For all you "freeloaders" out there.
9/20/2012
Incidentally, Mr. Leder is a man who was personally inspired by Mr. Romney's tenure at Bain Capital, to go into private equity in the first place. In the secretly-taped video, Romney made several controversial comments, including mentioning that 47% of people in America, all Obama voters, pay no federal income taxes and that welfare is creating culture of dependence upon government and that's why they won't respond to his message of "low taxes." His implication was that president Obama is buying votes by supporting their dependent lifestyles.
An excerpt:
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…[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.
Later in the video, Mr. Romney implies that his campaign would be a lot easier if he were born to Mexican parents. I bet a lot of Mexicans would disagree. He also maintains that Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in peace and the the conflict with Israel will remain an unsolved problem in the region. What leadership.
The video spurned an uproar in the media. Mainstream press in 41 states mentioned the video release on the front page, with negative implications. Some conservative bloggers don't believe the statement was a big deal. Many down-ballot republicans jumped ship. RNC Chairman, Reince Priebus opined that Mr. Romney was "on message." Others, a group that includes me, were tremendously offended by such statements, that implied a real malice for the working poor in this country, if they are Obama supporters. The crime of that demographic? Not making enough money.
Mr. Romney's first response to the release of this video, was a statement to imply that he would like the "whole thing" released, rather than excerpts. The owner of the video quickly obliged on Youtube. (at bottom of post). Mr Romney doubled down on his comments, first in a hastily called 10PM press conference, then in a USA today OP-ED.
Within 72 hours, the Obama campaign released a commercial exploiting The Romney campaign's gaffe:
(Obama ad-2 minutes)
See, Mr. Romney can't take the comments back, cause the tea party wants to hear him speak that way. And the people he dissed, he's already written off anyway, regarding their vote. Another precarious position for a politician to be in. You don't have much respect for the people you largely need to vote for you.
Soon after the release of the video, and candidate Romney's response, more news broke. It was revealed (I first noticed the story on NPR) that Mr. Romney's father, George Romney, former Governor of Michigan, was a welfare recipient for 5 years as a child. This is a fact that Mr. Romney's mother, Lenore LaFount Romney, proudly cited in reference to his relation to the common man, during George Romney's Michigan Gubernatorial race in the early 1960's.
(Mr. Romney's mother-3minutes)
On top of welfare, the Romney family apparently received 100K from the federal government as relief for having fled to Mexico and losing their assets in returning to America. Why did they flee? Cause the Romneys and other Mormons in their group wanted the freedom to practice polygamy. They saw government restriction of marriage as oppressive. How ironic. Someone should ask Mr Romney how he feels about government restricting marriage rights now.
(Charts-Click to enlarge)
Where I'm from, "personal responsibility" isn't measured by how much federal income tax one pays. It is my understanding that most people would like to be in the highest tax bracket, if not to pay more taxes. And as you can see from the chart above, it's not like the poor aren't working, or haven't worked all their lives, in the case of seniors who pay no income tax.
I take umbrage to Mr. Romney's statement, because I believe it perpetrates a stereotype of the poor that is most oppressive to them. This kind of stereotype is made of the same type of stuff that makes it hard for the long-term unemployed to get work. "If you are poor, or unemployed, something must be wrong with you. It's your own fault." This "hatred of the poor" seems emblematic of most Americans. But in my experience it has no foundation, and only makes a bad situation, more difficult to get out of for those that need our assistance. Many people have needed welfare as a safety net, and rebounded becoming fully productive members of society, like George Romney did. In short, Mr. Romney telling rich people, behind closed doors that poor people are losers, does nothing to help poor people to escape poverty and in fact, hurts them. Is this something a potential president of everyone-rich and poor-should be caught saying behind closed doors?
One more thing. I suspect Mr. Romney may have cut off his nose to spite his face regarding that 47%. It most likely includes his most loyal base: White seniors, who generally, pay no federal income tax on Social Security. Can you say Florida? A state Mr. Romney can't win without? Politically, Mr. Romney's statement was unpresidential, unproductive, degrading, untrue and just plain stupid.
(Fundraising Video-37 minutes)
