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Oh no he didn't.
In an amazing video obtained by Mother Jones magazine and released today, Mitt Romney told a group of wealthy GOP supporters this last spring:
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. My job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.
Wow. Just wow.
One of the two men vying to lead our nation actually accused nearly half of the nation's residents of being slackers and mooches who aren't worthy of his attention or support.
Hmmm. Who knew that the CEOs of Berkshire Hathaway, Costco and Carmax were such irresponsible losers?
I could go on and on ... about the irony of a guy who shields hundreds of millions of dollars from income tax calling out others for being too poor to pay income tax ... about the utter lack of compassion for those less fortunate ... about his use of the kind of class warfare he blames on the other side.
I could talk about the facts: The 40-some percent of voters he so callously rips for paying no taxes includes millions of seniors on Social Security, students, lower-middle class families who receive earned-income and child credits, veterans who return from battle and need job programs, young people just trying to start their professional lives, folks who recently lost their jobs through no fault of their own, etc. (I know facts are annoying to politicians, but Romney might want to check this out: http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/2011/07/27/why-do-people-pay-no-federal-income-tax-2/)
But do I really have to talk about any of that stuff? Romney's comments stand as an apt representation of the man. They need no further embellishment.
For his part, when called on the comments, Romney doubled down. Of course he did. He thinks it's unmanly ever to admit mistakes.
He admitted only that his comments weren't "elegantly stated," but otherwise stood by what he said.
Given the number of Independent voters who fall into Romney's "leech class," it's a hell of a way to try to win an election.
I am a registered Independent. At the start of the whole process, I had hoped the Republicans would produce a great candidate, one who would elevate the discourse and give me and my fellow Independents a viable alternative to Barack Obama.
Instead, we got this social clod, this soulless corporate weasel who brazenly admits to only wanting to represent the nation's haves.
What a disappointment.
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You rip Romney for saying whatever may help him, now you rip him for saying what he believes and standing by it.
ReplyDeleteOutside of the fact that nobody can put an accurate percentage on the number people he is referring to, what he said is true. There are plenty of people like that in this country. I personally know quite a few. They aren't necessarily all going to vote for Obama, but they do exist.
Romney is an idiot and has already lost the election. And I am no Obama supporter.
ReplyDeleteRomney released his tax returns from the past 20 years on Friday. I didn't see millions of dollars shielded and the media hasn't either, and they were certainly hoping to see it. PricewaterhouseCoopers' review shows he and his wife paid 100% of the taxes they owed. Between taxes and charitable contributions, they paid nearly 40% of their income over that time.
ReplyDeleteCam, why do you stand by this liar? It's one thing to dislike Obama and feel you have to vote for the other guy. But to actually defend this pompous moderate-turned-liberal-turned-moderate-turned-"severely conservative" puppet of the far right? I'd need a shower after that.
ReplyDeleteRomney's 47 percent figure is very accurate, as long as one includes seniors, veterans, the working poor, families with kids in which at least one parent works, students and other assorted "losers." Otherwise, estimates for actual leeches are in the mid single-digits. And those are Republican estimates, by the way.
Giving Romney credit for speaking the "truth" because he was secretly caught on tape telling zillionaire jerks what they wanted to hear? Please, Cam, you're better than that.
And you do know that Romney did NOT release 20 years of returns, right? Please, pretty please, tell me you know that. He released a summary of the two decades, spinning it to make him not look like the hypocrite he is.
I have liked having political discourse with you Cam because I consider you knowledgeable, but you have to get past the Fox News talking points and the Romney B.S.
You don't find me defending Obama's missteps. Why would you want to defend a selfish, entitled, ignorant bully like Romney?
SS Disability is the new unemployment insurance.
ReplyDeleteThe system is so raft with fraud it is unbelievable.
Free income for life plus free medicaid and usually SNAP too.
These freeloaders are like the 25- 35 year olds who live at home, spend the days playing video games and then eat take-out food- all on their parents' tab.