Just 24 hours ago, Mitt Romney was already in a rough spot. With the presidential election seven weeks away, he was coming off a bad week in which he cravenly tried to exploit the deaths of Americans abroad for partisan gain, watched President Obama solidify his lead in the polls, and found his aides sniping at one another in the press.
By mid-morning yesterday, Team Romney was determined to get back on track, signaling shifts in strategy, a new ad campaign, and a renewed focus. Nothing to worry about, hand-wringing Republicans, campaign aides said, everything is just fine.
And then Mother Jones' David Corn reported that Romney trashed half the country in a secretly-taped fundraiser, and fleshed out additional details with Rachel last night.
In case you haven't seen the damaging quote itself, Romney, talking casually to some wealthy supporters, presented this argument:
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.... These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. So he'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean, that's what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
The Romney campaign does not deny the legitimacy of the video or the accuracy of the quote.
Presidential candidates can get away with quite a bit during a campaign, but when a multi-millionaire talks trash about half the country while hobnobbing with other multi-millionaires, it's safe to say that candidate has a rather dramatic problem on his hands. Indeed, keep in mind, this wasn't a gaffe or an accident -- this was Romney speaking his mind in ways we don't usually see.
As this relates to tax policy, it's true that nearly half the country has no federal income tax burden (though they pay plenty of other taxes). But while Romney sees this 47 percent of Americans as lazy moochers who refuse to "take personal responsibility," the truth is we're talking about millions of seniors who've left the workforce, Americans with disabilities who can't work, students who have not yet entered the workforce, millions of low-income families, and middle-class families who take advantage of tax credits Republicans have traditionally supported.
In other words, Romney is not only expressing contempt for nearly half of the American population, he doesn't even seem to understand those he's condemning. On the contrary, the Republican candidate seems to believe these Americans are indolent schemers trying to get away with something, which is demonstrably ridiculous.
For that matter, Romney doesn't even understand the politics of the issue. In his mind, all of these people are Obama supporters, which doesn't even make any sense.
But what makes this scandal so devastating is the scope of the offense.
Romney accuses Obama of being divisive, especially when it comes to class, but here's a video of Romney castigating nearly half the country based on class. Romney's rhetoric says he wants to bring people together, but the clip shows him saying he considers it his job "not to worry about those people."
And for my money, the most damaging phrase of all is, "I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility." Half the country, in Romney's eyes, is made up of slothful and pathetic losers.
As Jim Messina, the campaign manager for Obama for America, put it, "It's hard to serve as president for all Americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation."
It's also worth keeping in mind that Romney has been accused of going years without paying federal income taxes himself -- a charge that, if true, would put him in this lazy 47 percent himself. We don't know for sure, however, if the allegations are accurate because Romney refuses to release his tax returns.
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This is not some bold condemnation of the nation';s entitlement programs. This is not a vision for a future of smaller and leaner government that many moderate and independent voters could conceivable be swayed by. Romney has not offered a reasonable vision for America. He has simply verbalized in public the beliefs and snide remarks of his fellow billionaire elites they routinely share in private. Romney's remarks make no sense. Yes, "government dependency"is up. But as David Brooks writes, for what? For veterans aid helping the thousands of returning soldiers from war zones. For aid to get a college degree, something no real American can "ask their parents" to subsidize. For job training, or small business loans. Romney truly doesn't understand how this country -- or this economy -- works in everyday life. He is not qualified for the job. - principled progressive
The problem for Mitt Romney is that he is tied to the Americans for Prosperity agenda and the Koch Brothers private sector program. AFP wants smaller, smarter government with no tax increases. The KB private sector program wants diverse impact on the total economy and wants pricing power. AFP through Grover Norquist and the T.E.A. party appeals to voters as taxpayers. KB appeals to consumers and the prices the consumer pays. If the taxpayers has been told that paying taxes is not good and the spending that taxes produces is wasteful, they will vote with the "I will cut your taxes" candidate. If the appeal is to the consumers, then the KB advocacy of pricing power kicks in. The price of gas goes to $4 a gallon. "Unavoidable," KB says. Commodities are prices higher and higher, again unavoidable. The consequence is that the people as taxpayers and the people as consumers are both hurt. If taxes are the income for governments and they cannot increase their revenue flow, governments have four choices: cut back on services, sell off assets, outsource services, or go bankrupt. All are happening in alarming numbers of state and local governments. If the consumers are faced with the KB pricing power, then they end up not being able to afford necessities, like having money for gas for the car to get to work or buying food to feed the family. The flip side is: the KB get rich either way. Mitt Romney tells us over and over again that the economy is bad. It is so bad that last year the Koch Brothers increased their personal wealth by $3 billion each! They are now worth a combined $50 billion! I look forward to the release of what they are worth this year. As taxpayers or consumers, the people have been hurt by the Koch's programs. They want to put more hurt on the middle class and the poor, if only they can get people to vote for "smaller, smarter" government in November.
Romney is just playing into the tea party/ultra-conservative mindset right now that believes if you aren't surviving, it is your fault. This is just a bigger symptom of our self-focused society, which knows no party lines. Forget about this being divisive, of course it is. This is thinly veiled racism, as the intention of saying entitled puts the image of minorities in the minds of the conservative, white voters that Romney is courting. When any politician says non-tax paying moocher, it should bring up the image of big oil companies or big-agribusiness, but alas that is not the image that most people see when this dog whistle is blown.
Romney isn't "playing to ultra-conservatives" - this is exactly how this man thinks, he said exactly what he meant to say to "his base", he thinks no more about those "tea-baggers/religuluous wingnuts" than I do about the man on the moon! The sad part is his "dog whistle" to the racists actually includes them as many of them are making millions per year either, they're just to hate-filled to recognize that he's talking about them also!
Mitt Romney is now the willing disciple of the Koch Brothers's America for Prosperity agenda. Check it out. The AFB is truly anti-American but, over the years, it has proved to be very profitable for the Kochs.
I have to admit, I'm loving this. Throughout his campaign Mitt has seemed like a complete phony, mouthing what he thought was necessary to win. In the clip he comes across as assured and comfortable, at home with his own kind. And what the clip reveals is his complete and utter contempt for anyone who doesn't share his beliefs. His campaign is dead, because he just alienated the very people he needs to win over. The base will love him for this, but they were going to vote for him, anyway.
Thank you David Corn!
The biggest parasites are those who rely on politically connected government contracts, tax incentives and regulatory favors - like Bain Capital.
My son is disabled and were it not for Medicaid, he would not be here today. Prior to the AHA, insurance maximum benefits were used up with all his life saving surgeries. He has more ahead, but the outlook is much better. Someday, he will enter the workforce as a productive, tax-paying member of society. Romney hates my son. Romney thinks my son is a moocher and a "victim" and a freeloader. Well my son thinks you're a jerk. That's right, an 11 year old thinks you're a jerk. You may have been called worse by better people, but I doubt the entirety of who and what you are has been summed up so "elegantly" by one so young. I have other names for you that I can't print here. I've always been a fiscal conservative. Now, I'm just anti-Romney to the bone. I'll sing it from the hilltops. Obama can say he has a policy where the government sends a million dollar check to every man, woman, and child and instead of bemoaning it as I would, I embrace that. As long as Romney loses and goes back to his white tower where he can look down at the rest of us and stays out of my life. I've never been this infuriated by a candidate before. Romney, YOU ARE A JERK.
Mitt Romney can go Fu*k himself.
Read This Mitt:
The six heirs to the Walmart fortune are worth as much as nearly half of all American households.
The Walton family was worth $89.5 billion in 2010, the same as the bottom 41.5 percent of U.S. families combined, according to Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute. That's 48.8 million American households in total.
You know who qualifies for food stamps Mitt ?
People working 40 hours a week at Walmart who are trying to support a family and are not paid enough .
What you and your buddies want is a permanent underclass scrabbling for subsistence wages. You had better worry about them ...they're getting really pissed off.
We know who you are and it ain't someone I want for my President
Let's not forget inflation!
What about those who do take personal responsibilty and through no fault of their own, LOST a good paying job and are now working for the peanuts Romney and his crony crooks want the 47% to live on? Or the elderly who have busted their a$$es all those years and are now living on a fixed income...
The cost of food alone has tripled in the last 8 years.
How many times have I repeated this? I'm losing track:
The Right in the USA has been regretting 1933 for eighty years and wants a do-over. What they don't seem to grasp is that when history brings times like this, the choice isn't between 1933 and 1897, it's between 1933 and 1793.
All of that wealth and property that gives them power only does so as long as the rest of us have enough stake in the system to let them keep them. And by the time it really matters, they've insulated themselves so thoroughly that they don't realize that that's the basis of their privilege.
So let me get this straight. The guy who already pays less of a percentage in taxes than I do, who, if elected, will implement tax breaks that save him millions while raising my taxes. This guy thinks I'M the moocher?
Of course. People like Romney equate wealth with virtue and hard work. Failure to be wealthy is a sign of vice of indolence. Whatever you have, if you aren't fabulously wealthy, you don't deserve it.
Please post the part of his quote about how he thinks the 47% are lazy and do not take responsibility for their lives. That was the most disgusting part to me.
I worked hard for 25 years, I get my Social Security, I am 68, so I get Medicare (which is not free, I pay $96.00 each month for part B), I paid all my taxed, I refused to get food stamps when I could have (teachers do not make much when you are a single parent of 4), and I TOTALLY REJECT the rude and crude comments made by Romney.
This is a sad situation. Shameful for Romney, a good awakening for all of us.
Remember last week when I said he was done and wondered if he was going to shoot for "charred embers?" This is it. He is literally going down in the flames set by his own matches.
I'll bring the s'more stuff if you bring the hotdogs!
So let me get this straight. The guy who already pays less of a percentage in taxes than I do, who, if elected, will implement tax breaks that save him millions while raising my taxes. This guy thinks I'M the moocher?
In Other News:
Mitt says your IRS 1040 showing you paid taxes is acceptable Voter I-D.
-the rest of you can go find a rope, and do you know what!
Pushing that rope meme may be less than turgid ...
Jus sayin' .
For a while, conservatives have been crowing about how Romney needs to buckle down and be specific about his policies. Their argument is that the distasteful flip-flopper who bought the nomination has to now prove his conservative creds. But by making statements like this, which only reinforce the image of a floundering, rudderless and sinking campaing, Romney again demonstrates that he actually has some core values and beliefs: he cares only about himself, and about people who are like him. For someone to want to be President, you'd assume that at some level they can "feel the pain" of others, somehow connect with what other people are going through. That's why the Clinton mantra was that "politics is the art of making the impossible possible". They didn't mean gut the system to pay for your cronies. No, they intended to solve the most pressing problems facing the most vulnerable Americans.
So yes Governor Romney, this is an election about ideas, and choices. Don't keep asking if we're better off that January 2009, because by every indication, we are. The real question, and its a frightening one, will be whether America would ever be able to recover from a Romney administration. After the damage Bush caused in 8 years, which Obama has barely made a dent in cleaning up due to an obstructionist Republican congress, it will be back to the stone age.
I find it hard to blame Romney , after all this may be the first time he has toughed out a position . Now he has many who came before him , demagogues from race baitors to swanky Yalies who probably enjoyed a little Cole Porter on the side but didn't mind inside jests about what and who was revoltin' .
So with infinite patience , and forlorn hopes , sniff ,
Leave Brittany ALONE !
This is a man that comes from extraordinary privilege and knows nothing about what Americans deal with to get by. While he was riding his bike in France I was making truck engines on the line at GM to pay for school. David Brooks nailed it in his op-ed in the Times this morning. He's a rich hack obsessed by his ambition (my comment not Brooks) His angry wife goes on TV wearing a $1,000 designer T-shirt. He has made a career out of not paying taxes - he's the one that thinks he's entitled.
Wow, Brooks said something that didn't come out of both sides of his mouth? I might have to mosey on over and read that for myself.
I am not crazy about either politician Americans have to choose from in the election. We really have no choice currently. What Romney says may be distateful to some of you, but unfortunately it is true. The country can not sustain itself when almost half of people pay no taxes and the same number or more gets government assistance, this is simply a fact. If we doubled the amount of taxes raised and completely destroyed the economy doing so, the country would still be in debt in 20 years. He didn't say no one should have government aid, that is ridiculous. Half of Americans is simply not something the country can provide with the aid and that is the issue. Tax loopholes should also be closed, but this is not going to increase tax revenues by the number most people think, maybe a 5-10 percent increase. This administrations budget is almost DOUBLE the tax revenues. How can the country survive like that? I agree Romney is not likeable, but the alternative looks like bankruptcy to me.
If we stopped giving corporate tax breaks, demanded that capital gains pays the same tax as everyone else, then we COULD afford to lessen the burden on those who actually need it.
Everybody pays taxes of some sort.
Sales tax (8.125% where I live), payroll taxes - SSI and Medicare, property taxes, state taxes (for those states that have it), gasoline taxes, telecommunication taxes, etc.
Romney has not released any concrete plans with numbers. How can you say he has a better alternative?
That the bugaboo , (see E. A. Poe , "The Gold-bug" , "The Man That Was Used Up". A Tale of the late Bugaboo and Kickapoo Campaign.) , despite the able effort by Mr Benen to nip this sort of hallucinatory meme in the synapse prevails is a studied paean to the noble Drudge and ? Savant Limbaugh .
But enough of the credentialed agents of misinformation ! Lets find the kernal of truth buried amongst the radio active sludge given such naive hopes , and in such bold fashion !
...What Romney says may be distateful to some of you, but unfortunately it is true. The country can not sustain itself when almost half of people pay no taxes and the same number or more gets government assistance, this is simply a fact ...
No brag , jus fac Ma'am , I take it yer from the have Sonnet Will travel sort of peripatetic Angel of correction and truth ?
Thanks !
Corporate welfare and bailouts suck indeed, but you gotta include the auto bailouts in that also. You can't have it both ways! And who sides with the teacher strikes in Chicago? I'm a firefighter, and I see their selfish greed as what it truly is. Romney told the truth. If you can't handle it, you are deluded. Our current government plans are unsustainable. I deal with people who live on the government handouts everyday. They are cranking out babies, buying flat screens and new cell phones, and have no intention of getting a taxable job. All while the rest of us are scaling back and working 40 hours a week. When the moochers outnumber the producers, we are all screwed. How can any political party fix this without revolution?
And here I thought that "those people" on Social Security were too old to be cranking out babies.
Of course, I deal with people who live on government handouts every day. Hard not to, when the typical retail job pays less than subsistence wages.
But your union is not greedy and selfish? Romney gave a number but did not identify the people within that number. You are upset with Welfare, let us start with:
1. Congressional Welfare. They are getting paid a salary, benefits and expense reimbursement while doing NOTHING.
2. Corporate Welfare, how about companies like G.E. who are making large profits and paying no Federal Tax.
3. 28% pay no federal income tax, but they do pay the payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. Mostof the households in this group don’t pay any federal income tax because they qualify for enough deductions that their income tax liability has shrunk to zero. Do these individuals “take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” They have jobs.
4. 10% pay no federal income tax because they’re retired and elderly. Many retirees aren’t taxed on their Social Security benefits, which they earned by paying into the system over many years. I am not a free loader Mr. Leary.
5. 7% are too poor to pay taxes - they do not earn enough or are unemployed.
6. I believe the number is 7,000 Millionaires pay no income tax.
Did you get that information from the Heritage Foundation? Which percentage group do they fall into?
Fact Check for Mr Leary:
The teachers are not just stiking for wages, they have to strike for wages because State law prohibits them from striking over non-economic issues. Wages are part of their concerns, but they are also striking for reforms to evaluations, and more resources for the children.
Article about what the strike is about but there are better ones out there.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/18/us-usa-chicago-schools-idUSBRE88E0IV20120918
Link about law suit to end strike. Cites that union cannot strike over non-economic issues.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/usa-chicago-schools-idUSL1E8KH4FB20120917
So FRP are you saying that the current level of spending is in fact sustainable? That is an interesting point of view. I think you are also searching for buried treasure.
Thanks to you!
Also Vic everyone does not pay some sort of federal tax. Taxes taken from a support check are really a cruel sort of joke. Taxing assistance in any way is self defeating. Many individuals do not have a job or a phone much less an auto or property.
The tax code should be reformed as well so that there is no free ride. Everyone should contribute, sadly this will probably never happen.
Everyone is not equal. In trying to force equality on the nation the end result will likely be the loss of our liberty.
The country can not sustain itself when almost half of people pay no taxes and the same number or more gets government assistance, this is simply a fact.
Dude, everybody pays taxes. Maybe not income tax, but we all pay sales tax, gasoline tax, property tax, beer tax, cigarette tax, back tax, front tax, side-to-side-tax, ...
The only one trying to take away liberty and freedom is the Republicans.
1. Supressing the Vote.
2. Trying to force their religious beliefs on everyone - what happened to freedom of religion.
3. Trying to force their morality onto everyone.
4. Trying to force women to have children they do not want.
5. Trying to take away a women's access to contraception (person-hood amendments).
No - not the liberals trying to take away liberty and freedom.
So we will all be equal soon. This is great news!
Can't you see any flaw in what is happening on both sides? Do you truly believe it is a bad thing to have to prove who you are before you vote? You should have your own morality and live with it every day, that has nothing to do with this subject. The government should never pay for contraception or an abortion... or a bailout or pensions that have crashed. What a women does to her body is her business I agree. Rowe v Wade is unlikely to ever face a serious challenge, the liberal talking point you are using is about government funded abortions. I doubt the founding fathers thought this would be a great idea. If you are voting for a candidate to provide abortions and morning after pills be paid for from the tax coffers than you are completely entrenched and have no interest in issues that might destroy this country. None of this pertains to individulas not paying taxes and the fact that non payers have increased 10 percent in the past decade.
You brought it up when you said
Note: The government does not pay for abortions. Women's issues is one of the reason I vote for a candidate. Religious Freedom is a reason I vote for a candidate, his policies - domestic and foreign. That leaves your Pinocchio out in the cold. He has no policies and there is no way I would vote for Ryan's budget either. This man voted for 2 unpaid tax cuts, 2 unpaid wars, and medicare part "B", and the financial bailout (with no restrictions). This man spends money.
The government positively does pay for abortions.
http://www.aclu.org/reproductive-freedom/public-funding-abortion
I am not sure what plan of Romney's would restrict your right to practice whatever religion you choose. Obama called the war in Afghanistan "a necessary war", and "the right war" and he also voted for the bailout. Tax cuts are often stimulative. Again the loopholes that allow the wealthy to pay little or no taxes should also be addressed, but that doesn't make blind spending OK. The current administrations defecit in 3 years is more than the total of every other president in history combined. Who spends money?
I apologize the Government does allows Medicaid to pay for abortion in very limited circumstances. You will vote for Pinocchio and Lying Ryan and I will not change your mind and I will vote for President Obama and you will not change my mind.
So we disagree - have a good day.
Still here, still cheerily watching the implosion. Someone save my seat please; I'm off for more popcorn.
That “47%” ain’t just Teh Other, sucking on 40’s bought with food stamps. Rumor has it some, ahem, 1%ers also don’t pay any federal income taxes.
And, they also suck on government “entitlements.”
Take Romney backer Marc J. Leder, for example. His investment company, Sun Capital, recently filed a number of their holdings- Friendly’s Restaurant is one- for bankrupcy.
What that does is transfer their employees pension obligations to the The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the federal agency that helps safeguard corporate pensions.
Are you saying that is an automatic switch ? I suppose after Bain and the financial melt down it appeared that some small liability accrued to the managers of the great wealth transfers .
Was I so wrong to believe that our devoutly religious business leaders would take a biblical approach to liabilities ...
Ouch . Thank you lord .
As excited as I am that this video reveals Romney's true character, something so many of us suspected, I still feel compelled to voice my opinion that I think it is wrong to secretly tape or take photographs of anybody.
This wasn't pillow talk and it wasn't a classified event. This was a fundraiser by a presidential candidate. I find it hard to criticize the photographer.
Oh I guess this was supposed to be one of those "Quiet Rooms" where disenfranchising half the population is quietly discussed.
Why is it wrong? This wasn't a case of someone taping him in a Temple ceremony, or at his home, or anything personal like that. It wasn't even a private thing, it was only private in that a person had to drop $20k to get in.
If we were talking about a celebrity here, then I'd agree. I hate the fact that entertainment news is basically just celebrity dirty laundry aired for the whole nation. If that were me, it would make me furious, so I have a lot of sympathy for them. Getting to fulfill your artistic vision shouldn't mean that you have to deal with all of that BS.
But, we're not talking about a celebrity. We're not talking about Businessmitt, either. We're talking about Mitt the Politician. This isn't unfair to Mitt Romney, it wouldn't be unfair to any politician. If this video was known, and the media covered it up, it would be grossly irresponsible of them.
Here's a man, with a real chance at being the PotUS, essentially giving the finger to half of his own base, to nearly half of Americans.
And, you know what? That's not even the problem. It's Mitt's problem, sure. But the larger problem is that the GOP is so completely out of touch with the rest of the country. They've really become the party of extremists, xenophobes, and the ultra-rich. The rest of their party? Just tacked-on little factions to make the tent look bigger.
So, this can't possibly have been wrong, immoral, unethical, or whatever you want to call it. Whoever shot, financed, and released this video did our country a great service, and I'd like to shake the hands of everyone involved.
Amazingly, despite this, and every other gaffe, and a long string of data points that indicate that Gov. Romney is nothing less than a greedy, cowardly, lying, power-hungry capital-J Jerk -- yes, I am prone to understatement -- this is going to be a very tight election. No one should fool themselves Re: the ability of a huge pile of Rove-directed $$$ to sway large swathes of the tv-watching fact-averse populace, and the election-swaying force of the GOP strategy of voter disenfranchisement.
This is what keeps me awake nights. This jerk could conceivably still win, despite everything that's gone wrong with his campaign and no matter how badly suited he is for the job.
"Romney is nothing less than a greedy, cowardly, lying, power-hungry capital-J Jerk" Wow, pretty harsh. Romney is actually a pretty compassionate and great guy from the personal stories I've seen. He seems to give quite a bit more to charity than Obama and has helped a ton of people. Obama seems like a nice guy as well....but he's been caught on tape in several lies. All politicians promise too much to get elected, but by your logic, Obama IS a lying, greedy, power hungry jerk as well.....
After you take out the tithe to the CJCLDS, what was that? Of course, that would be in the tax returns he doesn't want us to see. It's not hard to give large sums when your gross income is in the tens of millions -- I certainly can't spend $77K a year on a hobby horse -- but I'm pretty sure that (tithe aside) I give a higher percentage of my income every year to food banks, medical research, emergency aid, etc. than Mitt does. Then again, I also pay twice the tax rate he does too.
And so my job is not to worry about those people.
Well of course. I mean, who really expects someone wanting to become PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to worry about "those people"?
Wasn't there another Republican who once said we have a government "of the people, by the people, for the people"? So I guess Romney thinks that's a load of hooey?
I think that part of all that talk about giving the states the power to make their own decisions. I think they are setting up this "power to the states" to start to remove the money that they give to the states. Then your state will have to increase taxes to make up for this, but the feds will be lowering your taxes.
Just a thought.
I am thrilled to finally have the unspoken agenda out on the table. The Romney campaign will spend the day doubling and tripling down on this message. They are not at all apologetic for a perspective that actually denigrates much of their GOP/Tea base. The election was already leaning toward President Obama, much like the Titanic, the Romney ship is going down! Even the rats will be be jumping off the deck before this thing is over. The money boys will shift their dollars to state and local elections to further lock down the obstructionist legislative process since they won't have the presidency in their pocket.
Not fair , remembering what he says . Why then it would be fair to say he acted like an immature man when he failed to show any discretion in respect to the family and many friends of J. Christopher Stevens, 1960-2012 , when he tried to apply right wing schoolyard rules to something as trivial as his assassination .
Why given the nature of your tone might we expect a rude assessment of the entire idea of just saying the most repulsive thing imaginable ?
Imagine that ...
Why that would be so unbalanced I do believe it might even edge into clarity .
I'd sure like to know why Romney picked Paul Ryan who received social security benefits although he was clearly in a position not to need them. How does this reconcile with his 47% beliefs?
For me as part of the "47%" who voted for Obama, the government has given me nothing. Everything I have I paid for from my college education, to my home, to my medical insurance. I support the government, not the other way around, even though I'm not allowed equality for being gay.
One thing Romney got right, I will never consider voting for him, or any other Republican for public office. Ever. And it's because of the disdain they have for anyone not like themselves.
This kind of telling would be really bad for any polititian, but that he said it during such bad economic times should automatically be career suicide for him. Those undecided voters need to take "personal responsibility" and NOT vote for him.
How can he now say, with a straight face, "I care, I love America?"
I guess in some Romney deluded, sick mind, everyone in America should have been born rich, like him. If he was a self made man, you could almost understand his thinking, but that he inheredited wealth is too offensive for words.
It's like the book title: "You're perfect, I love you, now change."
He loves the America of his dreams, and those of "us people" who don't fit in that dream can either get over it and get with the program, or "self deport."
Andrew Sullivan has been all over this one, and has a nice thread summarizing the ongoing coverage:
Romney-47-Roundup
My favorite post from that roundup set is the map showing that the states having the largest percentage of citizens with no Federal tax liability is pretty much congruent to the states which form the base of the modern GOP :
Political Suicide Map
"In his mind, all of these people are Obama supporters"
But he's working really, really hard to turn that into reality.