Cannot stand Rove, Ailes, Luntz, and Rasmussen who are about as dishonest as you can get with a win at any cost mentality.
It has been decades since the Republican Party actually was conservative. By now, they've gone off the deep end, making Benito Mussolini look like a liberal.
We should not be surprised; rather we are continually pushed out of our insecurity regarding our own rage at the level of indictment coming from the Romney campaign. Clearly, the only people who are out of work are liberals, as the good conservatives are never unemployed. And, to collect from social security or medicaid, let alone medicare, is for those with no pride or worth left. I, for one, have been paying taxes for years and it took many years to make $50K, let alone maintain it...and I take personal insult on behalf of all the families, students, over-qualified and unemployed who cannot buy a job.... I just hope we take Romney at his word and vote appropriately....
Gee, I thought Romney said he was unemployed.
One (of many) things that remains a puzzle: There is a very short lifetime limit on what little aid is available to those with dependent children. We have notable unemployment today. People with college degrees are selling burgers and fries, so you know there is little left for young, impoverished mothers without legitimate job skills training. A massive number of our manufacturing jobs have been shipped out, and those were the jobs that enabled millions of Americans to work their way up. Considering how many people are desperately trying to get jobs today, if people are being "moved from welfare to work," where are those jobs coming from? A second issue that might be fun to discuss: As a result of Clinton's welfare "reform," infant mortality rates among our poor have increased, while the life expectancy of our poor has fallen below that of some Third World countries. We hear the endless complaints for America's better-off, insisting we must get tougher on those who "choose the poverty lifestyle." Don't you think killing people for being poor is adequately tough?
Bravo!
THE DIRECTION THE COUNTRY IS HEADING: This is another topic which continues to beg the question about "The direction in which the country is heading?" and from this, has anyone really looked at how that question is posed to those being polled? If I were asked, "Is the country on the right track?" I would say NO because of what the batcrapcrazy reps are doing to it, but then my NO answer to this poll question would very easily translate to "Obama is on the wrong track." Please journalists, dig deeper on this polling and how the question is posed. As it stands now, there is far too much ambiguity for acurately recorded answers.
Romney: If it's true 47 percent of Americans are on welfare and don't pay taxes....what's your excuse for not paying taxes? And if it's true 47 percent of Americans are on welfare it's because selfish leaders like you with the letters "CEO" behind their job title think they deserve to make $20 million a year, and do not pay for any medical insurance and get a stipend to pay for all medical bills, a company car, a company cell phone and who knows what else!!! Not to mention the multi million dollar bonuses that a "CEO" gets while 1000 employees who do the real work make less than $30,000 dollars a year!!!! As a former welfare child....I am thankful I got a meal every night...so thankful that I paid my own way through college to get a job, to pay my fair share of taxes, so that another family needing welfare could look forward to a meal everynight!!!!!!!!!
Ok...what Romney said tonight was insulting to so many!!!!! But can we talk about the real upcoming issue... sequestration. People don't realize we are on an economic cliff again. Why can't the democrats talk about things like how much the stock market has gone up since four years ago???? I realize it means talking about the "rich" but can't they frame it around 401K plans and how so many of us are invested in the stock market? If congress can't come to an agreement re sequestration we are doomed!
Dear Rachel,
Tonight's show(Monday, September 17th) was very interesting but I also found it very misleading on several levels. Fox News is and will always be a conservative right wing mouthpiece. The fact you reported how appears now to be strictly an arm of the "Romney for President" Campaign and that this angers 'real' Republicans was, to me, irresponsible reporting. In reality, Fox News' support of Romney as born out by all the 'experts' Fox uses; experts who, as you pointed out, actually work for the Romney Campaign, is a natural extension of its position on politics and represents their only course of action until November. TRMS, The Last Word and The Ed Show made it very clear in the early months of the Republican primaries that Fox did not consider Romney to be the man who could defeat Obama. But now? Today? Well, come on, Rachel. The primaries are over and they're stuck with Romney so naturally they're going to spend their time between now and November 6th to ensure Romney wins.They have no choice.
The mission of Fox News has always been clear; and it's the same as the Republicans in Congress: "Obama will not be a two-term President". Therefore Fox will support anything - and anyone - who has the opportunity to accomplish that goal. Period. So to make it sound as if Fox is out of touch with the Right was either irresponsible reporting...or deliberately misleading. To even suggest there are conservative Right-wing Republicans out there who don't "like" Fox News because they're now apparently part of the Romney machine makes those 'suspicious' conservatives appear more ignorant than smart (and btw: where and who were Frank Rich's sources during his time 'in the RED'? Which radio shows, news papers, articles, blogs, online sources?), because any conservative right-wing Republican and/or Tea Party member knows that Fox is simply working with the only material they have to ensure the above stated goal and that material is Romney. They're no happier about this fact than other Republicans, but it's all they have. To approach this story as if Fox is losing its audience as a result; to imply Republicans are as unhappy with Fox as liberals, is irresponsible reporting. Why? You should know the answer: Because no matter what, most Republicans will vote for Romney - a candidate they don't even like - because he's their only choice.
That's the story. The fact that so many Republicans (not all, but most) are willing to throw their convictions out with the bath water because their desire to see Obama out of office is stronger than common sense; stronger than their principles; stronger than a party that 'once was'.
As a viewer, I want to network news to report on what could motivate so many Republicans; the kind that would have, once upon a time, welcomed, and reveled in, a true debate about real issues, to now dump all their principles and beliefs in order to defeat one man. What's really behind this fervor? That's the story, Rachel. You can talk about all the dissatisfied Republicans you want (btw: try 'showing' them too - why aren't these dissatisfied Republicans on the show?), but until you tell us that their anger with Fox and Romney is strong that they're, A) not going to vote at all (in order to avoid compromising their convictions) or B) they're going against their party and voting for Obama - until you can report on that, the subject isn't worth reporting on at all.
Oh, and the polls MSNBC keeps using to illustrate Obama's lead in the swing states? The polls that leave Lawrence O'Donnell appearing so smug? Meaningless and misleading. Sure, you reported tonight that Obama's lead is narrowing, and yes, you're covering the voter fraud issue almost every night, the money pouring into the Romney Campaign, the 'carpet bombing' ads in the swing states - but until you physically draw the arrow to show that Obama's Presidency IS in real danger - skip the 'Obama's winning' polls. All that does is tell folks they don't need to worry, don't need to get out and vote, don't need to do anything now. Gosh, all is well. NOT. All the stories about Romney's faulty campaign, his idiocy and robotic demeanor; his and Ryan's flip-flopping? Meaningless. Totally meaningless. The worse Romney gets - the less it matters and again, that should be the story.
And why aren't we hearing what people are doing in the swing states where new voter laws threaten their Constitutional right to vote? And what can we (those not in swing states) do to help? Why isn't that part of MSNBC's dialog each night? What's the League of Women Voters doing to help people register in states where it's being made more difficult? Transportation to the polling places? How are people aiding those who now need ID? What are Democrats doing to help? No matter what courts do about these laws, the citizens are now so confused, many won't vote because they think they can't - so how are people who care dealing with that? How's the PRESIDENT handling it?
These are the stories that matter. Yes, sure, tell us about Fox and how it's not really a news show, but don't stop there. That's not the whole story. Not even close.
Sincerely,
Allison, a devoted albeit frustrated, viewer
Our service men and women do not pay income taxes, they pay payroll taxes and many of them need food stamps and other benefits to support their families . They are part of the 47% that Romney won't represent.
That's a great point. I hope the Dems use that information in a campaign ad.
They need to keep their memes straight; if that 47% includes the librul elite college intellctuals( take that frothy), then they are surely payers of income tax, being college grads some of which have jobs in middle or upper middle income brackets.. If it doesn't include that group then the numbers don't work and 132% are gonna vote for Obama( I kid but you see my point).The assumption that everyone 'on the dole' as it were, is going to vote for Obama is ridiculous when you consider that MANY of the states with the highest poverty rates(and therefore filled with people who don't pay income taxes) are RED states, Miss, ALA,TX, etc. In a reasonable discussion we could even cover the idea that people who pay payroll taxes and FICA are not truly receiving 'entitlements' if they're paying for the taxes that fund these programs. Unemployment, Obamacare, etc, we're paying for these programs like any insurance program but this would just make their heads explode.
Oh, and Obama engaging in class warfare? A blue blood has just insulted half of all Americans..Where's the outrage, Reince?
I am gonna order t-shirts that say "I am not a victim, I am a VOTER!!!!" Just when I thought that campaign couldn't get any more obtuse. I really hope the whole thing has been vetted so it doesn't get blamed on Mr. Obama. Oh gee what was I thinking they will blame him anyway.
So 47% of the people feel victimized! And why should they not? Why should the millions whose jobs, homes, and retirements have been ravaged by the smart guys on Wall Street not be acutely aware that they are victims? It's a wonder that there that there isn't more outrage than there is.