Posted on 09/17/2012 5:01:13 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Romney: 47 percent depend on government, will vote for Obama By Justin Sink - 09/17/12 06:16 PM ET
Mitt Romney, in candid remarks at a fundraising dinner caught in an undercover video, dismissed "47 percent" of Americans as "dependent upon government."
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney is shown saying. "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 healthcare, to food, to housing, to you name it."
The GOP presidential nominee goes on to say his "job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
The video, uncovered by Mother Jones, is from a fundraising dinner earlier this summer. The magazine has said it is withholding the date and location of the fundraiser for the source who provided the video. The magazine posted only small, individual clips, and not Romney's remarks in their entirety.
The Obama campaign seized on Romney remarks in a statement emailed to reporters Monday night.
"It's shocking that a candidate for President of the United States would go behind closed doors and declare to a group of wealthy donors that half the American people view themselves as ‘victims,’ entitled to handouts, and are unwilling to take ‘personal responsibility’ for their lives," said Obama campaign manager Jim Messina. "It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation.”
Later Thursday afternoon, the Romney campaign issued a statement downplaying the remarks.
"Mitt Romney wants to help all Americans struggling in the Obama economy," said Romney communications director Gail Gitcho. "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."
But the video threatens to derail what had been an orchestrated reboot of Romney's presidential campaign, which came under fire last weekend from Republican allies frustrated by the nominee's strategy. Reports emerged of infighting and bickering among top Romney advisers, and some campaign allies said Romney needed to refocus his efforts on bringing out the base after failing to rally independent and swing voters.
In a conference call earlier Monday with reporters, campaign aides pledged that Romney would provide more specifics on his policies and programs on the campaign stump.
"We think voters now, from what we see in data and other research, are looking for — OK, if we're going to make this change, how is it going to make my life better, how are things going to improve?" said Romney adviser Ed Gillespie on a conference call with reporters. "We know that they know he has a plan, which is a good thing, but we also know they would like to know a little bit more about the specifics, and we're going to meet the demand."
To aid in that effort, the campaign released two new ads on Monday detailing Romney's five-point economic plan and criticizing Obama's record. Romney also made a major push for Hispanic voters Monday, speaking at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles and granting interviews to Univision and Telemundo.
But that push could be partially undermined by another of the covert clips, where Romney candidly discusses some of the problems encountered by his campaign, including trouble attracting female and Hispanic voters.
Romney jokes of his father, who was born in Mexico: "Had he been born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot of winning this."
Later in the fundraising video, Romney admits that Republicans are having a difficult time attracting Hispanic voters — and there could be severe repercussions for the party.
"We are having a much harder time with Hispanic voters, and if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African-American voting block has in the past, why, we're in trouble as a party and, I think, as a nation," Romney said.
Romney also told donors the campaign was using his wife, Ann, "sparingly ... so that people don't get tired of her."
And he admits that the president remains popular with many voters, which makes attacking him difficult.
"But when you say, 'Are you disappointed that his policies haven't worked?' they say yes," Romney said. "And because they voted for him, they don't want to be told that they were wrong, that he's a bad guy, that he did bad things, that he's corrupt. Those people that we have to get, they want to believe they did the right thing, but he just wasn't up to the task."
Please.
I’m actually going to assume people in the military are smarter than you make them out to be.
However, If any military retiree or currently serving member actually thinks Romney is talking about you then you are a complete and utter fool.
If you feel like he is, go vote for Obama and protect your supposed “welfare”. If you see yourself as no different than someone with 8 kids with 6 different dads or someone on “disabilities” because they have stress issues then by all means out yourself so we can get a good look at you.
He didn’t say you were, but if you think he is then OWN it. Proudly proclaim it! Dont lay this faux offended BS trying to get a meme going like you’ve lost your mind.
Nice spin, but this is a negative and a real gaffe, and pretty darn insulting, or as National Review says “”Ultimately Romney’s division of the electorate has an odd Marxist twang to it, as if those dependent on government are simply voting their naked economic self-interest.””
Yeah, it does, because the mainstream media is less powerful than imagined.
Oh, and because military retirees do not “depend on govt.”, they are the most self reliant people. So please get off it.
This was meant for you:
Oh, and because military retirees do not “depend on govt.”, they are the most self reliant people. So please get off it.
The 47% bitterly clinging to their welfare checks and free birth control pills will vote for the guy who accused those of bitterly clinging to their guns and religion of voting for Republicans.
It’s easy to see why a guy at his level with all the drivel and propaganda being injected into the voter by MSM (mainlining socialist media) could throw up his hands in frustration and make a statement like that.
There are millions of US on fixed incomes who were getting along or at least getting by on those incomes until this fascist Obama came along and began first tinkering then intruding and rearranging the established systems and methods of food and energy distribution we relied upon to keep US going. Issuing costly regulations, prohibitions,designed to change those systems to conform to a given concept known as socialism .
The people hurt the worst in such as system are the people on the bottom. What Romney better realize, address and above all understand and explain is that such policies create dependency not free it.
Because
Alright. I’ll try to remember to revisit these comments in a week to see how we’re doing. You may be right - and I hope you are. We’ll wait and see.
But again, I still think you are missing the point. You are implying, as did Mitt, that 47% of our nation is on welfare and has 8 bastard children and fake disabilities.
We all agree those people exist. In droves. but they do not make up 47% of the country - let alone the electorate. Hell, those people don’t even vote.
Which part of his statement was incorrect?
I must have missed it.
“they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
And here it comes, Extortion-Care all along.
Notice how HillaryRomney carefully slipped the word “care” in there. Like in FORCING a fine on individuals if they refuse to succumb to fascist forced purchase of so called “insurance.”
Like in trying to use the above propaganda speak, in attempt to confuse the care of a healthy body vs. taking care of a so called “insurance company balance sheets”?
And, I'll wager, you've disagreed with National Review a time-or-two yourself...
I think he should not have said it in the way that he has. It is a generalization for everyone in that %; which some are not government blood suckers; who may become offended or frightful of losing a benefit. It was a big gaffe. People are so emotional these days; one little off comment can send people into orbit. I think this gives the (crazy) media more material to make this image of Romney that they want out there.
Stick a fork in Romney, he is done son...and I am the furthest thing from a DUmmy there can be...Romney fought against his own party harder than he is fighting against Obama...does that make sense to you?
Considering poll after poll show people dont want government in their lives and think there is too much, this is going to backfire on them. ABC news radio now running this every break they have.
Well, since you asked...(from his website)
Mitt Romney will rebuild the foundations of the American economy on the principles of free enterprise, hard work, and innovation. His plan seeks to reduce taxes, spending, regulation, and government programs. It seeks to increase trade, energy production, human capital, and labor flexibility. It relinquishes power to the states instead of claiming to have the solution to every problem.
Creating millions of jobs, and getting folks off of the government dole and becoming self reliant again, is just one of his solutions.
So basically the same as virtually every republican has ever promised and failed to deliver.
Obama has never gone above 47% in a long, long time. Romney said nothing wrong.
“Stick a fork in Romney, he is done son...and I am the furthest thing from a DUmmy there can be...Romney fought against his own party harder than he is fighting against Obama...does that make sense to you?”
Translation:
He beat my guy in the primaries so I’m all too happy to piggyback on the left-wing media to try to defeat him to teach him a lesson.
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.”
“[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
I could be missing something, but I’m not seeing this as a disaster or anything. The media will try to rip him no matter what he says, but...
IF you’re an unmovable Obama voter, and you’re insulted by Romney’s remark, it doesn’t matter. Because you were never going to vote for him anyway (much of my family are these people, sadly). Could it up Obama’s base turnout? Meh. - don’t think so.
But if you’re a “gettable” independent who either has a job or desperately wants one, you’re just going to assume Romney isn’t talking about you. The 47% is someone else.
Not sure why an undecided would use this statement to orient them in such a fashion to be more likely to vote for Obama. If you have a scintilla of self-reliance and think the government is too intrusive (a majority still think so), why vote for Obama and deliberately align yourself with those other guys who are voting to keep the DC gravy train rolling? If you work for a living (or WANT to) you vote for Romney to show that you’re still one of those people that wants less government, not more. Why, out of spite, would you vote for Obama and align yourself with the people Romney’s talking about?
It’s almost like it’s a reverse psychology thing. “Prove you’re not a leech and vote Republican.”
Again, the average undecided voter will NEVER think Romney is talking about them when they think of the 47% in their heads. It’s always some other guy.
Even that NO piece was to defend him, and to say that they don’t think that this gaffe will be too serious, but they do concede that it was not good.
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