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David Brooks isn't the only prominent conservative unimpressed with Mitt Romney viewing half the country as lazy parasites. Bill Kristol had an interesting item this morning, too.
It's worth recalling that a good chunk of the 47 percent who don't pay income taxes are Romney supporters -- especially of course seniors (who might well "believe they are entitled to heath care," a position Romney agrees with), as well as many lower-income Americans (including men and women serving in the military) who think conservative policies are better for the country even if they're not getting a tax cut under the Romney plan. So Romney seems to have contempt not just for the Democrats who oppose him, but for tens of millions who intend to vote for him.
It remains important for the country that Romney wins in November (unless he chooses to step down and we get the Ryan-Rubio ticket we deserve!). But that shouldn't blind us to the fact that Romney's comments, like those of Obama four years ago, are stupid and arrogant.
There are a couple of angles to keep in mind with this. The first is the reference to Romney quitting and clearing the way for "the Ryan-Rubio ticket we deserve." Obviously, Kristol was kidding, and it'd be unfair to suggest otherwise. But given Romney's ineptitude and incompetence of late, it wouldn't surprise me if more conservative voices started making similar jokes a little more often.
The second and more substantive consideration is the fact that there's a division on the right about Romney expressing contempt for the "victims" who fail to "take personal responsibility." For Brooks, Kristol, and many in the party who worry about appealing to the American mainstream, having a Republican presidential hopeful insult half the country while hobnobbing with wealthy donors is an awful development.
But for much of the GOP's far-right base, Romney was only echoing their genuine beliefs -- this anti-47 percent attitude is Limbaugh-esque and party activists are cheering Romney on this morning.
For Democrats, that's good news -- the more mainstream voters hear Romney's disdain for half the country, and far-right support for the offensive sentiment, the better it is for Democratic election prospects.
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But for much of the GOP's far-right base, Romney was only echoing their genuine beliefs -- this anti-47 percent attitude is Limbaugh-esque and party activists are cheering Romney on this morning.
Oh do please go on .
So far inside the bubble they believe their own BS.
If we just double down we'll get all the po' white folks to vote for us . So divorced from reality it will be like the end times when they wake up November 7th.
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 have 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.
But in so doing, we cannot afford to buy their Stainmaster ® carpet and buy store brand paper towels instead of Brawney®.
There is the folly of the corporate superiority and suppression of wages of workers.
This is Mitt's Todd Akin moment where he got caught actually saying what they believe in private. People in his party will distance themselves in public hoping to remain politically viable after the election.
I love it: "This is Mitt's Todd Akin moment"!
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.
Hearing these positions uttered by the republican nominee for President , and so become more intimate with Rush Limbaugh , the biggest tent pole in the big tent party .
Have you actually ever said anything that made logical sense? Can you put three words together that do make logical sense? What are you, a victim of "Whole Language" (not)reading training, that left you unable to think logically????
Let's hope Dems can work out a winning strategy to tie Romney's comments to overall Repug policy and help keep Senate and win back the House. This is a real opportunity for them.
The most direct link will be turnout. If the GOP stays home because Mitt is a lost cause, then they won't be voting for House and Senate either.
By the same token, Dems can't get complacent about Obama winning, and neglect to vote for their Senators and Representatives.
Win back the House and not just keep the Senate, but get to the critical 60 Democratic count.
Au contraire , we the people need to do away with super majorities .
Mathematically not happening. There just aren't enough Republican seats up for grabs this year.
I could happen if they vote to end the filibuster as we know it on day one of the new Congress.
What a frightening thought a "Ryan/Rubio" ticket would be.
Not for Democratic candidates for the Senate or House.
This is a very interesting map: http://twitpic.com/avrlm4
When I hear Bill Kristol use the phrase "stupid and arrogant", I harken back to grade school, where we replied, "Takes one to know one."
The Frank Rich column on right-wing media informs the tact Romney is taking this week. The ultras want him to stop pandering to the middle and to throw red meat to the base instead. So he has become more combative and unapologetic.
Problem is, the 47% he is writing off includes a lot of that base. And he has openly stated he isn't trying to coax any Obama supporters to his side. 'Stupid and arrogant' remarks may actually make him more appealing to the rabid right, but he is throwing in the towel on the election itself.
The question now is whether Romney's implosion will hurt the GOP down ticket. If the right becomes resigned to Romney losing, it becomes more difficult to get the base to the polls for the lesser races.
150 quatloos says that Party discipline will get them both back in line by Thursday, just like last week. No matter how disgusting the leadership may be, they've committed themselves to "follow the leader" and really can't redeem their souls now.
Any takers?
That's a sucker bet. The only way that's not going to happen is... well actually, there's no way that's not going to happen.
I'll bet 1000 Schrutebucks you're wrong. I won't be surprised if you're right, but I'm really starting to get the impression that the buyers' remorse some wingers are having over Romney is becoming so palpable it can't be denied.
This is not to say there will be a Kristol endorsement of Obama or anything cuh-ray-zee like that. But I think what you will see are some right wingers who will retract their endorsement of Romney, just essentially say "I have no horse in this race, Obama is a bad President, but a Romney Presidency will be dangerous." They won't admit whether they mean dangerous to the country/world or just dangerous the party. And they won't have to.
Yep, the "Stalinization" of the Confederate Morons Party.
"But that shouldn't blind us to the fact that Romney's comments, like those of Obama four years ago, are stupid and arrogant."
Please GOP stop comparing apples to oranges - unlike the true statement about "clinging to their guns & bibles" that the President made, Romney's out of touch statement disparages his own - you know those po' ignant white people that will vote for him even though he's shown disdain for them! Even though his policies would make them worse off! Even if they are using the very social safety net that Robme wants to destroy! Ignorance isn't bliss - you sheeple clinging to your "guns & bible" isn't "G-dly" it is stupidity!
Matthew 7: 5-6
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
You sheeple waiting on your heavenly reward, maybe you need to think about those passages!
Harken ! the herald angels sing
Glory to that nouveau cash thang
Peace on earth whilst campaigning mild
God and poverty reconciled
Joyful, those who have congressional insurance plans rise
Joining in the triumphalism
And the biggest liars get to sing
Then as a bold host once proclaimed
Those with the most toys win
Harken ! *Billie Kristolian angels sing
Glory to those nouveau cash thingies
*To get yours free , merely follow
Where your nose will never go
*First one is always free
Once again you fail to make the s lightest bit of sense. Typical wingnut whackjob, in fact your inability to think logically is why you're an ignorant wingnut whackjob.
It's always fun watching morons too stupid to know how stupid they are.
I'm on the opposite side from Bill Kristol on most political debates. However, I'll give him some props this year for not simply being a tool of the Romney campaign.
Kristol hasn't been shy about his criticisms of Romney. That's a big improvement over some of the ridiculous spin, such as the clueless response to David Corn's scoop produced yesterday by Gail Gitcho, Romney's communications director.
It's funny to watch the Republicans form the circular firing squad.
They have no business involved in foreign policy when they blame the President for the backlash that came from an idiot brigade insulting Muslims.
It's like they think it's OK to stir up a hornets nest burning Ku'rans and making videos, so they can cause problems for the President. Now THAT is stupid. I think PNAC neo-con Kristol is OK with starting more wars. Maybe he sees the election may be lost, so…good, at least we can spark trouble in the Middle East. There is no appetite in America for staying in Afghanistan, let alone more wars.
There's no reason to think if (God forbid) Rmoney is placed into CIC seat that Kristol would not get a thrill down his leg at the thought of having control over Rmoney's decisions in that capacity.
What I found interesting was the way in which he was talking to the donors, his speech flowed fluently, he seemed extremely comfortable, unlike he is when addressing the Nation. He sounded like he was having a normal conversation for once. Why is there such a contrast between his speeches? He is a phoney, and that just isn't good enough for our Country anymore. We need someone who will work with us not against us, we need a confidence builder who includes everyone in his plans to move America forward...President Obama.
Huh? Kristol is saying that tax cuts all around is not part of the plan? Then who will get tax cuts? Only the rich?
Where's that famous Republican message-discipline?
There's something Dickensian about the Republican/Romney/Ryan world view.
The orphan who asked "Please, sir, may I have some more" gruel was considered greedy and lazy. Debtors were sent to jail (where they had to pay for "goods and services"),
Alas,the fiction of the "lazy" poor vs. "deserving" rich is even older than nineteenth-century social Darwinism (or "country club" fantasies).
In seventeenth-century Holland, debtors were locked in a room that filled with water. If you didn't bail continuously, you drowned. That, they believed, was a "cure" for poverty (ie laziness).
Oh, Bill Kristol. Even when you're right, you're still wrong.
"I could happen if they vote to end the filibuster as we know it on day one of the new Congress."
That would require Harry Reid and other Democrats to grow a spine!
Man, being called "stupid and arrogant" by Bloody Bill Kristol would hurt worse than having the director of "The Human Centipede" say, "dude, that's just sick. I think I'm gonna hurl."
I have to wonder if the Republican portion of the 47% realizes he was talking about them. After all, there are Republican retired folks dependent on the Social Security and Medicare they paid for when they were "not being personally responsible" and there are retired military dependent on retirement and some of the best health insurance in the country. Many of them don't pay income taxes. When Mr. Romney tacked on the 47% of Americans who don't pay income taxes, he was talking about a goodly portion of his own base. Will they realize it? I read a poll, I think it was Pew, that showed something like 74% of those who take a deduction for interest paid on their homes do not consider it government assistance. A huge percentage of people who got Pell grants did not consider they had received government assistance. Mr. Romney's comments clearly indicate his disdain, not just for supporters of the President, but of his own supporters as well.
Yes, Republicans are talking about cutting Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security- they call these "entitlements". This is truly despicable to say we have to cut taxes for upper incomes and make cuts to public programs.
TCinLA, FRP used to post at the WaMo when Mr. Benen was there. I believe he (she?) is trying for some sort of "stream of consciousness" effect; doesn't always get it, though. I don't know why, but I've always had the impression that FRP was, if anything, something of a stoner libertarian politically.
Or just nuts.
I did like the "God Rest You..." parody, however.