Posted on 09/18/2012 4:42:39 AM PDT by LD Jackson
I've been out and about most of the weekend and today and really couldn't pay a lot of attention to the news or the election campaign. As I was driving home from work last evening, I turned on NPR and their lead story after the news at the bottom of the hour was about something Mitt Romney said in a private fundraiser some days or weeks ago. His remarks were captured on video, unbeknownst to the candidate, or his staff, and that video has been "leaked" to Mother Jones. Before we get to my take on this, here is a portion of what he had to say.
(Washington Post) “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…Getting right to it, let's be honest with ourselves. This statement was never meant to be broadcast to the general public. It was for private consumption only. Nevertheless, can anyone dispute the truthfulness of what Mitt Romney said? I have read some of the original scoop from Mother Jones and the comments that are being made on the post and there is no surprise in what they have to say. To hear them tell it, Mitt Romney was expressing his utter disdain for the people who voted for Obama. Personally, I didn't read disdain in his words. Neither did I hear it in his voice when I watched the video. He was making a simple statement of fact.“And I mean the president starts off with 48, 49 … he starts off with a huge number. 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. What I have to convince the five to ten percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not.”
Staying with the honesty theme, this story is going to get a lot of media time. Make no mistake, they are going to play this for all its worth. We should accept that fact and get ready to face the combined onslaught of the Obama media and the Obama campaign. Prepare yourselves for all manner of charges against Mitt Romney, from this day forward. I have already heard former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland speaking on CNN and he is claiming the statement should disqualify Romney from being President. The Obama campaign is coming out against this in full force and they will have the full strength of the media running interference.
The real question of the hour is this. Was Mitt Romney telling the truth about the election? Does the President start with a large number of Americans who are going to vote for him, no matter what he says ore does? Do 47% of Americans really pay no income tax? The answer to all of those questions is yes. According to the Tax Policy Center, 46.4% of Americans paid no income tax in 2011. That doesn't mean all of them are freeloaders, but some of them are. It is a known fact that nearly half of Americans are receiving some form of government assistance. Again, that isn't to say all of them are freeloaders, because they are not. However, when you start off with the premise that so many Americans are relying on the government for some portion of their sustenance, where does that leave Mitt Romney, when he is running a campaign on reducing the size of government? Many Americans will look at his campaign and feel a disconnect from it, simply because they may feel he is threatening the assistance they rely on. My opinion is that Mitt Romney spoke nothing but the truth in his statement. He was explaining his campaign strategy to people who paid good money to hear him speak in a private setting and he was simply being honest by telling them which segment of the voting public he needed to reach, if he has a chance of winning this election. Having said that, it isn't necessarily the truth that the media is going to hammer Mitt Romney with in the coming days.
The Romney campaign has already attempted to clarify their candidate's remarks in a statement of their own.
Mitt Romney wants to help all Americans struggling in the Obama economy. As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government, including the record number of people who are on food stamps, nearly one in six Americans in poverty, and the 23 million Americans who are struggling to find work. Mitt Romney’s plan creates 12 million new jobs in four years, grows the economy and moves Americans off of government dependency and into jobs.For another take on this, let's turn to Allahpundit. He has a breakdown of who does or doesn't pay federal income tax and why.
(Hot Air) Certainly, the Obama campaign’s never done anything to tout the sort of cradle-to-grave dependency that Romney describes here. I think David French’s recent post about the “bookends” that compose the modern liberal coalition is closer to the mark than Romney’s familiar makers-and-takers formulation here, but he was at a fundraiser and tossing red meat and I guess wanted it to be as red as possible. As for his claim that 47 percent pay no income tax, it’s true but carries lots of caveats. Ramesh Ponnuru wrote an insightful piece about last year; this new article from National Journal is worth reading too. Two political difficulties here. One: While some Obama supporters may not pay federal income tax, they still pay federal payroll tax and may well pay state and city taxes. They do contribute something to government. Two: A lot of pro-Republican working-class voters pay no income tax due to the Earned Income Tax Credit, and a lot of pro-Republican seniors pay no income tax because most or all of their income is Social Security. Not sure how either of those groups will react to Romney’s critique of O’s fans, but my hunch is that Ben Domenech’s right in believing that no one really thinks they’re part of the 47 percent. Everyone thinks they’re a “maker,” not a “taker,” due to whatever little tax they pay, so when Mitt lays into freeloaders, even people who pay no income tax think he’s talking about someone else. It’s sort of the flip side of senior citizens saying that America needs small government while telling politicians “Hands off my Medicare.” I doubt it’ll end up hurting Romney badly, but the media will do its level best. Buckle up!I'm not sure a seat belt is going to be enough. This may require a giant air bag, before the uproar subsides.
All of the Obama controlled media are jumping on this.
He made the error of telling the truth.
I guess English grammar is not your strong suit.
Tired of? I pay $60K a year in Fed income tax, and I see balooning federal debt, and a significant faction of our population who rather sit on their ass, and let the government take care of them. Or is that too hard for you to understand skippy? Are you part of the "occupy" crowd?
That’s going to happen unless people get over this class warfare nonsense and begin to focus on retrieving our economy!
Finally! A Mu comment I fully agree with.
Now is time for Romney to double down, NEVER apologize, and attack Commie Obama!
Duh. The 47% riding in the wagon will never get off unless the wagon stops and they start having to walk again. Everyone knows that, but the media is blowing this non-story up to get attention away from the flames of Islam burning in the Middle East.
This is THE STORY for this week, unless they can find another anti-GOP “gaffe” to bray about.
Bullshit ! If Romney burps, farts, or stups his toe it will get reported by the lame stream media. Romney knows this and acts accordingly. What his said was simply the truth...a very sad commentary on American society, but nevertheless 100% accurate.
It's coming ~ and so far I haven't heard of a program to stop it
I watched Mitt and thought, once again, that he did a great job with the press but if he's going around calling Americans 'freeloaders' he's toast! Then I saw the video. In my mind it was completely innocuous and honest. He never used the word 'freeloader' or said anything even remotely disparaging. I agree with him 100% and I believe most people will immediately understand where he's coming from.
YOU ARE MAD
They are the ones waging war on us with MSM backing. What will happen to the welfare state when those of us who are footing the bill finally tire of it?
Those who are successfull, will have to more and more lurk in the background or actually move out. Ayn Rand knew more about our future than we realized.
“and so far I haven’t heard of a program to stop it”
Sound like a job for the Congress.
Depending on Nov 6, and the congressional results, I’m not holding my breath.
Do State Legislators have a chance if the US Congress fails?
Can you even speak English, and put a coherent statement together?
Sit around???.... I see help wanted signs all over the place. Plants are hiring left and right. Work is there for those with the right initiative.
That is one point I want to clarify though. I think Romney's 47% is overstated. The number that he should have alluded to, and that I want to villify is more like 35-40%.
By the way, I will call your "MAD", and raise you a DELUSIONAL" which describes you pretty aptly.
this counts fed workers and union members?
The SINGLE biggest thing the Republicans can do, at this point, is simply let the Bush Tax Cuts expire. The low-end tax cuts caused half of this problem by throwing millions off of the tax roles and into net receivers from government, via the Earned Income Credit (the other half was caused by expanded social programs - and the Republicans are simply unable to address that).
But the Republican leaders have demonstrated that they’re TOO STUPID to realize this mistake...
No way. How can you avoid class warfare, when the entitlement class has grown, and is getting addicted to “gubmit” aid like crack.
They are the ones waging war on us with MSM backing. What will happen to the welfare state when those of us who are footing the bill finally tire of it?
I think there is a difference between a war of words when someone else is doing the wording, and a real class war. Large cities are where the class war if it come to that, will be fought. Large cities are lost causes IMHO. The masses will control them if the SHTF. Those with any sense, will have an evacuation plan, and leave. Smaller cities in conservative states will be able to control the freeloaders.
The results of the coming election will certainly tell us just how much the entitlement class has grown. If Obama wins a squeaker, there are enough to do damage, if it’s a Romney runaway, then the opposite would be true.
...and for those of us footing the bill, or aware of who is footing the bill we can hope they both will be united against those who are “living the American dream” at the expense of those pulling the load.
I refer to the majority middle class taxpayers as:
The few, the proud, the taxpayers.
Even Warren Buffett, who encourages increased taxes, refuses to pay. Romney should point out the number of tax cheats associated with this administration as well as in congress, and include a tax simplification plan in his agenda. Turn the tables, this is a timely issue considering the Bush tax cuts are set to expire and Obamacare is reaching into our wallets. And I do not care, nor want to see Romney’s tax forms.
Hey Mitt:
Does that 47% include the unionized teachers, the UAW and other unions, the state municipal federal employees with those big salaries and bigger retirements who always vote Democrat???
Where do they fit in your equation???
If your big company needs to outsource their jobs, outsource them to a smaller AMERICAN company. There are milliions of smaller American companies that serve as outsource partners to larger American companies. Sometimes the smaller company can do the work more efficiently and cheaper because we (and I own one of those small companies) have a smaller, non-union workfoce of specialists.
And guess what? The work that we can’t do is outsourced to another American company that specializes in custom parts. Made in the USA — 100%.
We’ve even done work over for large companies that was done improperly in Mexico, or China.
I’d like to know what Mitt plans to do about it. It’s painfully clear that with current trends it will be just one election cycle, two tops, before the taker class has us permanently outnumbered.
And I just don’t think Mitt’s up to that challenge. This job calls for somebody like a Newt Gingrich, who is willing to take a machete to overgrown government, and who has gotten used to being called a bastard.
What Mitt said is what we have all been saying. We just haven’t had a leader who would say it. (Longing for Ronald Reagan.). Mitt has spoken the words. He must now stand up for his beliefs at every opportunity. In El Paso, we suffer the very type of voting that Mitt talks about. It wouldn’t matter how good your ideas were, what you planned for the city, how smart you are, how Hispanic you are...if you are not the candidate who wants open borders and welfare, you are not the candidate of choice. That straight ticket vote will go to the supplier of “free” every single time. That’s how someone as wealthy as Sheila Jackson-Lee of Houston gets re-elected representing a poor district. It’s that way in every Democrat stronghold. If Mitt wins, we teach young people to fish and we break the cycle. They will find that they love fishing. They will be proud to pass their fishing skills on to their own families.
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