The man looked so sharp
gotta have a shot of the guy.
Posted on 09/20/2012 4:54:14 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got into trouble this week for a leaked video of his remarks at a private fundraiser, where he indicted (and wrote off electorally) roughly half the country as government dependents subsisting on entitlements.
The video prompted a hue and cry from media observers that Romney has (once again) blown the election. Their judgments are mitigated slightly by their multiple previous claims that Romney had already said something to blow the election. But the politics of Romney’s remarks may not be as bad as many in the media suggest.
Here’s the portion of Romney’s statement that attracted such disdain:
"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 not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
As a general rule, political gaffes have an impact on elections when they separate a candidate from otherwise winnable voting segments. What helps Romney in this situation is that no one thinks they’re in that 47 percent, even if they are. No voter who was thinking of voting for Romney yesterday is standing up today saying, “When he’s talking about those entitled people, he’s criticizing me!”
Time and again, we’re told that a gaffe is a “game changer” that reframes an election. But polls rarely bear this out. In fact, the polling in this election has been remarkably consistent, regardless of whether the gaffe is Romney’s or Obama’s. Yet the media are trying to frame Romney’s remarks as a much broader attack on everyone who gets Medicare, or on every soldier. Mother Jones reporter David Corn, who publicized the fundraiser video, accused Romney of turning the election into “a battle between strivers (such as himself and the donors before him) and parasitic free-riders who lack character, fortitude, and initiative.”
Most Americans think of themselves as strivers, though, not as moochers. Seniors and soldiers view Tricare, Medicare, and Social Security as something they’ve earned; they don’t think of it as an entitlement. And Romney continues to poll strongly among seniors—he’s up by 19 points in that group, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. How will criticizing half of Americans as lazy moochers hurt Romney with seniors? It’s a sentiment many Americans—not just seniors, not just conservatives, and not just those at the top financially—agree with. While Romney’s comment is a reminder of the candidate’s tin ear, it’s likely to be just another gaffe that changes little.
-- Benjamin Domenech (bdomenech@heartland.org) is a research fellow at the Heartland Institute and editor of The Transom.
Of course, I mooch with my husband when ever I can.
I was brought up with the old saying, sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me....name calling is just one persons opinion, even 1000 people, I don’t care..
He never called anybody any names. He merely observed that the 47% of the population getting government checks would not be voting for him under any circumstances. Which is true.
Hidee-Hidee-Hidee-hi
I suspect that I qualify as one who's helped *pull* the cart and have yet to spend a moment riding *in* it.
this crap is still going on.
We have jug ears not knowing the debt, going to Vegas after the deaths and attacks, sharing the wealth
AND THESE COCKROACHES STILL KEEP SPEWING THIS CRAP .
PISS OFF MEDIA FFS
Hidee-Hidee-Hidee-Ho
I’m on Social Security. I only paid in for forty four years.
Will I vote for Obama? NO!
Folks, here´s a story about Minnie the Moocher
She was a red hot hoochie-koocher
She was the roughest, toughest frail
But Minnie had a heart as big as a wha-a-le
Hidee-Hidee-Hidee-hi
Hodee-hodee-hodee-ho
Heedey-hee-dee-hee-dee hee
Hidee-hidee-hidee-ho
She messed around with a bloke named Smoky
She loved him though he was cokey
He took her down to Chinatown
He showed her how to kick the gong around
Hidee-Hidee-Hidee-hi
Wooooooh
Heedey-hee-dee-hee-dee hee
Hidee-hidee-hidee-ho
She had a dream that the King of Sweden
He gave her things that she was needin´
He built her a house of gold and steel
A diamond car with platinum wheels
Hidee-hidee-hidee-hidee-hidee-hidee-hi
Hodee-hodee-hodee-hodee-hodee-hodee-ho
Scoodley-woo-scoodley-woo-scoodley-woodley-woodley-woo
Zit-dit-dit-dit-dittle-but-dut-duttleoo-skit-dit-skittle-but-dit-zoy
He gave her his townhouse and his racing horses
Each meal she ate was a dozen courses
She had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes
She sat around and counted them all a million times
Hidee-Hidee-Hidee-hi
Hodee-hodee-hodee-ho
Heedey-hee-dee-hee-dee hee
Hidee-hidee-hidee-ho
Now Min and Smokie, they started jaggin’
They got a free ride in a wagon
She gave him money to pay her bail
But he left her flat in the county jail
Whoooa, yeaaaah
Hey de he de he he
Whoa Whoa
Poor Min met old Deacon Lowdown
He preached to her that she ought to slow down
But Minnie wiggled her jelly roll
And Deacon Lowdown yelled, “Lord save my soul!”
Hi de hi de hi de hi
Ho de ho de ho de ho
Skiddley doodley doodly do
Skiddly diddly day
They took her where they put the crazies
Now poor Min’s kicking up those daisies
You’ve heard my story this is her song
She was just a good gal, but they done her wrong
Hi de hi de hi de hi
Skooby de be do
He de he de he de he
Whoa, Whoa Whoa
Poor Min, Poor Min, Poor Min.
My cat is a moocher.
Yes, I guess that having worked two jobs most of my life,
serving in Desert Storm and Shield, now that I get a SS
check, I am in the 47%. Some here would think it wrong
for me to take my social security, but I will vote for
Romney even though he was my last choice.
The “47%” figure is actually made up of several overlapping demographics, not all of whom are “mooching”, and not all of whom consider themselves to be “victims” who may only find succor from the “benevolent” rule of Obama.
The contract for entitlement to veterans’ benefits was made a long time ago, and has been around in one form or another since Washington was President.
At one time, the poor, the homeless, and the helpless were carried on the local government dole, and every county in this nation had what was known as the almshouse or the “poor farm”, which did double duty as an asylum for the mentally deranged or incompetents. Many of these were really no more than holding pens for the unwanted people, kept there until death, and often under near-inhuman conditions. The “Old Age, Survivors and Disability” plan, the Social Security system, was a move to change what had been a locally or state administered care system into a Federal plan, the virtues and shortcomings of which are part of a different discussion.
The whole subject of welfare is an outgrowth of the Federalization of this safety net that had so many gaps on the local level, that whole hordes of people fell through.
But the “safety net” has become a hammock, in which it is easy to become habituated, and can stretch from generation to generation, until nobody remembers a time there was a certain stigma for accepting the help and support from government or charitable sources.
The idea was originally for only a hand up after falling, but not a permanent crutch. With proper adaptation, even badly impaired persons may become productive citizens, returning more to the community than the cost to support them, supposedly at which time they sustain the cost of maintaining their own state of health. What was once a victim has become an achiever, and should justly be hailed by neighbors and associates as an inspiration and as some kind of virtuous personality.
And if even the most impaired can do this, everybody should be able to.
Some here would think it wrong
for me to take my social security, but I will vote for
Romney even though he was my last choice.
***
Means testing for all current government freebies, should not be out of the question.
That being said, God can help this country, if we repent.
The man looked so sharp
gotta have a shot of the guy.
You forgot the ‘s’, then again, maybe not. (hehe)
Earned success vs learned dependency
Such choices make up a society.
‘Means testing for all current government freebies’
You will become surprised at how many will instantly become ‘poor’
I think you can scale back you efforts to control your lisp. Not only have you succeded in removing the excess trailing ‘s’, now you are clipping the leading ‘s’ also.
As a penalty, you are sentenced to 30 minutes of (s)mooching with your husband.
(This message was approved & paid for by your husband.)
I do with my wife at every opportunity, too.
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